B2B advertising loses positive emotion to dullness at exactly the same rate as consumer work
happiness response
halved42%
non-dull
20%
dullest
StatBrand & Creativity
The same pattern holds exactly in B2B. Across dullness quartiles, Neutrality rises from 33% to 63% while Happiness falls from 42% to 20% and Surprise from 15% to 8%. If you are worried about a negative response to your B2B ad, making it duller is not the way to reduce that.
Source
Another Dull Whitepaper: The Extraordinary Cost of Dull - launched at Cannes Lions 2024 (2024)
Jon Evans (System1), Adam Morgan (eatbigfish) and Peter Field
p. 13, The Extraordinary Cost of Dull (2024), n=2,600 US B2B TV ads
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StatFeeling nothing is the single most common reaction to a television adStatB2B advertising produces even less emotional response than consumer advertisingPrincipleNeutrality is the dark matter of advertising - invisible, inert, and larger than everything else put togetherCaseA 20-second film of grazing cows beats more than a quarter of all advertisingStatDullness kills happiness and surprise while leaving negative reaction untouchedWarningPlaying safe removes the upside of an ad without removing its downsideStatThe dullest quartile of advertising buys roughly a thirteenth of the share growth of the most interestingStatClosing the effectiveness gap with media money would cost more than all US TV advertisingStatThe UK cost of dull is more than twice the country's entire television ad spendStatMarketers already put the most money behind their most interesting consumer advertisingWarningUK B2B puts more than half its television money behind its dullest advertisingStatUS B2B spreads its money evenly across dull and interesting work alike