Study: Ads Should Tell Consumers About Products

With the digital ad industry poised to discuss -- and debate -- changing consumer sentiment about the role of advertising in their lives, new research from GWI (formerly Global Web Index) finds a plurality of Americans simply want ads to tell them about the products they are promoting, reports Mediapost.

Asked what they "most want" from ads, half of all U.S. internet users surveyed by GWI this month simply said "product information."

That is a significantly higher percentage than those (40%) who said they are looking for ads that provide them with product discounts and special offers -- something new research from another study being released today by the Internet Advertising Bureau says is part of a new "value exchange" that consumers are expecting from advertising (see related story).

Nearly as many respondents said they are simply looking for ads to entertain them (39%), teach them something new (33%), be relevant (29%) or make them laugh (29%).

Lower down the spectrum of responses were higher-order attributes such as having ads that targeted consumers personally (18%), promote diversity (16%), raise awareness of societal or environmental issues (16%) or focused on responses to the COVID-19 crisis (12%), suggesting that most Americans simply want ads that perform their most classic functions: to inform, entertain, educate, be relevant, or make them laugh.

On the flip side, when asked what the most negative possible attributes of advertising are, most consumers cited seeing too many ads, seeing ads too frequently (52%), followed by ads that impede access to content (39%), ads that are not relevant to consumers (37%), ads adjacent to inappropriate content (32%), ads that appear to be "following" consumers (29%), and adds that seem "too targeted" (20%).