Over One-Third of Americans Will Not Purchase a Brand Because of a Distasteful Advertisement

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--There are many different reasons someone may or may not purchase something. One reason may be the advertisements for a certain brand. Over one-third of Americans (35%) say that they have chosen not to purchase a certain brand because they find the ads distasteful and an additional 22% say they not done this, but have thought of doing so. More than two in five Americans (43%) say they have never done this.

“Have you ever chosen not to purchase a certain brand because of any of the following reasons?”

These are some of the findings of a new Adweek Media/ Harris Poll®, survey of 2,194 U.S. adults surveyed online between February 2 and 4, 2010 by Harris Interactive^®.

Over one quarter of Americans (28%) say they have chosen to not purchase a brand because they did not like the spokesperson it used, while 22% say they have not done so, but thought of doing it and half (50%) they have never done so. While over half (52%) say they have not done so, 27% of Americans say they did not purchase a certain brand because they did not like a program or event sponsored by the brand and 20% have thought of doing so.

Education and Income differences

When it comes to who is more likely to not purchase a certain brand because of these three reasons, education and income show some differences. The more education one had, the more likely they are to say they have not purchased something. Over two in five college graduates (43%) have not purchased a brand because they found the advertisements distasteful compared to 29% of those with a high school education or less. One-third of college grads (33%) say they have not purchased a brand because they didn’t like the spokesperson compared to 23% of those with a high school education or less.

The spokesperson makes a difference for those at different income levels. One-quarter of those with a household income of under $50,000 a year (25%) say they did not purchase a certain brand because they did not like the spokesperson used compared to 28% of those with a household income of between $50,000 and $74,999 a year and one-third (33%) of those with a household income of $75,000 a year or more.

So what?

Certain things, whether it is the voiceover in an ad, the concert or sporting event the brand sponsors or even the general tone of the advertisement, consumers can be turned off to a brand. These reasons have nothing to do with the actual brand, product or service, but are things that advertisers and marketers must consider each and every time they are pulling together storyboards for their next campaign. What is also difficult is when a long-time spokesperson becomes involved in something scandalous. Each brand they endorse must make the difficult decision of whether to “break-up” with the spokesperson over that scandal or attempt to ride it out and not have consumers flee the brand.



TABLE 1 WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE NOT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN BRANDS “Have you ever chosen not to purchase a certain brand because of any of the following reasons?”
Base: All U.S. adults

		Ever (NET)	Yes, in the past year	Yes, more than one year ago	No, but I have thought of doing so	No, I have never done so
		%	%	%	%	%
	I found the advertisements distasteful.	35	22	14	22	43
	I didn’t like the spokesperson it used.	28	17	11	22	50
	I did not like a program or event sponsored by the brand.	27	15	12	20	52
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding


TABLE 2 WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE NOT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN BRANDS “Have you ever chosen not to purchase a certain brand because of any of the following reasons?” Percentage saying “Ever Done So”
Base: All U.S. adults

		Total	Gender		Age
		Total	Men	Women	18-34	35-44	45-54	55+
		%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	I found the advertisements distasteful.	35	35	36	37	34	32	37
	I didn’t like the spokesperson it used.	28	32	25	29	24	27	30
	I did not like a program or event sponsored by the brand.	27	29	22	26	26	26	30
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding;


TABLE 3 WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE NOT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN BRANDS “Have you ever chosen not to purchase a certain brand because of any of the following reasons?” Percentage saying “Ever Done So”
Base: All U.S. adults

		Total	Education			Household Income
		Total	HS or less	Some college	College grad	Less than $35k	$35k- $49.9k	$50k- $74.9k	$75k+
		%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	I found the advertisements distasteful.	35	29	37	43	36	30	35	39
	I didn’t like the spokesperson it used.	28	23	31	33	25	25	28	33
	I did not like a program or event sponsored by the brand.	27	24	27	33	28	22	26	30
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding;

Methodology

This Adweek Media/Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States February 2 and 4, 2010 among 2,194 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Where appropriate, this data were also weighted to reflect the composition of the adult online population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

About AdweekMedia

AdweekMedia encompasses the publications, websites, digital products and events produced by Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek. Through this dynamic media network, each brand keeps the agency, marketing and media communities competitive and connected by delivering the latest news and expert analysis most relevant to their specific needs.

AdweekMedia is part of Nielsen Business Media, which is a unit of The Nielsen Company. Nielsen Business Media is a leading market-focused provider of integrated information and sales and marketing solutions, helping businesses go to market more effectively and efficiently. For more see www.adweek.com.