Harris Poll: Advertising by Soft Drink Companies Seen as Most Trustworthy by One-Third of Americans

The FINANCIAL — It is widely known that people do not just watch the Super Bowl for the football; many are watching to see the commercials. Regardless of how good the game was, there are usually a few ads that people talk about the next day.

But one thing that people may not think about is how trustworthy an advertisement may be and, at a higher level, how much trust one can, or cannot, place in an industry's advertisements.

Among five major industries, one-third of Americans (34%) say that soft-drink companies' advertising is most trustworthy. On the other side, almost two in five U.S. adults (38%) say that advertising by financial services companies is least trustworthy.

These are some of the findings ofa new Adweek Media/ Harris Poll,surveyof 2,136 U.S. adults surveyed online between December 14 and 16, 2009 by Harris Interactive.

Behind soft-drink companies, just over one in five Americans (22%) say they find fast food companies' advertising most trustworthy, while 18% say that about pharmaceutical companies' ads. Rounding out the category, 14% say auto companies' advertising is most trustworthy while 13% say financial services companies' are most trustworthy. There are some age differences as well. Those aged 35-44 are more likely to find soft drink companies' advertising trustworthy (40%) as are those 18-34 (39%). Those aged 45-54 are more likely to find advertising by fast food companies most trustworthy (27%).

For least trustworthy advertising, after financial services companies, three in ten Americans (29%) say pharmaceutical companies' advertising is least trustworthy. Two in ten say it is auto companies' ads that are least trustworthy (19%), while 10% say advertising by fast food companies is least trustworthy and 4% say the same about soft drink companies' ads.

When it comes to least-trustworthy advertisements, there are some interesting regional differences. Those in the East are more likely to say pharmaceutical advertisements are least trustworthy (34%) while those in the South are more likely to say financial services advertisements (43%) and auto company advertisements (23%) are least trustworthy. Westerners are more likely to say fast food companies are least trustworthy (16%).

So what?

Advertisers have many different challenges they must overcome each time they develop an advertisement. While the most important question they must ask themselves is will the ad sell their product or service, they also must contend with an overall feeling of trustworthiness. Regardless of what individual advertisers create, if an industry's ads are not seen as trustworthy, their ads may be less credible and less effective.