MediaBuyerPlanner: Popular TV hasn't always portrayed the advertising industry kindly.

Whether that portrayal reflects the sentiments and perception of society toward advertising and advertisements is the focus of the "Ad Industry Perception Survey," released this week by Adweek and WPP's JWT, writes MarketingCharts.

Some 14 percent of respondents say their fellow Americans "respect" ad people, besting only "national politicians" (10 percent) and "car salesmen" (5 percent); the top 3 most-respected positions are "military personnel" (79 percent), "physicians" (75 percent) and "teachers" (71 percent).

The perceived trend for ad professionals reflects similar opinions: Only 12 percent of respondents note "improvement" of ad people's status in recent years.

In "bottom line" terms, ad professionals are seen as a "necessary good" by only 31 percent of the population (again, besting politicians and car salesmen).

The survey also highlights the relationship between the perception of ad professionals and what they do - most of which is resented:

• 84 percent agreed strongly/somewhat with "Too many things are over-hyped now."


• 72 percent agreed strongly/somewhat with "I get tired of people trying to grab my attention and sell me stuff."


• 74 percent agreed strongly/somewhat with "The Internet helps me make better product choices."

Not surprisingly, the bottom-line question, "Is the majority of advertising persuasive or not?" reveals that 39 percent consider it persuasive - but 61 percent do not.

Nevertheless, there's a tug-of-war between consumers' perception of advertising as annoying and useful:

• 52 percent agree "There's too much advertising - I would support stricter limits."


• 80 percent agree "I like smart, entertaining advertising."


• 80 percent agree "Advertising can be useful to alert me to some products."


• 47 percent regard "Advertising as background noise."


• 74 percent say "I like informative, factual advertising."


• 38 percent agree "The advertising industry understands Americans in general and connects with them."


• 22 percent agree "The advertising industry understands and connects with me."

Moreover, advertisements often still find strong acceptance, as today's consumers embrace general media as more of a component of their cultural experience and less of an interruption (e.g., Americans admit to tuning into the Super Bowl "just for the ads," and everyday "water cooler chat" often focuses on a new advertisement or product development).

• 82 percent indicate a positive engagement with media overall.


• 59 percent consume "traditional" media.


• 41 percent consume "interactive" media.


• Two-thirds claim that "advertising is an important part of the American culture."

The study "uncovers," according to Adweek, a disconnect between the ad industry's "worldview" and that of its audience: When asked to pick the word that others would use to describe them, 42 percent of the sample ranked themselves "pragmatists" - justifying the feature-centric and end-to-end benefit ad approach resonating most with consumers today (think iPhone launch).

How the participants dubbed themselves:

• 42 percent Pragmatists
• 25 percent Idealists
• 18 percent Skeptics
• 7 percent Hedonists
• 5 percent Cynics
• 3 percent Geeks

"For an industry that has prided itself on and has dedicated many of its disciplines to an understanding of its audience, we are missing the mark with the pragmatist, who is now the biggest segment of that audience," said Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at JWT.

"If we can tap into that mind-set, create messaging and participate in media that best serve it, I think we can begin to resurrect the influence of the industry and move ourselves up the chain of respected professions pretty quickly."

The study indicates a need for engagement in the context and content of the sell: "friends" and "family" are by far the most persuasive and credible sources (at 86 percent each, compared with advertising at 44 percent).

It therefore makes sense to insert brands into the world of social networks and communities of common interest - which this study suggests have more than one-quarter of respondents actively engaged, Adweek concludes.

More data from the study is available via Adweek (pdf).