By advertizing, I mean TV commercials, marketing campaigns, product packaging, etc.
Choose the answer that comes closest to your opinion.
Not really. My gf is in advertising. We talk about ads a good bit, but we do not watch TV, so much of the advertising we do see is intentional.
Yes, of course it influences my buying decisions. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t at all is really kidding themselves. Advertising comes in many guises, not all of them ‘buy me’ obvious.
(I work in branding and have been an advertising art director in the past, so I’m very aware of it).
How about “not in any significant way?”
Some folks are just dirt poor and have little or no choice in what they spend their money on.
It doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, I’m definitely aware of it. It’s usually an advertisement for something small, like candy.
If it has a celebrity pitching it, it’s an automatic no. Otherwise I find out about new products through advertising, and that makes me look for the product in the store and consider buying it. Without advertising, I doubt that I’d go up and down every aisle at the store seeing what’s new. Although once I retire, maybe I will. Nice and slow, keeping my cart right in the middle of the aisle and making unexpected stops.
Rookie. When you stop, your cart goes to one side of the aisle while you block the other side with your body. Bonus points if it’s at the end of the aisle, restricting all access.
If any affect, it’s extremely minimal. At the most it may introduce the availability of a new product. As for established brands and products - zero effect - which is why it has always caused me to wonder in amazement at how much established brands/products shell out in advertising $$
Absolutely. The more heavily advertised something is, the more shitty it is likely to be. Therefore when I see something that’s being heavily advertised it’s like a big flashing red sign that tells me “This is shit and we’re desperate for you to buy it because we know damn well it’s shit”. I appreciate the heads-up.
Give a thought to what you just typed please. Is Ford shit? How about Honda? How about Samsung? Apple? Kraft foods? Subway? Panasonic? Michelin?
These are just a handful of companies that I’ve heard or saw adverts for in the last day or two.
I’m not a name brand shopper by any means, but to assume that I’m somehow impervious to advertising would be extremely disingenuous. Advertising is a science. You’re being indoctrinated without even realizing it.
No, my buying decisions are not affected by advertising in any way, and I’m sick and tired of people smugly telling me otherwise. Stop projecting your own weaknesses on everyone else.
So a celebrity hawking a product does, in fact, influence your decision, just in a negative way?
Ya. OK. Sure.
Like the time my brother and I were hanging out and playing video games… then the Johnsonsville Brats commercial came on. 45 minutes later we were grilling bratwurst. 
Pretty much, yeah. Especially Apple. growl
See, I voted “Hell no. I make my own decisions” despite the fact that what you say is often widely touted as being true. The other close option, “Probably, but I’m not very aware of it” was too ill-defined for me to consider. What is it that we’re not aware of? The advertising? Or the fact that it influences our buy decisions?
I’ll stick by my answer with the following justifications: I like to think that it doesn’t influence me, and for the most part, I’m certain that it doesn’t influence me.
[ul][li]For the most part, I’m not exposed to much meaningful direct advertising. Consider the internet. Between AdBlock and being just plain blind to the stuff that gets through, the only stuff I’m exposed to are articles. That’s how I learn that there’s going to be this new thing called an iPad. For print advertising, I’m mostly blind to it. For TV, well, between a DVR and torrents, there’s not much commercial exposure.[/li][li]For advertising that I am exposed to in any media, it can be informational to me. Oh? Toyota has self-parking now? I better go see if a brand that I’d actually consider has self-parking.[/li][li]For advertising that I am exposed to in any media, it can remind me that I need to do something. Oh, Tag Heur watches. I do need a new watch. Better do some research. (I ended up with a Citizen because I couldn’t find a Seiko retailer.)[/li][li]Coke? McDonald’s? Labatt? I’ve never been inclined to make an impulse purchase based on these kind of advertisements. But!, you say, next time you have an opportunity, that commercial may sway your opinion and make you stop by! Of course, if I do happen to purchase one, I don’t also purchase Pepsi, go to Burger King, or buy Budweiser, all of which also advertise heavily.[/li][li]Advertising that I want I often miss out on. I don’t read entertainment sections of anything. But I do want to see commercials for movies. Because I don’t, I’m usually surprised when something that interests me comes out.[/li][/ul]
I’m sure that there must be an example of a direct advertisement that spurred me to do something, somewhere, at some time, but damned if I can think of one.
I was there with you until you said Subway. Yes, Subway is shit. At least the times I ate there.
But I’d bet that their advertizing played some role in my going there.
I didn’t spell it out too much in the OP, but I’m also talking about packaging. If you’re in a store, and there are two brands of the same product, and brand doesn’t matter to you, are you likely to pick the one in the green box over the one in the white box? What about the one with the straightforward name vs the one with the cutesie name?
My dad was a salesman when I was growing up and he worked in advertising for a couple years, so I am very aware of advertising. For the most part, if I recognize that I’m being sold, I just shut off – whether it’s an ad or a salesperson in a store bugging me or shameless product placement in a TV show or movie or whatever. On occasion, if I’m sufficiently pissed off with the ad campaign (I’m looking right at you, Mazda. Screw you and your “Zoom Zoom” kid), I will actively boycott a product. And on even more rare occasions, if the ad is sufficiently clever, I might look further into that product (“Look at your man. Now back at me. Now back at your man. Now back at me…” That commercial just cracks me up. But, turns out my wife doesn’t particularly like that smell, so no sale for them there).
So, for the most part, I am aware of advertising and it can definitely influence my buying decisions, but, as often as not, it influences me to not buy their product.
It affects what I buy. Sometimes it makes sure I don’t buy their product. It can go either way, so don’t be annoying in your ad or else.