MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Ace Metrix®, the new standard in television and video advertising analytics, announced the leading contenders for funniest ads of 2013, a list led by Volkswagen’s “Choose Wisely” ad. The measure of funny is based on the Ace Metrix Funny Index, an objective measure based on natural language processing of verbatim consumer qualitative responses collected for every ad. Scores that are above 100 are funnier than average; those that are below 100 are less funny than average. Volkswagen’s top-scoring ad scored a 963 on the Funny Index, making the ad more than nine times funnier than average.
“The funniest ads of 2013 have managed to buck the trend – engaging humor while still delivering on key Persuasion components, like Information, that are needed to be truly effective.”
“Humor is one of the leading devices in advertising, with 1 in 5 ads employing it as a strategy. What our data has proven, however, is that funny does not necessarily mean effective,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “The funniest ads of 2013 have managed to buck the trend – engaging humor while still delivering on key Persuasion components, like Information, that are needed to be truly effective.”
Volkswagen Settles into the Driver’s Seat of Funniest Ads of 2013
Several brands have a pair of ads on the top ten list, demonstrating their ability to deliver funny ads consistently – and effectively. Volkswagen’s “Choose Wisely” effort landed it at the top of the Funny heap and earned an Ace Score above the 2013 category average. “Top Down Day,” which ranked 7th on the funny list, is Volkswagen’s most effective ad of the year, outperforming all non-luxury auto ads this year by more than 20 percent.
Doritos, a brand known for its humorous Super Bowl ads, also earned two places. K-Mart delivered a pair, noteworthy in that the ads are a departure from the company’s 2012 strategy, in which the brand ranked 171st on the Funny Scale versus 10th overall this year-to-date. In fact, 63 percent of K-Mart’s ads have above-average Funny Scores this year vs. just 15 percent last year. Not only did K-Mart produce a TV ad that went viral online (“Ship My Pants”), but its lesser-known “The Easy Life” spot is the second funniest ad year-to-date with a Funny Score of 920.
“K-Mart is another example of a brand that has used humor effectively,” Daboll commented. “The infamous ‘Ship My Pants’ ad had amazing Information scores in addition to being hilarious, which created an overall Ace Score of 598, which is 18 percent above its category average.”
Table 1: Top 10 Funniest TV Ads, 2013 YTD
| Rank | Category | Brand | Ad Title | Air Date | Funny Score | Ace Score | Gap to Norm | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1. | Non-Luxury Auto | Volkswagen | Choose Wisely | 2/11/2013 | 963 | 530 | 2.2% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2. | Discount Stores | K-Mart | The Easy Life | 3/10/2013 | 920 | 507 | 0.4% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | Chips | Doritos | Goat 4 Sale | 2/3/2013 | 919 | 626 | 12.7% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4. | Snacks | Jack Links | Sasquatch Throws Woman In Mud | 5/14/2013 | 913 | 538 | 3.4% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5. | Chips | Doritos | Fashionista Daddy | 2/3/2013 | 870 | 585 | 5.3% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6. | Discount Stores | K-Mart | Ship My Pants | 4/12/2013 | 859 | 598 | 18.4% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7. | Non-Luxury Auto | Volkswagen | Top Down Day | 2/18/2013 | 847 | 623 | 20.2% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8. | Beer | Corona Light | Hunting | 4/24/2013 | 835 | 488 | 0.6% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9. | Credit Cards | Capital One | Tighty Whities | 3/6/2013 | 820 | 480 | -1.9% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10. | Television Services | DISH Network | Where Now? | 6/7/2013 | 795 | 516 | 4.2% |
Reflects top 10 ads ranked by the Ace Metrix Funny Score based on all TV ads scored between January 1, 2013 and October 2, 2013. Gap to Norm reflects percentage outperformance or underperformance relative to the brand’s 2013 category norm.
For a deeper dive on the funniest ads and the funniest brands of the year, visit our blog Creative Rules at www.acemetrix.com/news/blog.
About the Funny Index
Ace Metrix applies advanced semantic processing algorithms to qualify and quantify the level of humor associated with each ad, generating a “Funny Index”. The Funny Index is a unique and objective metric that enables marketers and researchers to easily compare the relative funniness of ads across the dataset. Scores that are above 100 are funnier than average; those that are below 100 are less funny than average. An ad with a Funny Index of 250 is considered two and a half times funnier than the average ad.
About Ace Metrix
Ace Metrix® is the new standard in television and video analytics, dedicated to delivering better, faster and more cost-effective solutions for evaluating video advertising within competitive context. Through the Ace Metrix LIVE® platform, companies can now access timely, actionable data wherever, whenever they need to, enabling real-time advertising campaign optimization. Combining leading edge technology and patent pending methodology, Ace Metrix is revolutionizing the way marketers measure themselves and their competitive landscape. The Company is privately held and is backed by leading venture capital firms and industry leaders, including Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Palomar Ventures, Leapfrog Ventures and WPP.
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