Editor's note: This article appeared in the April 20, 2010, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
There are many different reasons someone may or may not purchase something, including raunchy advertising and unlikeable spokespeople. Over one-third of Americans say that they have chosen not to purchase a certain brand because they find the ads distasteful, and an additional 22 percent say they have not done this but have thought of doing so, according to a survey from Rochester, N.Y., research company Harris Interactive and Adweek Media, New York. Forty-three percent of Americans say they have never done this.
Over one quarter of Americans (28 percent) say they have chosen to not purchase a brand because they did not like the spokesperson it used, while 22 percent say they have not done so but thought of doing it. Half say they have never done so. While over half say they have not done so, 27 percent of Americans say they did not purchase a certain brand because they did not like a program or event sponsored by the brand, and 20 percent have thought of doing so.
When it comes to who is more likely not to purchase a certain brand because of these three reasons, education and income show some differences. The more education one has, the more likely they are to say they have not purchased something. Forty-three percent of college graduates have not purchased a brand because they found the advertisements distasteful, compared to 29 percent of those with a high-school education or less. One-third of college grads say they have not purchased a brand because they didn't like the spokesperson, compared to 23 percent of those with a high-school education or less.
The spokesperson makes a difference for those at different income levels. One-quarter of those with a household income of under $50,000 a year say they did not purchase a certain brand because they did not like the spokesperson used, compared to 28 percent of those with a household income of $50,000-$74,999 a year and one-third (33 percent) of those with a household income of $75,000 a year or more.
Certain things, whether it is the voiceover in an ad, the concert or sporting event the brand sponsors or even the general tone of the advertisement, can turn consumers off from a brand. These reasons have nothing to do with the actual brand, product or service, but are things that advertisers and marketers must consider every time they are pulling together storyboards for their next campaign. What is also difficult is when a long-time spokesperson becomes involved in something scandalous, a la Michael Phelps and, of course, Tiger Woods. Each brand they endorse must make the difficult decision of whether to cut ties with the spokesperson over that scandal or attempt to ride it out and not have consumers flee the brand.