The 5 most-liked US ads in June

It tops June’s chart, which contains a grab-bag of categories and approaches. Emotional storytelling from insurers, 55-year-old brand mascots, and a Father’s Day celebration all help show the breadth of emotional, effective advertising.

5. Frito-Lay: ‘Epic taste’

Star rating: 4.1

Frito-Lay's decision to make ads spotlighting their range as well as individual brands has regularly paid emotional dividends – people like seeing their favorite snacks together.

There’s plenty of visual excitement in this brief spot too with a mix of stop-motion camera trickery and human connection making a very straightforward commercial pop with life.

4. Travelers: ‘We care’

Star rating: 4.4

Insurance tends to be a dry, transactional category – insurance ads only have a 1.9 star average on Test Your Ad. But sometimes brands like Travelers cut to the chase and tell the emotional stories behind a category which is all about protection. When they do, high scores often follow.

Do the audience actually believe Travelers would send a guy down into a sewer to retrieve a wedding ring? Maybe not, but that’s hardly the point – the idea is the brand will go that extra mile for its customers, and that emotional message lands strongly and well.

3. Keebler: ‘Best treats’

Star rating: 4.8

We talk a lot about brand characters – the Keebler Elves are 55 years old and still starring in high-scoring ads. The elves do more than just show up and introduce the brand – they turn a 15-second ad into a miniature story, giving a kid a treat to balance the annoyance of a missed bus. The Elves have a bus of their own too, nodding to the “Hollow Tree” mythology of these well-loved brand mascots.

All in all, an excellent use of a familiar character and proof that Fluent Device character really needn’t wear out.

2. Publix: ‘Happy Father’s Day, from Publix’

Star rating: 4.9

Father’s Day gets the short straw compared to Mother’s Day ads, but supermarket Publix has a strong one here. It won’t get any awards for Father’s Day innovation – it’s just a straightforward celebration of Dads, bad jokes and all.

But the joy of special occasions is that you can perform strongly just by hitting those core emotional beats well, and Publix does. The only problem is a poor Brand Fluency score: the branding is too late and subtle for a lot of viewers to realise Publix are the brand responsible.

1. Oreo: ‘Super Mario x Oreo Limited Edition Cookies’

Star rating: 5.9

It’s a Super Mario high score for Oreo. The month’s only five-star ad hits the maximum 5.9 stars – in fact, it’s the best score we’ve ever seen in the extremely competitive biscuit category.

Given it’s two brands with excellent ad pedigree – Oreo and Nintendo – maybe that shouldn’t be surprising. But their collaboration still stands out for the love, attention to detail and commitment to the concept they’ve brought to it. A Mario videogame level with coins and pipes replaced by cookies and milk, and the classic Mario theme tune played on glasses? Beautifully simple, and Oreo revel in the idea, keeping audiences happy for the whole 60 seconds. Not only is the Star Rating a category record, the collaboration smashes the averages for short-term Spike and Brand Fluency too. A faultless ad.

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. These measures are validated using the independent IPA database and also against real sales data at a category level. The star rating captures the emotional response to an ad. Only 1% of ads on the system score five stars. A one-star ad will have zero effect on brand growth, while a five-star ad will have an exceptional impact (up to three points of market share gain, depending on investment). Often the work that receives the highest ratings comes as a surprise to everyone.

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