Thinkbox
TV has long been one of the most effective environments for advertising. Its reach, its emotional connection with audiences, its immersive, high quality contexts…TV’s remarkable assets are the alchemy of effectiveness.
They also combine to grab, hold, and reward attention. No attention, no point advertising.
We’ve long known that where an ad appears matters just as much as what it says – have a look at the Context Effects study for that point to land.
And a brand new study has again underlined how important media choice is in advertising – and shown that it isn’t about spending more, but spending smarter.
The Cost of Dull Media, a new report from Professor Karen Nelson-Field, with contributions by Adam Morgan and Peter Field, has shown that too many advertisers are investing in media environments that suppress attention and undercut effectiveness. They’re wasting billions.
Building on 2024’s Cost of Dull report – which looked at the penalty of producing dull advertising creative [link] – the new report has turned its attention to the media where creative is deployed. It has also cross-referenced its findings with Profit Ability 2, the landmark study of advertising effectiveness. As the report puts it: “Profit Ability 2 shows where ROI is. Attention shows why it is disappearing.”
Here’s a whistlestop tour through some of the key findings from this important new study…
$287 billion wasted on “dull” media formats
TV, cinema, radio, and premium video environments consistently rank as “Non-Dull”, high attention, formats. These are environments where ads are typically seen, heard, remembered, and acted upon.
High-attention platforms are up to 11.5 times more effective than “Very Dull” and “Extremely Dull” environments, such as many digital formats that rely on passive, scroll-heavy consumption.
“Extremely Dull” formats deliver, on average, just 1 second of active attention. “Non-Dull” formats deliver around 13.5 seconds — over 13x more time for a brand to land its message.
And yet, the industry continues to spend heavily on these low-attention environments. Globally, a staggering $287 billion is being spent on media formats that collapse attention. It’s a massive misallocation of budget (around 33% of total advertising spend) and the price tag is growing.
“Cheap media isn’t cheap if nobody’s watching”
The report found that 75% of MRC-accredited digital inventory receives zero active attention. That’s three-quarters of ads served via supposedly trusted metrics that no one is actually looking at. It's a structural failure in how media is traded.
We’re still counting impressions served, not impressions seen. And that gap is costing advertisers:
- Only 17% of digital ads deliver above the 2-seconds of attention level that previous work from Karen Nelson-Field has shown is needed from memories to effectively form.
- On average, advertisers lose 72-cents for every $1 spent in dull media environments.
- It costs an extra $198-billion in low-attention media spend to match the short-term sales impact of non-dull media like TV.
As the report puts it: “Cheap media isn’t cheap if nobody’s watching”.
Even great ads can’t work if they’re never seen
Some creative earns more attention than others, even within the same platform. But the media environment sets the ceiling. The finest creative on the planet is pointless if hidden in the dullest corners of media.
When attention drops, the chance of a brand being noticed or remembered drops with it — second by second. And fewer people see your brand and less often.
The winning formula (in order) for campaign effectiveness, says the report, is clear:
- Media that holds attention
- Branding that sticks
- Creative that moves people
As the report outlines: “The true opportunity lies not in more spend but in smarter media with better creative.”
What advertisers should do
The report uncovers the quiet but significant losses hiding in media plans. Here’s a way forward…
- Read the report – it’s essential.
- Stop counting served ads as seen ads – they’re not the same.
- Stop assuming creative can carry a bad placement – it can’t.
- Stop justifying low CPMs – if attention is low, value is low.
- Rebalance to non-dull media – including TV, BVOD, other premium video, cinema, and radio. These environments consistently deliver the attention that drives results.