Promotion 455
possibility is that people think there is simply
too much of it. In 1983, Which? magazine
surveyed 1300 subscribers, presumably more
likely than average to have critical views of
advertising, and found that: 53 per cent
thought the volume of advertising they
noticed was ‘about right’, 36 per cent felt there
‘should be less’ and 11 per cent believed there
should be none at all. There has been no
increase in the ‘minutage’ permitted on tele-
vision or in the number of poster sites around
the country since then, so it could be expected
that contemporary opinion will be little
different.
It is plain that, although advertising
affects almost everybody’s daily life, it is not
something that most find at all salient. Some
would argue that they should. Furthermore,
the overwhelming majority give it a vote of
approval when their attention is directed to
the subject, and confess willingly to liking the
advertisements they encounter in all media.
Fewer than half think they are subjected to too
much advertising. We may suspect that the
answers would be less favourable if the ques-
tioning were about sales promotion or direct
marketing, but corresponding figures are hard
to find.
Thus, the environment within which Brit-
ish practitioners ply their trade today is
undoubtedly benevolent, whatever the critics
may say. One can only repeat a warning given
by the Advertising Association in the report of
its 1996 survey, not to relax the high standards
of quality and self-discipline which have
allowed such a positive atmosphere to be
maintained for more than 30 years.
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