Find out what the UK public’s most-liked TV ads were in April
Ad ranking database System1 has shared its highest-ranked UK TV ads from March. Jon Evans, chief marketing officer at System1, explains how the ad industry’s darlings aren’t always the most effective work in the eyes of the Great British public.
Find out what the UK public’s most-liked TV ads were in April
Methodology
System1 tests ads on measures that predict long-term brand growth (star rating) and short-term sales growth (spike rating) – each between one and five stars. This is then validated using the independent IPA database and sales data.
The star rating captures the emotional response to an ad – viewers are asked what they felt about it and how strongly.
Below, Evans talks us through the top 10 performing ads in the UK in April.
5. What3words – Neighbours – 4 stars
Rather than explain its service – making places easier to find – online location app What3words tells a funny story in this delightful ad. The execution is spot on, letting the visuals tell the story and earning a big spike in happiness when the truth of the situation becomes apparent. Top marks for casting too – if the old couple weren’t so sweet the audience’s sympathies might be more with their luckless visitor, and the ad’s sly humor wouldn’t work.
4. Blue Cross – To Give Or Get Help – 4.3 stars
April’s highest-rated charity ad comes from pet charity Blue Cross, with an ad stressing it is here to help animals with adoption, training and more – it’s not just for sick animals. Split-screen visuals can be a distraction, but here they’re all showing the same thing (pets) so it’s not a big deal. Cute animals, a warm voiceover and a quick resolution for any negative emotion adds up to a very well-done charity piece.
3. Asda – Easter 2022 – 4.4 stars
One trend this year has been more lavish Easter ads, with some of the themes of fun and fantasy we saw in 2021’s successful Christmas commercials. If anything, food is even more central to Easter, so it’s no surprise to see grocery brands such as Asda leading this. But the happiness its ad generates is down to more than chocolate – it’s the evocation of childhood holidays, adventures and freedom that helps it to 4 stars.
2. M&S – Drippy Egg – 4.7 stars
Recruiting Dawn French to be the voice of its ads has proved a great move for M&S, giving a refreshing twist to its classic ‘food porn’ style and landing it regularly in our top 10. This month she’s impressed by the brand’s ‘Drippy Egg’ (a chocolate egg doused in colored icing). Her warm delivery and recognizable voice is turning into a solid asset for M&S Food, and this ended up our top pre-Easter ad.
1. Magnum – Get Old Or Get Classic – 4.8 stars
Magnum has been around a while, but as this ad points out, there’s old... and then there’s classic. The ad shows middle-aged and older people hanging out in the ‘Pleasure Residence,’ a luxury hotel whose mature residents know how to live life well. Older people are rarely represented on screen, let alone enjoying themselves to this degree, so Magnum’s ad is subtly groundbreaking. And it may be part of a welcome trend, with Airbnb and others also raising the visibility of older people in their ads.