Are bad ads worse than no ads at all? 78% of APAC consumers think so

A poor advertising experience may be doing more harm than no advertising at all, according to new research from Omnicom Media.

The study, titled "Connected content: The force multiplier for maximising brand influence", found that 78% of consumers across Asia Pacific believe a bad ad is worse than not seeing an ad at all. In addition, it found that 32% of respondents said a poor advertising experience reflects more negatively on a brand than on the platform carrying the ad.

Conversely, 52% said a better advertising experience would improve their perception of a brand, while 40% said it would make them more likely to purchase.

Don't miss: APAC lags behind in consumer receptiveness to ads

The findings are based on an online survey of 7,000 consumers across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, examining how brands can improve advertising effectiveness as consumer attention becomes increasingly fragmented across platforms, devices and formats.

The report also points to growing advertising fatigue among consumers, with more than a third saying the ads they encounter are repetitive or intrusive.

Against this backdrop, consumers are placing greater importance on relevance, timing and context when engaging with advertising. Some 84% of respondents said they appreciate ads tailored to specific platforms, while 78% said they connect more strongly with advertising that is relevant to the content they are consuming. A further 76% said they feel more connected to ads that appear at the right moment.

Beyond placement and personalisation, the research suggests consumers are also paying attention to the intent behind advertising. Three-quarters of respondents said they feel connected to ads that speak to their emotions rather than their wallets, while 31% said they care about how an advertisement is made, not just the final creative output.

The study also highlighted the role of utility and relatability in building stronger brand connections. According to the findings, 86% of consumers said useful information helps them connect with advertising, while 81% said they engage more with ads that reflect their own lives and experiences.

When asked what engages them most in advertising, 48% of respondents cited a clear message, ahead of special discounts (43%) and informative details (41%). Humour (37%) and relatable situations (36%) also ranked among the top five drivers, suggesting consumers still value creativity and relatability, but expect them to be grounded in clarity and usefulness.

The report also suggests consumers are becoming wary of hyper-personalised advertising. While brands increasingly use data to tailor messaging, two in five consumers said they find it unsettling when an ad is specifically tailored to them. According to the report, highly personalised ads can sometimes feel "too accurate for comfort", particularly in more digitally mature markets.

The research also pointed to lingering concerns around the growing use of AI in advertising. Nearly half (49%) of respondents said their biggest concern was that brands could lose their human touch, while 44% worried AI-generated advertising could make ads less trustworthy. Some 43% expressed concerns about people losing their jobs due to AI, while 38% said AI could result in advertising becoming increasingly repetitive.

“The old school spray-and-pray method no longer reflects the reality of the average Asia Pacific consumer who is hyperlocal, hyperconnected, and more importantly, hyperaware of brand motivations," said Nina Fedorczuk, chief enablement officer, Omnicom Media Asia Pacific.

She added, "Those of us in the advertising industry must rearchitect the way we ideate, strategise, deliver, and even learn from ads in such a way that they not only fit our target audiences, but our target contexts and moments.”

The findings also echo broader concerns around how consumers perceive brand communications. Research from The Collective found that 49% of women feel misunderstood by brands, while only 4% said they feel truly understood. Respondents cited inauthentic marketing, outdated stereotypes and a lack of genuine communication as key reasons for the disconnect.

The study also found that younger women tend to feel better understood by brands than older generations, suggesting marketers' focus on Gen Z may be resonating with younger audiences, even as Gen X and Boomer women, who are more likely to be primary household decision-makers, remain overlooked.

Related articles: 
Think podcast ads are being ignored? Singapore listeners are still converting 
AI ads outperform humans – but only when they don’t look like AI 
Study: 65% of family streamers are ad-receptive, but solo viewers need louder hooks