TORONTO – Canadians continue to have more trust in ads that appear in traditional media than in those in online media, but trust in a brand is a more significant than the type of media where the ad is carried, says the Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
According to Consumer Perspectives on Advertising 2015, a majority of Canadians continue to feel positively about advertising and get value from the ads they read, hear and see. This online research, with a representative sample of 1,052 Canadians, put a particular spotlight on the influence of brand credibility on perceptions of the truth and accuracy of advertising in both online and traditional media.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the brand”, said ASC president and CEO Linda J. Nagel, in the report’s news release. “While advertising appearing in traditional media continues to be more widely trusted than advertising appearing online, a large majority of Canadians were comfortable with the level of truth and accuracy in ads for their favorite brands or products in all media.”
Other highlights from the report include:
– The vast majority of consumers – roughly four in five – are at least somewhat comfortable with the levels of truth and accuracy in ads for their favourite products and services; those that they like, value and trust; those that are personally known to them; or those that have been recommended to them by friends;
– Consumers are significantly less comfortable with the levels of truth and accuracy in advertisements for products or services unfamiliar to them, versus ads for products and services they know;
– For products and services they trust and value, a majority of consumers are “very” or “somewhat comfortable” with the levels of truth and accuracy of ads in both traditional media (81%) and online media (69%);
– When it comes to types of online ads, Canadians are more comfortable with the levels of truth and accuracy in promotional emails, search, pre-roll and banner advertising than with other forms of digital advertising; and
– When asked to rate specific forms of online advertising, consumers were more negative than when rating online advertising generally.
Advertising Standards Canada is the national advertising industry self-regulatory body committed to creating and maintaining community confidence in advertising. Its members include Canadian advertisers, advertising agencies, media and suppliers to the advertising industry.
