Three-Quarters (76%) Of Canadians Feel It Is Appropriate To Air Paid Advertising Or A Reduced Amount Of Advertising During War Coverage

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a recent Ipsos-Reid study commissioned by MediaCom Group Services on behalf of The Media Company/MBS, Canadians feel that it is appropriate to air commercial messages during war coverage. In fact, three-quarters (75%) of Canadians feel it is completely appropriate to air regular paid television advertising (41%) or acceptable to air a reduced amount of advertising (35%) during war coverage. Eighty-three percent felt the same way with regards to newspaper advertising within war coverage.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between March 26th and March 28th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 Canadian adults. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Appropriateness Of Paid Advertising...

Just over forty per cent of Canadians (41%) stated it is completely appropriate to continue airing regular paid advertisements during television war coverage. Additionally, over one third (35%) feel it is acceptable to air a reduced amount of paid advertisements during television war coverage.

• This feeling differs within various age groups. Less than one third of Canadians 18-34 (29%) feel it is appropriate to air a reduced amount of paid advertisements during television war coverage, while almost forty per cent of those aged 35-54 (37%) and those 55 or older (40%) feel the same way.
• Just under twenty per cent of Canadians (19%) feel it is completely inappropriate to continue airing regular paid advertisements during television war coverage. Canadians with household incomes of under $30,000 and between $30,000 and $59,000 tend to feel it is completely inappropriate (22% and 20% respectively), more so than Canadians with household incomes $60,000 or more (14%).

More than half of Canadians (54%) feel it is completely appropriate to continue printing regular paid advertisements in newspapers, on pages covering the war.

• Those living in Ontario tend to feel this way (59%) more so that those living in B.C. (55%), Alberta (51%), the Prairies (49%), Quebec (51%) and in Atlantic Canada (49%).
• Just under one third of Canadians (29%) feel it is acceptable to print a reduced amount of paid advertisements in newspapers on pages covering the war, while just over ten per cent (12%) feel it is completely inappropriate to continue printing paid advertisements on those pages.
• More Canadians living in the Prairies and in Atlantic Canada feel it is completely inappropriate (18% in both regions) than those living in B.C. (11%), Alberta (9%), Ontario (10%) and Quebec (14%). Additionally, Canadians with household incomes of less than $30,000 (17%) are also more likely to feel this way than those with higher household incomes (11%).

Almost Half (46%) Say That Their Media Habits Have Not Changed

When asked if their media habits have changed during the past week, almost half (46%) indicate that it had not. This tends to vary on a regional basis.

• While more than half in B.C. (53%) and in Quebec (57%) stated that their media habits have not changed since the war coverage began, less than half of those in the Prairies (48%) and forty per cent of those in Alberta (39%), Ontario (40%) and the Atlantic provinces (40%) feel the same way.

In some cases, however, media viewing, listening and reading habits have changed. Seventeen per cent of Canadians spend more time reading newspapers, and fifteen percent pay more attention to details of news coverage. Just over ten percent spend more time on the internet (12%) and listening to the radio (12%). Less than five per cent mention spending more time reading news magazines (2%). Few tend to state that their media viewing, listening and reading habits have decreased. Under five per cent spend less time reading newspapers (3%), listening to the radio (3%), and on the internet (1%).

One-Third (32%) Much More Attentive To Television War Coverage Than Normal Viewing

One-third (32%) of Canadians find themselves being much more attentive to television war coverage than normal viewing material. While more than one third of Canadians (35%) feel that they are slightly more attentive when watching war coverage than when normally watching television, fully twenty per cent state that they are neither more or less attentive. Just over five per cent feel that they are either slightly less attentive (6%) or much less attentive (6%) when watching war coverage.

• Viewing attentiveness tends to differ by region. Canadians in Atlantic Canada (38%) and in Quebec (36%) tend to state that they are much more attentive than Canadians in Ontario (32%), the Prairies (30%) and in Alberta (32%). Those living in B.C. (23%) are less likely to state that they are much more attentive to television war coverage.

To view the release and the detailed tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002