At least you’re not selling cars or running for office.

Apparently, and perhaps not surprisingly, people aren’t all that fond of advertising executives, with a recent survey finding only 14 percent of respondents saying they respected the profession. Only national politicians and car salesmen ranked lower.

Worse still, the study by Adweek and advertising agency JWT found that people don’t even believe ad executives are doing a very good job. Some 61 percent responded that “the majority of advertising” is not persuasive and 47 percent regard “advertising as background noise.”

Other findings:

• 52 percent agreed with the statement “There’s too much advertising — I would support stricter limits.”
• 74 percent agreed with the statement “I get tired of people trying to grab my attention and sell me stuff.”
• 84 percent agree with the statement “Too many things are over-hyped now.”

There is some good news when it comes to Madison Avenue’s public image. People really seem to like “Mad Men,” the AMC television drama set on Madison Avenue in the 1960s that just this week was picked up for a second season. Of course, that’s fiction.

(Photo of Rich Little doing his impersonation of President Nixon: Reuters)