Do Adverts Work on You?

[NotYou]

Unless you're fortunate and hidden under a rock, one way or another you will never be able to hide from Adverts, whether it's from TV/movies, Billboards, Shop windows, Street signs, on your phone or apps, and much more.


I am curious as to how often you think they really influence you and end up wanting/buying the thing it advertises or how often (if at all) they have the opposite effect and just annoy you?


Personally, I think ads will work a tiny amount of time for me, this even includes me thinking "that looks cool and i'd love it, but it's out of my budget for now, or not ideal for me as it's more for a family", or whatever other reason.
Then there are times I see adverts of the SAME one TOO much and instead of it making me think about the show/food/item, it has the complete opposite effect on me and it just annoys me so much that I don't ever want it. Like if a tv or movie is advertised basically every 20 minutes on TV and you see it way too much, then I literally mute my TV, switch the channel for a minute, and just point blank refuse to ever even try to buy it, even if it was something I may have wanted or enjoyed haha. Especially when a tv or movie or product is advertised A LOT, it just makes me think it will be really terrible and not worth it. I think when something is really good, it doesn't need to be spammed in your face every 2 minutes.


Very curious if any of you are like me in this sense, or if you're someone who gets sucked In by a lot of them, or by none at all - do you have iron self-discipline?

 

[yummybrownfox]

I’m usually not easily persuaded by advertisements, however they’ve been advertising the hell out of that new show The Golden Bachelor (and they recently had that guy as a guest on The View, and he seemed like such a sweetheart). It’s actually got me somewhat interested in checking out at least one episode of the show…and I usually don’t even like those reality T.V. shows.

 

[Smoothie]

For me, it’s a brand awareness thing. It’s not that I rush right out and buy what they’re selling. But the next time I’m in the market for that product, when I’m considering my options, I’ll think of their brand because the ads kept me aware of them.

On the rare occasion I do react quickly to an ad, the odds are pretty good I was already looking to buy that product (or something like it) and the ad gave me a reason to react (usually a sale price).

 

[Lilly_____]

I think most of the times ads have the opposite effect on me. I'll go out of my way to not purchase brands that have annoying ads.

But I'm loyal to some brands mostly when grocery shopping. I'll always get the same brands. So I guess their brand awareness works on me, but it's something that I carry for long - brands that my grandmother used to buy.

When I watch an ad, most of the times my reaction is "nah".

 

[ElGato]

Then there are times I see adverts of the SAME one TOO much and instead of it making me think about the show/food/item, it has the complete opposite effect on me and it just annoys me so much that I don't ever want it.

I am the exact same way. Due to that, I'd say advertisements influence me more on what not to buy, than to actually buy

 

[rockin_rod]

Special Offer catalogs from supermarkets and other stores I regularly visit. But only if I see a product that I'd usually buy anyway, on special.
Exception: Aldi here has a weekly special that often includes a range of food products from another country or culture, and I find the opportunity to try something different very appealing.
Don't always go for it, but usually check it out from sheer curiosity (and maybe a deep-seated desire to go backpacking around the world again like I did after high school).
TV ads, and internet banner ads, just annoy the crap out of me and are more likely to trigger avoidance of that brand/product.

 

[KingMarti]

Unless you're fortunate and hidden under a rock, one way or another you will never be able to hide from Adverts, whether it's from TV/movies, Billboards, Shop windows, Street signs, on your phone or apps, and much more.


I am curious as to how often you think they really influence you and end up wanting/buying the thing it advertises or how often (if at all) they have the opposite effect and just annoy you?


Personally, I think ads will work a tiny amount of time for me, this even includes me thinking "that looks cool and i'd love it, but it's out of my budget for now, or not ideal for me as it's more for a family", or whatever other reason.
Then there are times I see adverts of the SAME one TOO much and instead of it making me think about the show/food/item, it has the complete opposite effect on me and it just annoys me so much that I don't ever want it. Like if a tv or movie is advertised basically every 20 minutes on TV and you see it way too much, then I literally mute my TV, switch the channel for a minute, and just point blank refuse to ever even try to buy it, even if it was something I may have wanted or enjoyed haha. Especially when a tv or movie or product is advertised A LOT, it just makes me think it will be really terrible and not worth it. I think when something is really good, it doesn't need to be spammed in your face every 2 minutes.


Very curious if any of you are like me in this sense, or if you're someone who gets sucked In by a lot of them, or by none at all - do you have iron self-discipline?

I personally find advertising fascinating.

IMO the basic purpose of an ad isnt to make you buy something then and there, but so that when you need a product or service you think of the brand that was running the ad. I have been bombarded with a KFC ad on youtube for example for a new chicken sandwich. The goal of the ad isnt to make me think "I want a chicken sandwich" but instead when I am am hungry and dont know what to have kfc has positioned themselves in my mind as a solution to that problem. The more a user see's the ad the more likely they are to recall that product or service when they need / want to use it, basically you want to saturate the ad market so that you become synonymous with that particular want or need.

Oversaturating the user with the same ad (mainly banners and image based for this) is when they stop paying active attention, but the message is still being passed into memory (kind of like subliminal advertising) so the advert is still doing it's job of keeping the users aware that there's x solution for y problem, even if the user themselves has not actively paid attention to the giant billboard they just walked past. There's a whole other psyc based reason on why when your thirsty you'll go for a coke over a pepsi and vice versa all down to how they target customers, for example coke adverts are usually more emotion based (the Christmas one for example, sharing a coke with a family at a meal, they put across the image that happiness comes with coke(-a-cola....not the powdered kind ) where as Pepsi's advertising is a) a lot lower than cokes (here at least) and b) targets a much smaller audience trying to place themselves as the drink that the cool people drink (usually through sports tie in's, celeb endorsements etc).


One of the best uses of emotion based advertising was the product placement of Ben and Jerry's in tv shows in the 2000's. Character is upset, then eat a tub of Ben and Jerry's. Even if you don't actively acknowledge it while watching, those connections are still being made between the emotion and the product.

Another way to look at it is, for the next 6 months you get bombarded with ads for "joe the friendly plumber", they are annoying, piss you off, then in 7 months a pipe bursts, the plumber that your mind brings up as someone to call is joe (assuming that his ads were good enough and dont leave you going "what was that plumber that had ads everywhere). Ads are annoying when you dont need the service / product they are offering but when you need that product / service are you going to waste time looking for an alternative brand to the one you have seen ads for or go with the one you know (or feel like you know because they have so heavily embedded themselves in your memory)?

Given the above I think ads work on everyone to some extent, it more depends on the quality of the ad, than the individual, the ads that are like "buy this thing now" sure some people will see it and buy (maybe they have an issue at that exact moment that that product addresses or maybe they just have shit impulse control) but ads that are focused on being burnt into long term memory I think work on everyone.

 

[MarieElise]

I thought a lot of the same things as Marty when I considered this (before I read his response) I think it’s a difficult question, because I don’t believe we are all really truly fully aware of how ads affect us 100 percent.

Re: I always chose a Pepsi over a coke. It tastes better. And I’m cool too coke did pull me in with some bizarre limited edition flavors, which I felt were very oddly described the other year there though.

Re coupons: I love grocery store ads. The coupons and sales always give me ideas. I’m a total sucker for those. They will get me going to one store over another, even if they spam the fuck out of me. And once store A pulls me in to some kind of loyalty program, games over, I’m usually sucked in forever. I get spammed the fuck out of a ton , and it does eventually work on me. Even if it annoys me for a second, short term. And even if I think “Uugh that’s annoying, fuck them, I’m going to avoid them now”. That feeling / thought to avoid never lasts long term.

I’m a sucker for limited offers and short term sales too. So much dopamine

 

[Hiunds]

I think we don't actually realize how much ads work with us and most of us want to believe we are "too smart for that"

One area it definitely works is if it is a product or service I don't need often. For example, there is a local company that specializes in house foundation repair. They bombard local tv and radio with their ads so when I go in my basement and see a crack my first thought will be "I need to give <COMPANY NAME> a call" because it is the only company I now know who does it - never mind they are the most expensive and about the same quality as other companies in the area that do the work. Same if I suddenly need an athlete's foot spray. I never buy it but when I do I will first look for the brand I am aware of and that frames my choice

Same with new products - if I see a great looking sandwich or flavor of ice cream in a commercial I am likely to try it if I am hungry. Then if I get hooked I am a regular customer of the product

Marti mentioned product placement. Most companies have very specific standards for how their products are used. For example, Apple will mot allow iPhones to be used by villains. This actually spoiled a movie where the revelation of the villain was a twist but some viewers noted he was the only character using something other than an iPhone (I can tell you the movie via PM if you want, just trying not to spoil it for those who have not seen it lol)

Another very effective way ads affect me is if I am already predisposed to like something it dials my interest up to 11. For example, if I see trailers of a movie by one of my favorite directors or actors (or a new installment in a franchise I like) I mark the release date and make a point of seeing it as soon as I can. And if I see it early I am the type who will see a movie in the theaters several times if it is one that benefits from the big screen experience

 

[Maxi]

I used to love adverts when I was a kid - I even follow some Instagram feeds that play 90s ads nostalgia! They seemed so fun and memorable (obviously aimed at kids to pester their parents).

Nowadays I just find them annoying, especially on social media. I spend half my time deleting them so I never see them ever again.

Only touching on a couple of media spaces there, mind.

 

[Maxi]

I was thinking about my above reply and realised that Meta (or whoever) are essentially profiting from annoying me, which sucks.

I also subscribe to Sky/cable which costs £X and they STILL show annoying advertisements.

I also realise I’m turning into my father

 

[Lilly_____]

I’m a sucker for limited offers and short term sales too. So much dopamine

That really works for me when it's clothes, shoes or other superfluous items that I don't really need. Not so much for groceries or house supplies.

 

[MarieElise]

That really works for me when it's clothes, shoes or other superfluous items that I don't really need. Not so much for groceries or house supplies.

Oh don’t get me wrong those ads work on me too. They all work on me. I have a huge weakness for clothes and shoes too. In addition to the groceries and household items. I just feel more ashamed admitting that publicaly, than I do about the household items hehe. I have it all under a lot better control than I did in the past though.

Hey some of us have to support the economy here, right? (That’s what I always tell myself )

 

[Wuggie]

for me they really do not work greatly.. but it depends heavily on the product

Lets say it's for a movie in cinemas.. if it's a movie that I have planned to go watch, and I see a poster for it, I will go buy the ticket pretty faster after seeing it, because I were going to anyways..

also with Tech, if I want something new, I have put my mind on it.. and I do a lot of research, if a GOOD advert then comes, where the quality is good and the price is right, I will lean towards that, but NEVER if I have not already decided, this is the tech I need, this also counts for kitchen gadgets and so on..

Clothes etc, NEVER work, I go buy my clothes whenever I feel like I need new things.. simple as that

Food is probably the one that works best on me.. if I see an advert for anything food related.. and especially if I'm with friends and we're eating out anyways. we tend to go anywhere where we have seen an advert for, because it becomes a topic of dicussion then.. HOWEVER, some also can be different.. lets say we see an advert for company A.. then we talk about Company A.. but if someone had just gotten it or we have someone with us that do not like that company.. we will start talking about Company B, which is often their biggest competitor, and maybe end up going there..

 

[KingMarti]

once store pulls me in to some kind of loyalty program, games over, I’m usually sucked in forever.

tried this on my mv, more you spend this week the bigger the discount you get for the following week. Idea was that it would incentivize people to keep buying.

so it would be like spend $20 in a week get 10% off the following week or spend $50, get 25% off the following week. the catch was to keep the discount running you had to make a purchase every week, which some of them were doing most weeks anyway.

turns out my customers don't care about price so that didn't work out so well. I'll send out discount codes and stuff to people that buy videos and they never get used they always just pay full price ... maybe they don't check their mv messages (this is why you should check your messages, you never know what you'll find)


ETA:

I think we'll done sponsorships work better than ads for some types of products. For example there's a guy on YouTube (Mr build it) who got sponsored by Ryobi (which as far as I have seen is a more budget brand of tools that I have seen a lot of other channels shit on saying they are cheap for a reason). His new project is renovating and entire abandoned house using mainly their tools because that's what he has from the sponsorship, something like that I find is more likely to get my to buy their band over a "higher quality" brand mainly because it shows that they are capable of doing what they need to do.

 

[Maxi]

Clothes etc, NEVER work, I go buy my clothes whenever I feel like I need new things.. simple as that

That’s fair.

After lockdown I think I ended up at ‘lockdown boredom artist printed t-shirt online purchase #48’. Purely off following them on social media.

Got a cool collection now, though.

 

[inertvolcano]

Only fast food ads. Show me whatever new ridiculous mixture of meat and cheese is being sold at Taco Bell and I have to have one.

 

[AmberCutie]

Food and some beauty products work on me.

There's not a day that goes by I don't have the Burger King song in my head. I think about it often enough that I end up craving it and cave in at least once a month.

 

[Vixxen81]

Chick-fil-a got me the other day. I hadn't had fast food in three years but damn it that chicken sandwich looked divine.

Charmin will never get a dime from me (even though they actually do because it's SC Johnson and they own everyfreakingthing). Those stupid ass wiping bears annoy me to no end.

Other than that, most of the ads I'm subjected to is for stuff I'm not interested in and could probably figure out on my own.

Coupons. I clip for what I would already be buying and have saved over $4000 this year by using two stores against each other. Today, I saved $19.29 because of coupons and sales. Spent $29 instead of $48. It scratches my itch for bookkeeping and financial wizardry.

I also do cash back deals through my bank. Got $1.20 cash back just for washing my car at an automated car wash.

 

[Ozzie_]

It is hard to say for me. I am not exposed to that many ads as such. Most of my TV viewing is via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission -- our equivalent of the BBC, so no adverts) if I watch "commercial" TV it is recorded so I fast forward past the ads. Likewise my subscription TV (Foxtel down here) . Online I have an ad-blocker for websites, on youtube I just zone-out until I can skip the ads.

I am "affected" by weekly sales catalogues (or weekly specials for their rewards members) for my local supermarkets, but that is just financial sense. It is not buying stuff I do not need, just choosing the vast majority of my groceries each week from what is "on sale".

As for product placement in TV or movies, I am aware of it but it makes no difference to me, especially if it is something like the aforementioned Ben & Jerry's; an ice cream that is so expensive down here it might as well be so much liquid (and frozen) gold.

Of course as was said by a couple of posters, if there are ads for some service or product that is rarely needed, but when the need does arise, naturally my mind will be most likely to turn to some- one/thing that I have seen ads for as first port of call.