Advert irritation is a symptom of Counterproductive Advertising and is what happens when an advertisement is incorrectly targeted or when an advert is seen too frequently. There are
two possible reasons why this happens:
1 The advertiser believes that screening the advert at every opportunity will increase sales; research by In
Skin Media and RAPP Media shows that it just annoys
people and makes them less likely to buy.
2 The belief that an advert made for the
United States’ will be successful in the
United Kingdom. The reasoning being that because UK customers understand the language in which the advert is made, they’ll identify with the product and everything else will fall into place. The advert may be well presented, but the customers are irritated by it either because the concept is
alien or the presenter is unfamiliar.
The worst possible scenario is incorrect targeting and too frequent exposure. This happened with an advert for Lenor fabric softener screened in the UK during 2015. Originally made for the
US market, it featured a minor American actress, Amy Sidaris, who was unknown in the UK; Sidaris’ manner was very much “in your face” which didn’t go down well with the more reserved UK customer
base. A typical reaction of people watching was “who does this blonde
bimbo with the big bristols and the weird accent think she is telling me how to do my washing?” This irritated reaction to the advert means that the customer is less likely to buy the product.
