Do (EDIT: Internet) advertisements work?

[Genocidicles]

If anything ads usually make me hate the product in question, and I try to get by without it.

If it's something I desperately need, then I just buy the competing brand, or if their ad pissed me off too then I just get the value stuff.

No one tells me what to buy.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Ads work on me but only in the sense that they make me aware of something I want.
I don't care how they portray a product, if I want it, I'm getting it.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I tend to avoid things if I dislike their advert... and if you saw my reaction to lots of adverts, you'd know that was alot. I do however like adverts for games/films/TV series that I am looking forward to anyway, as it definately raises my hype.
Captcha was 'hard lines' and it didn't let me get away with '-----' ?

 

[Altorin]

If it didn't work, then it wouldn't be so valuable. It's RIDICULOUSLY valuable, like, youtube's almost constant streaming of HD video is subsidized by advertising, and video hosting and streaming of that caliber and magnitude is not cheap at all. But they still pay out their big names because the money coming in from advertisers is so big.

It works, but it doesn't work in the way that you think. Very few advertisements will effect an actual sale on any one person, but when you multiply that tiny number by millions or billions of people, and suddenly that number spikes up. It also keeps your brand relevant. People are more likely, when given two options - the one they've heard about vs the one they haven't - they're more likely to take the first, and that's what advertising does. And it's really valuable. our eyeballs and monkey brains are worth a fortune to these people.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Do they work on me?
No, because I generally don't like the product and/or the means of advertisement, i.e usually a pop song, scantily clad woman or both.

Do they work in general?

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.

This.

 

[irmasterlol]

It's not the 1950s anymore. Marketers and advertisers aren't trying to sell one product to absolutely everyone anymore. Some cash cows like P&G's Tide detergent make ridiculous amounts of money, even though they're barely advertized, because everyone already knows about it and it's what their mom used.

No one is telling anyone to buy things. In fact, I can't think of a single commercial on the air today that tells viewers to buy their product or service. Instead, they're intended to either describe the product and what it does or, if it's already well-known, remind everyone that it exists and then add something amusing like a talking dog or some shit. Someone mentioned trash bags, and that's a good point. I can't think of any brand except Glad because they're the only company for which I've seen ads.

EDIT: Also I'm laughing to myself at all you scrubs who think you're above the system.

 

[DeltaEdge]

I'd say they definitely have affected me in the subtle ways mentioned in the thread, however, due to ad-block and the fact that I no longer watch television, it is very rare that I ever encounter an ad anymore. It would be very jarring for me if I were to see a Youtube ad and I would probably have no idea what the hell is going on and then eat some cinnamon toast crunch and marry a dolphin, in Haiti.

 

[DoPo]

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?

Convinced me, personally...I'm not entirely sure. I do go for the cheapest thing in stores or otherwise things I personally know of (have seen/used at some other time). Also, I don't even have a TV or a radio, so I don't get most commercials at all. I have, however, bought Coca Cola but not by my choice (I don't really like it as much as other drinks) but because a friend said to pick a bottle up and come by and similar. So in a way, yeah, that's me being affected by ads.

However, I wanted to do a case study about how exactly ads do work directly. And let's pick up an extreme example of ads - spam. No, not the spambots that swing by the forums - they are actually not trying to sell you anything (directly anyway), so let's exclude them. Just normal boring spam you get for, say, viagra, rolexes, online pharmacies, etc.

Pretty much everybody and their dog knows about stuff. It's computers 101 - knowledge of spam comes just after "how to mouse" and "how to keyboard". Reaction to spam is overwhelmingly negative, too. All in all, it seems that spam...doesn't justify it's own existence here - people are aware of it and try to stay away.

So why is it that we get more spam? Yeah, the actual spam distribution costs very, very little - close enough to zero, in fact, but why send it still? Because it does make a profit. There are people who are opening those emails and clicking those links. There is a sucker born every moment and all of them use emails. Spammers can easily get from few hundred to few thousand dollars per month from people falling for spam alone (there are other revenues to be made - as an example, a spammer can be paid by a company to try to sell their product). Sure, it's not as much money as taking even a part time job might yield, but it takes very little effort and you can still do that part time job, if you wish.

So, extremely unlikely and downright obnoxious ads, in the face of spam, can and do get people to fall from them. They work. Work well enough to justify their existence and well enough for some spammers to be able to live off them. Now imagine how well the other ads would do, given that people are not inherently opposing them and they actually get way more exposure.

 

[lechat]

i'm not much of a consumer and apart from movie trailers that key me into movies that i would eventually find out about i'd say the only ads that get me to buy stuff are fast food ads and that is only when there is a product that i like that i can not get every day (like when hot and spicy is promoted for KFC)

capcha: sausages
brb need to buy some sausages

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Only on the weak minded.

"This is the product you're looking for."

 

[Zhukov]

Yes.

The primary purpose of an advertisement is not to make someone jump up and buy the product. (Although of course a promoter would cream their pants if they found a way to actually do that.)

Rather, the primary purpose is to say, "THIS PRODUCT EXISTS!".

If you remember seeing an ad and you remember what that ad was advertising then that ad worked.

 

[Anatoli Ossai]

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.

Sometimes I wonder about the nature of these posts. Companies spend billions and commit entire wings and CEO executives towards making sure you buy their products. People go to College just to learn marketing and you aren't sure if it works?! Come on.....

You don't have a single brand name piece of clothing? kitchen utensil? Choosing one grocery store over the other? Choice in college, car you drive? You think marketing is just TV ads and billboards? Its word of mouth, seeing friends rocking labels, a car on the street, a logo on a shopping bag, where your idols live, where monuments are located etc. The only way immunize yourself from it is to remove yourself from society.

Besides, whether you buy the product or not is about economics, perhaps you're too poor or it's not your taste but that's immaterial. The point is you know about the product and as far as the advertisers are concerned they succeeded

Marketing works.....and that's why it works on you

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

You don't have a single brand name piece of clothing?

98% of the time the only branding on my clothing is a label on the inside, with the logo of the store I bought it from. I don't buy clothes for labels.

kitchen utensil?

I don't think I know of any kitchen utensil brands so I'm pretty certain none of mine are branded.

Choosing one grocery store over the other?

I choose which stores I buy from based on convenience. I do almost all of my shopping from the places closest to me, advertising has nothing to do with this.

Choice in college, car you drive?

I picked which University to attend based upon convenience. There are 3 good Universities in my city, I didn't want to move away from home. Nothing to do with advertising.
Also I don't own a car but seeing as it's literally impossible to buy an unbranded car I think that one is a little unfair. However before you tell me I want a Ferrari because of advertising my choice of car would be based on cost to purchase, run and insure the thing.

You think marketing is just TV ads and billboards?

When did I say that?

Personally I don't think you exactly know how marketing works.....and that's why it works on you

I'm aware of brand recognition... but that doesn't mean it particularly effects my purchasing habits all that much.

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

That's partially why i made this topic. I don't believe the ads that play in the media industry actually work. Right now as i'm typing there's an ad for a chain of hotels i'm never going to stay in and one for something that i can only imagine is yoga. I appreciate that The Escapist needs their ad revenue to stay in business but imo these companies are wasting their money here.

 

[Jason Rayes]

capcha: sausages
brb need to buy some sausages

Quoted because I thought it was funny

OT: I generally only pay attention to ads about things I did not know about yet. With other things, lets pluck one at random, Coca Cola ads for example. I already know the product, indeed I don't imagine there is anyone who DOESN'T know the product, the ad isn't going to make me buy it. If someone is showing me an ad for something I already am well aware of, even if the ad is clever and cute, sorry but its wasted advertising. That said Id kinda like to see a KFC ad where an undead Colonel comes to try and eat the brains of those who don't eat his chicken. Its a product I'm aware of, but zombie Colonel Sanders eating peoples brains is awesome. 11 secret glands and tissues.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

They sort of work as while I do remember the product, I add a little note with that memory to never buy it.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I've either purchased, or forwarded links to friends who then purchased, several t-shirts that I discovered through banner ads. I've found new webcomics through ads on other comics. I get ads for Disney World vacations every spring, and ended up booking on via their deal a few years ago. So yeah, they do work sometimes.

 

[Blackdoom]

Dunno I haven't seen an ad on the internet in maybe 2 years.

 

[Mid Boss]

hell, over 80% of people will even "blindly" follow an instruction to kill someone in the right circumstances.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment )

Only if they view the person giving the instruction as a person of authority. We are pack animals so there is that ingrained compulsion to follow authority. The Milgram Experiment would only apply if we saw commercials as authoritative figures. If we do, that would be interesting. Let me know what your thoughts on this are.

I, personally, don't view them as authority. I view them as more of a waste of money than anything because that product is going to be more expensive now than its competitors because the cost of that advertising is now added to the product cost. A Ritz cracker commercial can effectively wet my appetite for a Ritz cracker but what I actually buy is the generic version sitting next to it on the shelf that costs a dollar less. :\

I own a small home business. Home made crafts, buttons, hats etc. I've tried advertising and found I can easily spend more on advertising in a month than I make off of sales. I went into it thinking more advertising means more sales. That was not the case at all. I could have 500 hundred people visit my shop in a day because of my ads and not make a single sale.

What IS effective is word of mouth. Someone mentioning something I make on a forum nets me far more sales than the 30 dollars I spent on ads. Particularly in geek circles.

Here we go back to the Milgram Experiment and the compulsion to follow an authoritative figure. But this person posting on the forum isn't viewed as an authoritative figure. Why would them talking about it sway people? Ah, but they DO have authority.

Hang in there, this gets a bit complicated.

People who embrace a fandom gain something called Cultural Capital in that fandom. You gain this by proving you are as much of a fan or more as everyone else through the things you say, the style you wear, and the things you own. Someone who claims to be in the fandom, but has no cultural capital, are deemed as fake or mocking. This is why people hate hipsters, wannabes, and the "fake fan girls". They claim to be part of a fandom with no cultural capital and we instinctively react negatively to that.

Cultural Capital gives you status among that fandom and status is closely linked to authority. This is why one rabid fan of a tv show mentioning on a forum my button with a quote from that show can get me far more sales than fifty dollars spent on web page advertisements.

This form of advertisement isn't something you can buy though. If the person mentioning it is caught in some way getting something OUT of mentioning it they lose cultural capital and the status that came with it. We call this Selling Out.

So, while my ads do not get me any sales directly, they do get people talking about the things I make. One person with cultural capital mentioning something I make makes the money I spent on the advertising worth it. But it is a hit or miss thing. Luck. I could spend a lot of money on ads and not get one of those influential fans to say anything or it could happen repeatedly.

Celebrities have cultural capital. That's why you often see them in commercials but often when their careers are on the down slope because they're trading in their cultural capital for money. If Nathan Fillion suddenly couldn't get work anywhere he could use his cultural capital to plug Xbox 720. He'd make a lot of money, but he'd be labeled a sell out and lose a lot of cultural capital.

 

[T3hSource]

They barely work on me,because my region hasn't been researched well by marketers so they don't know what to advertise to us,"prize",betting advertisements are mostly what I get,but even if they're not scams I don't believe "free" money exists.There are also the MMO game advertisements,but I'm not looking for an MMO,LoL is enough of a "MMO" game for me.
Yes,Bulgaria is the poorest country in the entire European Union,so are the rest of the Balkans,even Greece has a serious economic crisis.However we are only poor compared to the others,but most people take care of themselves easily,because our markets are the cheapest in entire EU too so it balances out.But advertisements outside of Bulgarian can barely attract my attention,that is if I get any in the first place,I don't have adblock,but I barely get one ad on the Escapist and YouTube.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

Adblock will change your life. Haven't seen an internet ad in almost a year.