Dull advertising is a media efficiency problem, not a brand safety problem
PrincipleBrand & Creativity
Dull advertising is a media efficiency problem, not a brand safety problem
The core reframe of the paper: the problem of dull is not damage, it is waste. A neutral ad does not harm a brand. It simply costs more, sometimes a lot more, to get the same business impact with a dull ad as with an interesting one.
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. 11, The Extraordinary Cost of Dull (2024)
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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 downsideStatB2B advertising loses positive emotion to dullness at exactly the same rate as consumer workStatThe 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 advertising