Thursday, February 21, 2013 | Edited by Daniel Moores
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New Research Shows That Consumers' Unaided Recall of 'Big Game' TV Ads is Low

Despite Creative Executions, Sight, Sound and Motion Distract from Advertisers’ Messages -- In Contrast to Radio's Ability to Communicate More Direct and Personal Messaging

Despite unprecedented hype around television ads that ran during this year's Big Game, many viewers said they didn't watch them -- and even when they did, consumer recall of brands advertising during the game was uniformly low, according to a research study conducted by Nielsen Entertainment for the Radio Advertising Bureau.

Although the game brings out the advertising industry's best commercials, the results of the study show the limitations of television ads in selling products and highlight the fact that sight, sound and motion can distract from advertisers' basic messages -- in contrast to radio, where the audio message is more direct and personal and is not obscured by video or picture.

For example, of half the ads tested, recall of the types of products being advertised was below 10 percent among viewers of the game. More importantly, when asked to name the brand of the product being advertised on an unaided basis, most viewers could not link the brand to the ad, even for the ads that had higher recall themselves. As with recall of the product category, for most ads, brand recall was in the single digits.

The ads not only generated low brand recall, but also had little impact on viewers' perceptions of the brands. Additionally, only 15 percent of game viewers said they later looked for the ads or related content online; only 9 percent posted, tweeted, or shared links about the ads; and as few as 7 percent claimed that they actually looked for more information online about the advertised products or brands.

Companies paid an average of $4 million for a 30-second spot during this year's Super Bowl, played Sunday, February 3, between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Radio works hard to register a marketer's message at a fraction of the cost.

The survey consisted of online interviews conducted on February 6, 2013 with 750 respondents aged 18-54 who said they had watched the game and saw any of the 10 ads in question.

Respondents who said they had seen each of the ads in question while they were watching the Big Game were asked to answer the following unaided questions:

"What type of product or service was being advertised in the TV ad…?"
"What was the actual brand name of the product advertised in the TV ad...?"

The ads were described as "The TV ad where…"
  • An animated black goldfish swam around singing "No Diggity."
  • Paul Harvey narrated a tribute to the American Farmer.
  • Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock talks in front of a giant flag.
  • People were all having a hard time trying to pronounce the month of FebuANY.
  • A woman is saved by a lifeguard who punches a shark, then leaves him for an astronaut.
  • A man leaving the house realizes his sleeping girlfriend is wearing his favorite t-shirt.
  • A wife wins big on a scratch-off card in a mini mart while her husband chokes on a hot dog.
  • A young son asks his father where babies come from.
  • The celebrities Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen are called in to audition for the same ad.
  • A man walking down the street catches on fire, grows elephant feet and turns a tanker truck into rubber duckies.




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Special RAB Marketing Sessions to be Featured at NAB Show

Meeting Radio Revenue Goals in an Uncertain Economy is one of six timely workshops that will be presented by the Radio Advertising Bureau at the upcoming NAB Show, April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

This session will be conducted by Morrison & Abraham President Susan Novicki, who will offer proven strategies for helping advertisers market their businesses during a fluctuating economy, and show you how to find the silver lining in every headline. It's slated for Monday, April 8, from 2:30-3:45 PM.

The NAB Show is the world's largest event covering the development, management and delivery of content across all media. For more information, follow this link.

Creative Initiative

Have you written a great script? This month, RAB is looking for scripts in the categories of Pizza and Dentists.

Your script will be showcased in the copy library on RAB.com. You could even win the chance to enter your produced commercial in the 2013 Radio Mercury Awards.

To submit your script, simply email memberbenefits@rab.com and attach your copy as a word doc or pdf file.

 
     
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