Bad/Useless TV Commercials (Spots)
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Bad/Useless TV Commercials (Spots)
Doc: I know you have research showing that “music only” TV commercials are essentially a waste of time. Is it me, or are there more of these kinds of spots on TV? Just wondering. - Anonymous
Anon: It’s interesting how the problem with TV ads continues even though research shows what works and what doesn’t. For those who haven’t read previous posts on this topic, scroll down to “TV Commercials – Bad” after you click on this link.
I don’t have historical data to determine if there are more useless commercials on TV than in previous years, but I kept track for one week while I watched. These companies aired spots that are virtually worthless:
Bank of America
Coca-Cola
Corona Beer
Dove Bar
Google Play
Harley-Davidson
Hershey’s Kisses
Hotwire
Illinois Tourist Promo
Lipton Tea
Microsoft
Reese’s
Sherwin Williams
Southern Comfort
Target
Verizon
Victoria’s Secret
Volunteers of America
All these companies could make better use of their money by donating the funds to a worthy charity. It’s clear that none of them know what is good advertising and what is a waste of time and money.
(Want to comment on this question? Click on the POSTREPLY button under the question.)
Anon: It’s interesting how the problem with TV ads continues even though research shows what works and what doesn’t. For those who haven’t read previous posts on this topic, scroll down to “TV Commercials – Bad” after you click on this link.
I don’t have historical data to determine if there are more useless commercials on TV than in previous years, but I kept track for one week while I watched. These companies aired spots that are virtually worthless:
Bank of America
Coca-Cola
Corona Beer
Dove Bar
Google Play
Harley-Davidson
Hershey’s Kisses
Hotwire
Illinois Tourist Promo
Lipton Tea
Microsoft
Reese’s
Sherwin Williams
Southern Comfort
Target
Verizon
Victoria’s Secret
Volunteers of America
All these companies could make better use of their money by donating the funds to a worthy charity. It’s clear that none of them know what is good advertising and what is a waste of time and money.
(Want to comment on this question? Click on the POSTREPLY button under the question.)
Roger Wimmer is owner of Wimmer Research and senior author of Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 10th Edition.
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Re: Bad/Useless TV Commercials (Spots)
Bad TV Commercials (Spots)
The DirecTV commercials with puppets are as stupid as they come. When I see them I can't change the channel quickly enough. - Anonymous
Anon: I have seen those spots and agree. I think it’s amazing how many bad TV spots are shown. With all the research available on TV advertising, I would think the ad agencies would produce something better. Most do not.
The DirecTV commercials with puppets are as stupid as they come. When I see them I can't change the channel quickly enough. - Anonymous
Anon: I have seen those spots and agree. I think it’s amazing how many bad TV spots are shown. With all the research available on TV advertising, I would think the ad agencies would produce something better. Most do not.
Roger Wimmer is owner of Wimmer Research and senior author of Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 10th Edition.
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Re: Bad/Useless TV Commercials (Spots)
Doc: The Diet Coke TV spot should be added to the list of useless TV commercials. And that’s from a huge company. I would think the company’s ad agency, or someone in the company, would know better. Obviously not. - JL
JL: I agree with the Diet Coke spots-a complete waste of money. And here are even more useless TV spots:
Corona Beer
Fiat Auto
Fiber One Candy Bar
Geico Motorcycle
Harley-Davidson
Heineken Beer
HM.com
KIA automobiles
Omega Watch
Platformbreathe.org
Sonos Wi-Fi
Surface Pro 3
Target (every spot)
U.S. Navy
Xfinity
I’m amazed how much money is wasted on TV advertising by all these companies.
JL: I agree with the Diet Coke spots-a complete waste of money. And here are even more useless TV spots:
Corona Beer
Fiat Auto
Fiber One Candy Bar
Geico Motorcycle
Harley-Davidson
Heineken Beer
HM.com
KIA automobiles
Omega Watch
Platformbreathe.org
Sonos Wi-Fi
Surface Pro 3
Target (every spot)
U.S. Navy
Xfinity
I’m amazed how much money is wasted on TV advertising by all these companies.
Roger Wimmer is owner of Wimmer Research and senior author of Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 10th Edition.
- rogerwimmer
- Posts: 197
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Re: Bad/Useless TV Commercials (Spots)
Even More Bad (Useless) TV Commercials
These companies are spoiling an excellent opportunity to grab the attention of consumers by making bad commercials. An inexperienced commercial production team can be the reason for the poor commercials. There are several awesome TV commercials by several brands that attract lots of consumers. Such commercials are produced as a result of hard work by several creative persons in the company’s commercial video production team. - Anonymous
Anon: Sorry for the delay in posting your comment. One of those “technical difficulty” things. On to your comment . . .
I agree there are many companies that produce excellent TV (and radio) spots. The problem is that there are more useless spots than good ones. The heart of the problem is that many people involved in developing advertising don’t understand communication/persuasion and design spots to be creative, not effective in communicating a message. Thanks for writing.
These companies are spoiling an excellent opportunity to grab the attention of consumers by making bad commercials. An inexperienced commercial production team can be the reason for the poor commercials. There are several awesome TV commercials by several brands that attract lots of consumers. Such commercials are produced as a result of hard work by several creative persons in the company’s commercial video production team. - Anonymous
Anon: Sorry for the delay in posting your comment. One of those “technical difficulty” things. On to your comment . . .
I agree there are many companies that produce excellent TV (and radio) spots. The problem is that there are more useless spots than good ones. The heart of the problem is that many people involved in developing advertising don’t understand communication/persuasion and design spots to be creative, not effective in communicating a message. Thanks for writing.
Roger Wimmer is owner of Wimmer Research and senior author of Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 10th Edition.