Survey: Just 11% Of Adults Rate Ad Pros As 'Honest'

When it comes to rating the honest and ethical standards of people in various professions, American adults rate medical professionals highly. But advertising practitioners? That’s a different story. In fact, just 11% of adults rate advertising professionals highly for their honesty and ethics, according to Gallup’s latest research on this topic.

By contrast, almost 4 times more respondents to this year’s survey said they would rate advertising practitioners’ honesty and ethical standards as low or very low (40%).

These figures simply aren’t changing, either. In both 2015 and 2014, 10% rated advertising professionals highly, while in 2013 the figure was a little higher – at 14%. That was the joint highest rating recorded going back as far as 2001.

To put these numbers in context, the only professions that American adults have a dimmer view of – with regards to ethics and honesty – are insurance salespeople, car salespeople, and members of Congress.

The public’s lack of trust isn’t only limited to advertising professionals – it’s for the entire sector, too. Earlier this year, Gallup found that adults are as likely to hold a negative (35%) as positive (35%) view of the advertising & PR industry. The resulting net rating of 0 was the 6th-worst of 25 industries measured.

Lack of trust could logically dampen the effectiveness of marketing and advertising messaging, but recent and ongoing probes into agency practices seem unlikely to result in a positive direction for the public’s view of the industry.

More Americans Rate Journalists' Standards as "Low" or "Very Low"

The 23% who rated journalists' honesty and ethical standards as "high" or "very high" this month is within a few points of the 20% who rated it "high" or "very high" in 1994. The percentage saying their honesty and ethical standards were "low" or "very low" climbed to 41%, 10 percentage points above the previous high of 31% measured in 2008 and 2009. In previous polls, more Americans rated journalists' standards as "average."

Twenty-one percent of Democrats rated journalists' honesty and ethical standards as "low" or "very low," compared with 63% of Republicans.