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What is important to remember is that it is the viewer's response to the ad
and not the ad itself that wears-out
Rajat Sethi
CEO, Wunderman India
NEW DELHI
During the recent Asia Cup Cricket a large part of India was glued to the telly. But when you're sitting in front of the tube, watching Cricket for extended hours, one cannot help but watch the TV commercials, which get repeated with unfailing and irritable regularity. My wife's comment on how irritated she was watching the same commercial being repeated after every over from lunch till close of play, got me thinking on why is it that advertisers spend crore on T.V. time cost, but do not spend a fraction of that on creating different executions so that the viewer can be relieved of the fatigue of watching the same commercial over and over again!
And considering that it is an issue that concerns all Advertising Agencies and Advertisers alike, it surprises me that Advertising Agencies and their Clients have not invested in researching this phenomenon called 'The Fatigue Factor'.
The Fatigue factor, to my mind, is generally that point in the life of a T.V. commercial when the viewer starts turning off, or reacts negatively to it. This irritation could either be the antagonizing kind or simply the desperate irritation caused by sheer dullness! It's a pattern, which passes very fast through six phases:
Phase1: Exposure of message on several occasions prior to serious attention
Phase 2: Interest in the Ad on either substantive (information) or stimulus (enjoyment) grounds
Phase 3: Continuing but declining interest in the ad
Phase 4: Mental tune-out to the ad on grounds of familiarity
Phase 5: Increasing re-awareness of the ad …but now as a negative stimulus
Phase 6: Growing irritation and tune-out
What is important to remember is that it is the viewer's response to the ad and not the ad itself that wears-out.
Generally speaking, if a product or service is of low interest, like banking, insurance or staples like bread, butter and cooking oil, the TVC is likely to wear-out slowly, simply because viewers don't 'tune-in' as much, so it obviously takes much longer to 'tune-out'. That's why TVC's for Brands like ICICI Pru & Apollo Tyres can run for longer.
I do believe if advertisers keep some key factors in mind, they would be more successful in keeping the viewer's interest alive: