Little trust in journalists and advertising
The «European Trusted Brands 2015» study also shows which professional groups and institutions people trust. Journalists and advertising score modestly—even in Switzerland.
The least trusted are real estate agents (14 percent), soccer players (16 percent), politicians and car salesmen (18 percent each), call center employees (20 percent) and financial advisors (27 percent). Call center employees, however, do relatively well in Switzerland - the average of all the countries surveyed is 14 percent, while in Finland and Germany the figure is only 4 and 5 percent respectively.
Not quite as bad, but also in the bottom third, is the professional group of journalists. Only 28 percent of respondents consider media professionals to be trustworthy. The same figure was found in Austria, Romania and Russia.
| Dead. | CH | D | FIN | AUT | POR | ROM | RUS | |
| Fire department | 91% | 92% | 92% | 98% | 94% | 80% | 92% | 89% |
| Pilots | 87% | 91% | 82% | 95% | 89% | 80% | 89% | 80% |
| Pharmacist | 82% | 88% | 82% | 97% | 92% | 74% | 77% | 62% |
| Nursing Professionals | 80% | 90% | 88% | 95% | 90% | 78% | 55% | 62% |
| Doctors | 79% | 87% | 81% | 92% | 87% | 76% | 73% | 55% |
| Craftsman | 78% | 82% | 68% | 94% | 78% | 63% | 79% | 85% |
| Farmers | 77% | 79% | 67% | 84% | 82% | 74% | 74% | 81% |
| Teacher | 73% | 71% | 61% | 89% | 64% | 71% | 73% | 81% |
| Policemen | 65% | 79% | 75% | 91% | 79% | 62% | 41% | 30% |
| Army Officers | 58% | 62% | 42% | 74% | 41% | 46% | 66% | 75% |
| Metereologists | 56% | 58% | 52% | 73% | 56% | 58% | 60% | 33% |
| Judge | 51% | 58% | 55% | 70% | 65% | 33% | 41% | 35% |
| Priest / Parish priest | 50% | 47% | 39% | 69% | 46% | 44% | 46% | 56% |
| Cab driver | 48% | 52% | 49% | 79% | 51% | 27% | 29% | 48% |
| Lawyers | 46% | 54% | 47% | 55% | 56% | 22% | 33% | 55% |
| Tour operator | 37% | 50% | 26% | 61% | 42% | 24% | 38% | 20% |
| Journalists | 30% | 28% | 26% | 34% | 28% | 35% | 28% | 28% |
| Union leader | 24% | 31% | 26% | 32% | 30% | 16% | 13% | 23% |
| Financial advisor | 23% | 27% | 15% | 29% | 22% | 13% | 26% | 31% |
| Football player | 18% | 16% | 17% | 27% | 14% | 12% | 10% | 28% |
| Car salesman | 16% | 18% | 10% | 23% | 17% | 7% | 17% | 18% |
| Call Center Services | 14% | 20% | 5% | 4% | 11% | 15% | 8% | 37% |
| Real estate agent | 14% | 14% | 6% | 31% | 9% | 9% | 15% | 15% |
| Politicians | 9% | 18% | 12% | 9% | 10% | 3% | 2% | 10% |
Institutions: Bringing up the rear: the advertising industry
The advertising industry enjoys even less trust in Switzerland - even if the relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Swiss to their institutions remains intact on the whole. Radio enjoys the most trust (75 percent), followed by the police (72 percent) and marriage (69 percent). Almost two-thirds (63 percent) still trust television, while more than half still trust the legal system (58 percent) and environmental organizations (54 percent). Advertising brings up the rear with just 13 percent. That is even 6 percent less than the much-maligned European Union (19 percent). The fact that advertising is not seen as objective, factual sales advice à la "Kassensturz," but rather as information that must always be received critically and with a healthy dose of mistrust, is hardly surprising on balance. (hae)
| Radio | 75% |
| Police | 72% |
| Marriage | 69% |
| Television | 63% |
| Legal system | 58% |
| Environmental organizations | 54% |
| Officials | 49% |
| Press | 47% |
| Government | 46% |
| Banks | 45% |
| Church | 39% |
| Unions | 39% |
| International companies | 33% |
| Internet | 27% |
| Politicians | 20% |
| European Union | 19% |
| Advertising industry | 13% |
