37% Americans say that TV ads are most helpful to them in making a purchase decision, while nearly half say they ignore internet banner ads. In terms of the helpfulness of ads in other media, newspapers rank second behind TV, with 17% reporting that newspaper ads are most helpful, while 14% say the same about internet search-engine ads, according to a study done by AdWeekMedia.

At the other end of the spectrum, Radio ads (3%) and internet banner ads (1%) are not considered helpful by many people. The poll found also that 28% of Americans say that none of these types of advertisements are helpful to them in the purchase-decision-making process. Not surprisingly, the types of ads Americans find helpful vary by age and, slightly, by region:

* 50% of people ages 18-34 find TV ads most helpful.
* 31% of those ages 55+ say newspaper ads are most helpful.
* 40% of Southerners find TV ads most helpful, while only 33% of Midwesterners feel the same.

Banner Ads Most Ignored
46% Americans say they ignore internet banner ads. Much further down the list of ignored items are internet search engine ads (17% of people ignore), television ads (13%), radio ads (9%), and newspaper ads (6%). 9% of Americans say they do not ignore any of these types of ads.

Age and regional differences

* 50% of those ages 35-44 and 51% of Midwesterners say they ignore Internet banner ads compared with 43% of 18-34 year olds as well as Easterners and Southerners.

* 20% of Americans 18-34 years old (20%) say they ignore Internet search engine ads while 20% of those ages 55+ ignore TV ads.

While advertisers scramble to create their ad campaigns, one thing they need to remember is that, even if viewership may be down and even with the increased use of digital video recorders so people can fast forward through commercials, television ads are the most helpful to consumers. Also, while an Internet strategy is essential for a comprehensive ad campaign, Internet banner ads are not considered helpful by few and are ignored the most. People are more likely to ignore ads on their computers but are more likely to pay attention to those on their television.