Do (EDIT: Internet) advertisements work?

[Ilikemilkshake]

EDIT: Apparently the original post didn't really convey what I really wanted to ask so before anyone else smugly decides that I'm a clueless consumer zombie who buys what the tv tells me to because I'm gullible and don't understand the mystic ways of brand recognition, well let me say that that couldn't be more wrong.

Lets use this site as an example. Right now on this page I'm viewing an ad for Onken fat free yoghurt's and ClearAccount money management tool. Yes I am now aware of these two brands so it's money well spent then? Well no, I will never purchase either of these things. I will never pass on word of mouth to my friends. I will never buy a shirt with their logo.

So why exactly did The Escapist get paid to deliver these ads to me while I post on their forums? THAT is what I'm questioning.

Lets limit this to just ads on the internet like here on The Escapist. I can not think of ONE singular example of a time an advert on a website, be it a banner ad or a video ad or anything like that which influenced me to purchase something. Can you really tell me that these work?

Original post:I see adverts all the time. When I'm watching TV, When I'm outside there are billboards and even right now there are advert banners surrounding this post, it seems like everything is covered in ads.

And yet I'm struggling to think of the last time I actually bought something directly because an Ad made me want it.

Now for some things like movies and games, trailers count as advertising but quite often I already knew about those before I saw the trailer because I keep up with sites like this where they're talked about a lot. Quite often trailers make me LESS likely to be interested in a game or movie because of the way they're marketed.

I get that advertising is absolutely vital for smaller brands to get recognition but then you have companies like Coke and Mcdonalds who spent millions upon millions every year when everyone knows they exist.

So really what I'm asking is when was the last time an advert convinced you to part with your cash and do you feel that advertising actually works for you?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Here's one that actually worked on me, and got a fair chunk of change for its trouble: Raven guitar amps. I saw an ad in a Guitar Center ad, and it sounded interesting. I now knew of an amp that, at least on the surface, ticked every box for what I was looking for (mid-sized combo, loud enough to gig with but controllable enough to practice with, inexpensive, good cleans, decent distortion, warm tone), but importantly, it wasn't the ad itself that convinced me. The ad just let me know to keep my eye out for it when I went to buy an amp. What convinced me was how much better it sounded than anything else in the price range. I could find a better amp, but not for less than half again what it cost me. If I hadn't seen the ad, I very well might have walked right past it and only looked at the offerings from companies like Roland, Line 6, Peavey[footnote]Which, actually, if my budget had been a bit higher, I probably still would have gone with a Peavey Bandit. That is a nice sounding amp for a solid state combo. None of the other brands had anything better in that area, though. Except Roland, whose low end amps are the most expensive of the lot.[/footnote], and Marshall. Well established brands that have a huge reputation for their low (and in some cases, high) end amps among guitarists.

So that's what advertising mainly does: it increases brand awareness. Even with Coke and Pepsi, I'm pretty sure, say, RC cola would be the leader if taste were all that mattered. But a lot less people know about it than the big two, even though they're all big, old, and well known brands. Same thing with beer -- Budweiser is a terrible beer, it absolutely sucks. But it sells incredibly well, because people know about it, and they know what to expect when they buy a bottle. That's what advertising does for a company.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well, as a rule, if you knew you were being influenced by advertising, you'd resist it.

IIRC, one of the things they do is promote brand name awareness. People are more likely to buy from a familiar brand they know about than something they've never seen before.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

1. Ads don't usually make you want to run out and immediately buy a product. They work in much more subtle ways (such as giving brand recognition).

2. If ads didn't work, companies wouldn't spend millions of dollars on them. Businesses, believe it or not, really aren't that stupid.

 

[Tayh]

I know the idea behind advertisements, so I usually end up hating the product, or the company behind it, for no other reason than because the idea of advertising annoys me.
Also because they appeal to the gullible and sheep-following part of the human mind.

I guess it works, though.
Just look at apple and mcdonalds.

 

[Vegosiux]

Do advertisements work?

Unfortunately, they do. They make people aware of the product, no matter whether the product is actually good. If I had a cent for every time I heard "I'm not sure I actually need this, but it's 50% off" I'd be a very rich man.

Me, I'm old-fashioned like that...if I was supreme overlord, I'd ban all advertising save for word of mouth - if your produce/service is good, word of mouth will get the advertising done for you.

 

[MysticToast]

Eh... they might for a lot of people. But most ads do nothing but serve to piss me off and if I see an ad I really dislike, I make it a point to avoid that product.

I'm petty like that.

 

[Jack Rascal]

They do work, both ways, at least for me. If I see an ad that really annoys me, I make a decision to not buy the product. If the ad is funny I almost feel like I must buy the product to congratulate the creators for it.

I really am not a friend of ads and I never understood why huge companies have to advertise so often. Like the example of OP, McDonalds. I see ads daily for one burger or another. Why? I'm fully aware of them and if I feel like having a burger, I might actually pop in. Brand recognition is hardly the case here.

I wish it was mandatory for ads to be funny...

 

[FamoFunk]

1. Ads don't usually make you want to run out and immediately buy a product. They work in much more subtle ways (such as giving brand recognition).

2. If ads didn't work, companies wouldn't spend millions of dollars on them. Businesses, believe it or not, really aren't that stupid.

Agreed. I'd like to say they don't work on me, but, they have and without me knowing.

I think supermarket ones work the best on me, if they advertise a deal on something I actually need I'll go and buy that and end up buying more crap while there. Supermarket wins.

 

[thesilentman]

Like many people say, it works, but not in the way that most people are used to. I personally reserve judgement on a product until I use it, so advertising gets the word out for me to do a little research.

 

[Corven]

if someone didn't think they worked then there wouldn't be such a dependency on ad revenue in the media industry.

 

[Xariat]

They actually do, though not only in the way one might think.

There's a reason why big companies spend millions upon millions on ads; Branding. Companies makes sure that you see their logo and their product as often as humanly possible, at all times, everywhere. It's works really subtly and you probably don't think about it at all.

Let's say for example that you're in a 7/11, you're thirsty, and that you don't really care what you drink. I am willing to bet that, unless you don't like coca cola, or, you have an urge to drink something else, you will buy a coca cola. You know cola, it is safe, it is everywhere, you know that it does the trick. Cola is branded, it is branded really fucking well.

Now I'm not saying that all ads and branding work for every product for every single human. but I am saying that it's a real thing with a very real effect. And even though the ads are glaringly obvious, the effect is far, far, more subtle.

 

[AnarchistFish]

And yet I'm struggling to think of the last time I actually bought something directly because an Ad made me want it.

This is the thing. Directly, I don't think it does work that much (although it probably does more than you think), but when you're bombarded with this imagery, these logos and slogans all the time, they stick in your subconscious, you become more and more aware of them. So when you need something in that area or you pass something you've seen elsewhere in a shop, you're more likely to be drawn to it and buy it.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Advertising was probably directly more effective when it was less prevalent. Now advertising is a necessity because without it you lose brand-name recognition. In other words, people need to be periodically remind that your product exists. So advertising may be less about getting an edge and more about staying on par with everyone else.

 

[Another]

It works subtly most of the time. Although I personally I have been directly influenced on occasion. Mostly in regards to food or restaurants, especially new ones that are opening locally.

Game wise? I know trailers effect me. I had only a passing interest in Metal Gear Rising until saw the Metal Gear Ray game play trailer, now I want it so bad.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Depends really.

The last an advertisement work on me was the last two FKC limited meals like the Nacho stacker and the Galdiator box meals. They simply look appealing to me and wanted to try them out however the newest limited meal does not appeal to me at all(it's likea chicken wrap) which I guess is more of what sort of food appeal to me.