Fine dining at home the focus of February’s top 5 most-effective UK TV ads
Jon Evans at System1 explains how the marketing industry’s darlings aren’t always the most effective ads in the eyes of the Great British public. Here are the real ads that were most enjoyed by real people.
Best ads of February
Each month, hundreds of new TV ads launch in the UK. We tasked marketing research and effectiveness company System1 with analyzing the latest creative to test which spots real members of the public liked best. In February, chief marketing officer Jon Evans explains, Tesco’s shitake stew won people over.
How it works
System1 tests ads on measures that predict long-term brand growth (star rating) and short-term sales growth (spike rating) – each between one and six stars. These measures are validated using the independent Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) database and against real sales data at a category level.
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What Evans says
February is a strong month for new ads. It saw long-running campaigns by Tesco and Whiskas perform well, while elsewhere brands leveraged Valentine’s Day for some emotional impact. Fittingly, the best-performing V-Day spot comes from a florist. It’s also notable that we see another ad in our top five making an explicit price appeal during the cost-of-living crisis. Would Ambrosia’s ad have scored so well in a less precarious economy? We suspect not, but for now, it’s a message consumers are keen to hear
5. Whiskas ‘Purr More’ - 4 stars
Whiskas’ launched its ‘Purr More’ campaign globally in 2021, around the broad idea of bringing joy to our feline friends. The campaign got off to a quirky start with the first-ever streaming playlist for cats, and this new spot continues that playful, imaginative streak with a bouncy video that’s influenced by 00s-era viral memes and TikTok collages. The mix of color, craziness and of course cats pleases a lot more people than it annoys – a four-star win for the brand with some very impressive short-term metrics too.
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4. M&S – ‘Valentine’s Day Dine In Menu’ – 4.2 stars
M&S is regularly in our top five thanks to its extremely consistent use of mouthwatering ‘food porn’ photography, Fleetwood Mac’s chilled-out Albatross and, perhaps most importantly, the voice of Dawn French, who makes the ads friendly where they could be pretentious. The brand was never going to miss the opportunity for a Valentine’s Day ad, and it does the job very well, pulling in a strong 4.2-star score.
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3. Ambrosia – ‘Devon Custard’ – 4.2 stars
Ambrosia addresses the cost of living crisis here, putting aside its rich heritage of singing farmers and other characters for a direct, voiceover-driven ad describing a way to make desserts at less than a pound per portion. The ad isn’t particularly distinctive, which means brand fluency is low, but the concept of it is a winner as the 4.2-star score shows. It’s commendable for brands to be addressing economic issues but that shouldn’t come at the expense of their personality or distinctive assets.
2. Prestige Flowers – ‘What Would You Say to Someone Special’ – 4.5 stars
With the right product, execution and occasion, a low-budget small business ad can outscore the biggest brands in the UK. Prestige Flowers is an online florist that lets you record a video message with each delivery, and it’s those messages that take center stage in its TV ad. With older people well represented and one message being given in sign language, the ad makes sure to appeal to diverse audiences, and it couldn’t be better timed in the month of Valentine’s Day. The execution isn’t expensive and doesn’t look it, but that hardly matters when your ad makes people as happy as this 4.5-star spot does.
1. Tesco – ‘Tesco Food Love Stories. Cathy’s ‘It Gets Easier’ Mushroom Stew’ – 5 stars
Tesco’s ‘Food Love Stories’ campaign is in its sixth year – a terrific achievement in an era where so many brand platforms and campaigns are discarded far too quickly. Food Love Stories has survived because the brand has a strong long-term strategy and because the campaign has evolved over time, gradually becoming as much about the stories as the food. The more narrative approach bears fruit in this take of a noisy baby and a friendly neighbor, with plenty of delicious food shots on the way. Our only five-star ad this month, it’s one of the strongest in the series and proves there’s a lot of life in the Tesco campaign still.