The advertising industry has conducted many studies on the effectiveness of TV ads. The conclusions reveal that TV advertising is an effective means of promoting a product, albeit a somewhat expensive one. The research also has found that one of TV’s attributes – repetition (or “frequency” as people in the trade call it) – is effective – but effective only to a point.
When a TV ad runs too often, it crosses from being effective to becoming an annoying negative. From then on, constant repetition of the ad can produce the opposite effect of what the sponsor intended – frequently causing viewers to shun the product. You probably can name a few commercials that drove you nuts and caused you to promise never to buy the product again.
The rest of this content is only available in our print edition.
Subscribe or locate a newsstand.
