Indians find advertising useful and entertaining: Survey

According to the survey conducted by AC Nielsen for the World Federation of Advertisers across 50 countries worldwide, Indians find advertising more useful and entertaining than some of their global counterparts

Recently, The World Federation of Advertisers commissioned an online global survey on Trust in Advertising, which was conducted by AC Nielsen. The survey with 25,420 respondents spread across 50 countries reveals that Indians, by and large, look upon advertising much more favourably and find it more useful, productive and entertaining, as compared to their global counterparts.

What's exciting for the Indian advertising fraternity is that Indian consumers take a much more favourable view of advertising than global consumers. According to the findings, whilst 68 per cent of global consumers feel advertising stimulates competition, leading to lower prices, 81 per cent of Indians feel the same. Again, 86 per cent of Indians feel that advertising helps them make a more informed decision, vis-à-vis only 67 per cent of global consumers who feel so.

Indians find advertising useful and entertaining: Survey

According to Bharat V Patel, chairman, The Indian Society of Advertisers, "The survey will come in handy for key decision makers and regulators from the advertising fraternity. It establishes the fact that advertising plays both social and economic roles. Also, In India, advertising is well received, as compared to Western European countries and North America, who participated in the survey as well."

While 87 per cent of Indians also feel that advertising is entertaining and gets their attention, only 66 per cent of global consumers believe so. Patel adds, "Apparently, this endorses the quality and creativity of Indian advertising that has become more light-hearted and slick. Over the years, the Indian advertising industry has created some amazing campaigns for brands like Nirma, Surf, Vodafone and Happydent, to name a few."

A vast majority of Indians feel that advertising contributes to the growth of the economy and helps create jobs. Eight out of 10 Indians believe advertising provides useful information on important societal issues, such as safety and health. A similar ratio of Indians believes advertising lowers the price they pay for watching TV, reading newspapers and listening to radio and other media. Also, nearly nine out of 10 Indians believe advertising helps fund sporting events, art exhibitions and cultural events.

Sam Balsara, chairperson and managing director, Madison, tells afaqs!, "The findings clearly demonstrate that the Indian advertising community -- both advertisers and advertising agencies -- is a responsible lot and Indian consumers are vouching for them. Unlike their foreign counterparts, Indians do not perceive ads as irritants, but more of a visual treat."

The survey has been issued in India by Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

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