Dull TV ads cost billions in wasted spend for US brands

Dull TV advertising could have substantial costs for US brands, adding up to billions of dollars in extra TV ad spend that is needed to achieve the desired results, according to a study.

Television spots which are dull, and fail to obtain an emotional response from viewers, would require $228bn in extra spending from US advertisers to generate the market share growth delivered by the most impactful ads.

Such an insight emerged from an international research project led by creative measurement firm System1, strategic consultancy eatbigfish, and marketing effectiveness guru Peter Field.

And the latest installment of this work-in-progress study drew on the emotional reactions – that is, contempt, disgust, anger, fear, sadness, neutrality, happiness and surprise – of American consumers to 57,000 TV ads run in the US since 2017.

“It ranges...

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