Feature: Attitudes Towards TV Advertising Hold Firm
2002 was an undeniably tough year for the TV advertising industry, which suffered as marketers tightened their purse strings in order to protect their bottom line. The ad climate was forced to evolve and some of the UK’s largest commercial broadcasters struggled against declining audiences and diminishing ad revenues. However, this upheaval appears to have had little effect on the public’s attitude towards TV advertising, which remains largely unchanged from previous years.
The latest annual survey from the ITC and the BSC into the public’s view of the UK broadcasting market has revealed that attitudes towards television advertising have been relatively unscathed by the increasing proliferation of channels and the growth of sponsorship and promotions activity.
The Public’s View 2002 study shows that 42% of viewers find humour the most positive aspect of TV advertising. However, over 20% of respondents claim to like nothing about the adverts they see on their screens, suggesting that consumers have an underlying apathy towards TV commercials.
Viewers that disliked TV advertising objected to the fact that commercials interrupt their favourite programmes and have a tendency to be repetitive (24%). It was also felt that they could be silly and pointless (24%).
Opinions surrounding the volume of advertising were roughly in line with those of previous years. Amongst terrestrial viewers, 55% of respondents said that the current amount of advertising is acceptable, up slightly from 2001, when 49% of viewers were satisfied with the level of advertising. However, fewer respondents than in previous years said they would be willing to see more advertising on their TV screens.
Attitudes towards the amount of advertising on mutlichannel TV were found to be broadly in-line with attitudes towards ads on terrestrial TV. However, a greater number of multichannel viewers (42%) felt that there were already too many ads on non-terrestrial channels.
Recent research from the London Business School revealed that people do not watch the majority of TV ads, instead they chat to friends or make a cup of tea. This viewpoint was supported by the ITC research, with 10% of respondents claiming they like TV ads because they provide time to make tea.
The study reflects the growing popularity of non-conventional advertising, with awareness of sponsorship increasing by 5% year on year to 91%. This may well be a result of a rise in the number of high-profile sponsorship deals, such as Ford’s sponsorship of last season’s Premier League football on Sky and O2’s sponsorship of Big Brother 2002 on Channel 4.
The faltering popularity of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV1, was also highlighted by the research, with 34% of respondents choosing BBC1 as their favourite channel and just 27% opting for ITV1. This reflects the increasing popularity of BBC’s flagship channel and marks a turnaround from three years ago, when 30% of respondents chose BBC1 and 41% plugged for ITV1. The research will provide further fuel to those who argue that the BBC has become too populist in its approach to broadcasting, negating its public service role in the pursuit of ratings.
It seems that advertisers have a tough job on their hands connecting with consumers who appear to have a relatively low opinion of TV commercials, believing them to be, at times, misleading, boring and repetitive. These are the issues that the ad industry will have to address if the traditional 30-second spot is to maintain its dominance in the changing media landscape.
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