• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, October 10, 2018

It's self-evident when you think about it -- although nearly half of all budgets are pumped into television advertising, this doesn't have the long-term impact it could because the campaigns do not feature characters. That's what the latest IPA research is telling us.

When invited to remember ads, most people will probably go for those that feature CompareTheMarket and its meerkats or the Go Compare opera singer. Even in the humdrum everyday world of buying furniture, the corny exchanges between the manager and his assistant for Oak Furniture Land stand out, and perhaps also the female pirate for Admiral insurance or the 118 athletes.

Some of these have been brought back, of course, after falling from favour. The aforementioned opera singer was dropped for a while, and only recently has the iconic black horse been galloping across our screens for Lloyds.

Even so, the findings from the study by the IAP and System1 show the use of characters has fallen from around 41% in the 1990s to just 12% of television ads today. Just 10% of television advertising spend goes on campaigns driven by a brand character. Even among those who do have a character, they are usually only ever in two in three tv ads and often not included in social media advertising -- meaning that the researchers believe their effect is being limited.

The study also points out that nearly half of all tv advertising is spent on trying to elicit an emotional response. This is all fine, but it does not offer long-term recall for the brand.

I don't know about you, but I can still "see" that Shake and Vac lady, the Green Cross Code man, the Milky Bar Kid, the Nescafé couple, the Smash alien robots and the Jolly Green Giant. They may have not been the kind of clever work that wins awards, but they absolutely stay rooted in your mind. 

So in this age of storytelling, one has to wonder if we have lost sight of the best stories featuring memorable characters. 

Sure, those endless ads demonstrating a product or a nearby sale are fine for the short-term goal they want to achieve. If brands want to stay in our minds for longer -- and why wouldn't they -- there's a very simple trick we all know works but we have somehow forgotten to include. 

If you want a message to resonate for longer, don't be afraid to go for the tried-and-tested character approach. Considering that their use is about a quarter of what it used to be, it's a good time to stand out with an old trick.