Busting the wear-out myth

Jon Evans

The idea of ‘wear-out’ – that a given ad will inevitably become less effective as people get used to it – is a deeply rooted one in the industry, but recent research sheds a brighter light on the impact that aging has on advertising.

Of all the pieces of advice a marketer can get, “Do nothing” is one of the hardest to take. The human instinct to experiment, innovate and change runs strongly through the industry. We tell ourselves stories about the risk takers, not the cautious.

Mostly, it’s an instinct that serves us well. Sometimes it causes problems. One of them is the prevailing attitude to advertising and its lifespan. The idea of ‘wear-out’ – that a given ad will inevitably become less effective as people get used to it – is a deeply rooted one in the industry. How else to explain...

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