Ace Metrix Announces Top Ads of 2011

January 9, 2012

Storytelling and Innovation are Top Themes Driving Success of Some of Year’s Top Ads from Google, Kindle, KitchenAid and Others

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Ace Metrix, the authority of television advertising effectiveness, announced the most effective ads overall and across 23 different categories for 2011, a list that represents the top one-half of one percent of all television ads to break in 2011. KitchenAid’s minute-long ad demonstrating its innovative food processor is the Ace Metrix Ad of the Year, achieving the highest Ace Score (699) of all ads in 2011. The Ace Metrix 2011 Top Ads list is the only list that represents the effectiveness of the top television creative by category as derived from a ranking of every new ad to air nationally in the year.

“Storytelling was a powerful creative tool for advertisers in 2011, as we saw from KitchenAid’s Ad of the Year and ads from Google that have put them on the map as a true brand marketer,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “But to be a top ad, you need to deliver more than just ‘likeability,’ which is just one of the many criteria that go into an Ace Score. The highly effective ads on this list need to score well with consumers on multiple dimensions, such as relevance and information. It is an extremely high bar to be on the Ace Metrix ‘Ad of the Year’ list, which represents the best of the best. Our hats go off to the agencies, brand teams, and production teams that achieved this honor.”

In addition to storytelling, product innovation was a dominant theme for 10 of the 23 top category ads.

“Ads that demonstrated product innovation clearly knocked the socks off of consumers,” Daboll said. “The KitchenAid ad did this, as well as ads for Apple’s iPhone, Microsoft Kinect, BMW, and Kindle—which replaced Apple’s iPad as the top tablet ad this year. But what was interesting is that brands that you don’t immediately associate with innovation—like Lysol, Sears, and Columbia—used this kind of messaging very effectively too.”

Many of the top ads of 2011 also included messaging that demonstrated:

– Philanthropy, like Coca-Cola’s top-ranked “Arctic Home” ad that benefits the World Wildlife Fund or MasterCard’s “Stand Up to Cancer” Ad featuring Ray Romano.

– Value for money, like Olive Garden’s top-ranked “Something New for Lunch” ad, which also portrays appealing food imagery and achieved the second highest combination of relevance and desire of all ads in 2011 – a key sweet spot for restaurant advertisers.

– Environmental themes, like BMW’s top-ranked “Ch-Ch-Changes” ad that broke during the 2011 Super Bowl and promotes the company’s “advanced diesel” technology.

– Humor, like Snickers’ top-ranked ad portraying sharks participating in a focus group, which drove high “watchability” scores.

– Patriotism, like Budweiser and State Farm’s September 11th Tribute ads, the top ads of the year in the alcoholic beverage and insurance categories, respectively. These ads’ persuasion, likeability, and attention scores were instrumental in distancing them from other ads in their categories.

The Ace Metrix Ads of the Year, by Category (All ads can be viewed here)

Category

Brand

Ad Title

Ace Score

Length

Air Date

Airlines

American Airlines

No. Thank You

654