Does Advertising Really Work Like That?
 

Someone mentioned in a thread that, since a poster had talked (negatively) about a couple of advertisements, then the very fact he was talking about the ads meant they "worked". Is this really the case or is this a myth foisted upon companies to get them to spend advertising dollars?

For example: Thirty five years ago, I really appreciated the ads for Tasters Choice. They were witty and serialized.
Maybe someone bought Tasters Choice, but I never did.
These days, I don't watch TV, I read a small local paper and tend not to notice ads on web sites.
What are businesses paying for?
Do sales really jump when an employer pays millions for a spot during the Superbowl?
Have you seen an ad and thought, "Yeah! I gotta have that."?
Maybe if folks are indeed influenced by 'word of mouth' the whole point is to start the conversation. It just doesn't seem to push my buttons.

Best
Les

I guess I'm a lemming.....I can't pass a Sonic without stopping in to get something, merely because those dudes in their commercials are hilarious.

Mindshare.

You may not have a need for the advertised item every time you are exposed to it but when you do find a need for a product in a particular category you're more likely to recall the one you've heard about most often.

This is some of it.

Some companies look for a long time strategy like this. Some are in for the quick hit. Dspends on their model.

I will sit on the couch with the Mrs and she'll pick up on many of the ads.l. I can ignore most of them to the point something that was on 100 times during one broadcast (like a race) I will not have seen it . On the 101st arising I will spot it. Others cut right through the clutter and get right to me to where I actively watch it and I'll miss the other 5 in the break. I don't know how that works. I wish I could unlock the formula.

On a national scale there is no such thing as bad publicity.

What they're paying for is the potential number of eyes they can get on their ad. That's why marketing firms are absolutely in love with social media. The number of possible eyes that might be exposed to a product or service has skyrocketed since people are now looking at their phones 100 times a day.
Then there's the mindshare thing that stomachmonkey mentioned. If someday you wind up with a car that you'd like to donate, you'll find yourself calling Kars4Kids and won't even realize why. ♫"One eight seven seven kars 4 kids..."♪

Banksy on advertising - The Fox Is Black
"...
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs."

– Banksy

they are looking for numbers, pure and simple. While you may not buy anything, lots of people do.

Think of it this way, if 10 million people see an ad on a major website and only 1% of those people actually buy something spending an average of $5, that's still over $500,000...now think of youtube videos that get 300, 400, 500+ million views.

This makes for some amazing reading: "I'm feeling lucky" button costs Google $110 million per year

Advertising psychology:
You are looking for a product that does X.
You go to the store and see twenty different brands on the shelf but, one of them you recognize the name from a commercial.
You are more likely to buy the product your recognize because being familiar with the name eases the fear of picking an unknown that could be inferior.

"There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary" -Brendan Behan

For those that are old enough:
"Wouldn't you really rather have a ______"
"Baseball, apple pie, and ______"
"I'd walk a mile for a ______"
"Its the real thing"

Newer:
"15 minutes could save you 15% or more on ____"
"Hi, I'm Rob Lowe....Don't be like that Rob Lowe; call _____"

YouTube's highest paid star is a mysterious woman who unwraps Disney toys. For real.
The next sentence you’re about to read is completely true, even though you might not believe it. There’s a woman who made $4.9 MILLION dollars last year by recording herself opening Disney toys, and then uploading the videos to YouTube.

When I was a kid we didn't have much money in an affluent area. All the kids had the name brand stuff...I didn't. Name brands mean a lot.more to me than they should for often an identical product.

Absolutely everytime an add comes up on a YouTube video that I am trying to watch, I ignore it or "skip" it. I am really proud to say that no one has ever "sold" me anything in my life. I may choose to buy something but usually after alot of research on my part. High pressure sales tactics turn me off so much I have walked out of car dealerships and other commission driven stores,

I think the only time advertising does anything for me is when I learn about a new product I didn't know exsists. I am not one of those people who are open to suggestion and I walk into a store knowing what I need and don't shop/browse.

The OP’s statement may (?) have referred to a thread in which I made fun of a couple of ads that have run or are currently running.

“An Army of One.” Was most certainly directed at the young man or woman, raised on first-person video shoot-em-up games, who imagines themselves going off to war and destroying the enemy and becoming a HERO ...all by themselves. Heady stuff that. My counterpoint was intended to point out that the military is most certainly not an “individual” endeavor.

“Navy. It’s Not Just A Job, It’s An Adventure” “Let The Journey Begin” “America’s Navy – A global force for good,”

“Aim High” “A great way of life.” “We do the impossible everyday.”

”We’re looking for a few good men.” “The few, the proud, the Marines"

Of course these ads all work. Each of them will push someone’s “ hot-button.”
__________________

The “Imported from Detroit” ad is most interesting - in that it concedes what most car people have known for decades; the US auto makers had lost their way. The American public voted with their wallets and the demand for imported cars sky-rocketed. (Say kids, can you spell BAILOUTS?)

* Or perhaps they are subconsciously telling us that Detroit is now a third-world country. :p

Certain ads will only make me never want to buy that product, due to the fact that they are so stupid and annoying. Or even worse, overrun.

.

I always shrug when I get the amazon-ads on different webpages. Some time ago I bought an item from amazon, not directed there by an ad.
Now I get adverts about that item everywhere!
Hello? I already bought it!

Does not work very well!

Answers
 

SmileWavy

We have a local GM dealer that touts in EVERY ad they are ALL AMERICAN. Especially nauseating back when the economy was tanking. Their tagline is "come see us at the All American corner".

The husband of the team was Mayor of Flint for a couple of years. Wife's name is on the dealership.

Their ads struck me negatively which is why I won't ever shop there. They are marketing to the UAW crowd that still exists somewhat in the area. It isn't like it used to be, though. From what I have seen, not many give a crud about it.

Another large dealer carries all GM brands PLUS all imports except for exotic and luxury brands. I have shopped there and would purchase a vehicle.

You guys that don't live in/near a GM/Ford/Chrysler town probably don't get the same type of messaging. I am not swayed by marketing except in this case and I choose to spend my money elsewhere.

Advertising: I never had a Rolex, or hardly ever saw one, but I sure want one.

Advertising can serve multiple purposes, depending upon the company's goal. Brand awareness, product positioning (i.e. Rolex as a sign of status), problem solving (laundry detergent that removes stains better than brand B), or even solving a problem you never realized you had. I think the OP is asking about the awareness piece.

In short, yes annoying ads work. While I'm hard pressed for an example, I have had more than one instance where I needed a product/service and the annoying ad popped into my mind. Job done for the advertiser. However, there is a threshold for annoyance and saturation for some, including myself. When I need something and the over saturated annoying ad oops into mind, I'll search for competitors of the advertising company.

We could talk forever about product positioning. My personal fav is the Ford campaign to fight their reputation for poor quality in the late 70's early 80's. My fellow old guys will remember it. The best part is that, in reading a few books on the auto biz about that time, the only work done on quality by Ford, at the time, was the ad campaign!