Nielsen: Ads on Family-Friendly Shows Do Better

A recent survey by Nielsen shows that viewers are far more likely to find commercials appearing on family-friendly programs and networks more trustworthy, credible, and relevant than on shows and channels with extreme content. The survey found a 90% correlation between viewer trust and networks that are considered family-friendly. Compared to ads in a non-family-friendly environment, ads on family-friendly networks were perceived as more trustworthy (+53%), credible (+39%) and relevant (+53%). Viewers also said that they’re 20% more likely to shop at stores advertised on family networks, and 44% more likely to buy products and services advertised on such networks. Overall, ads seen on family-friendly networks had a 30% advantage in being perceived positively by viewer over ads seen on non-family-friendly networks. The survey found that roughly 42 million Americans can be considered “Family TV” viewers, who seek out wholesome programming to watch with their families or in a group. “Family TV” viewers prefer shows that reflect their values, and want to be uplifted by the shows they watch. These findings should have tremendous implications for the entertainment industry, which makes most of its profit on selling commercial time to advertisers (who, naturally, want the most “bang for their buck.”) Clearly, wholesome and uplifting programming drives far more purchases than negative, extreme programming containing explicit sex, violence, and language. Clean programs cause viewers to buy more, which would make advertisers happier – and, presumably, willing to pay the networks more for their commercial time. But most networks still prefer to wallow in the graphic content, even when they could be making more money with cleaner shows. This stands as proof positive that, to the entertainment industry, it ISN’T “all about the money”; it’s about inflicting their own low standards and bad taste on viewers…whether that’s what the viewers want or not.