Three Quarters Of The UK Approve Of Advertising, Says Study

More than three-quarters of the UK population now approve of advertising, according to a recent study from the Advertising Association. The subject is extremely low on people’s list of concerns, however, with few people talking about it or holding strong opinions on the subject and just 1% of the population feeling that major changes are needed in the advertising world.

The results compare favourably with the 1960s when a quarter of all people in the UK disapproved of advertising. Approval is particularly high now amongst the younger age groups, with 83% of 15-24 year olds and 82% of 25-34 year olds approving of advertising. At the opposite end of the age spectrum, approval is lower, with only 68% of over 55’s saying they approve of advertising.

Only 6% of people rank advertising as something they talk about regularly and just 5% cite it as a topic they feel strongly about. Violent crime and the National Health Service are more powerful topics for the UK population with 43% and 35% saying they have strong feelings about them.

A total 87% either liked or were not bothered by ads in newspapers and magazines and the proportion of those saying they dislike such ads has fallen from 15% in 1966 to just 12% in 2000. Disapproval ratings for TV ads has almost halved, from 30% in 1966 to just 17% this year.

Andrew Brown, director-general of the AA, said: “These findings confirm the fact that a very large proportion of the public either like advertising or are not concerned about it, and want the government to concentrate on central areas of policy such as crime, health and education. ”

Advertising Association: 020 7828 2771