Purpose and Products Fuel Q2's Top Ads
Out of nearly 1,900 ads tested in Q2, those recognized either stood out for its purpose or product.
Los Angeles, CA, July 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ace Metrix, the leader in measuring video advertising effectiveness, today released its lists of Q2’s top performing ads based on two metrics from its emotion measurement platform, Ace EMO. Out of nearly 1,900 ads tested in Q2, those recognized either stood out for its purpose or product.
“Last quarter, brands honed in on purpose or products in ads, and, on rare occasions, both. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, more brands waded into purpose-driven advertising, that oftentimes paid off in terms of positive cultural perception” said Peter Daboll, Ace Metrix CEO.
“At the same time, brands that didn’t join in on that trend were avoiding tone-deaf and insensitive content. In eluding risks, products became the focal point of many ads” Peter Daboll added.
Ace Metrix recognized Q2’s most Empowering and most “Prodtastic” ads because of the duality that played out between product and purpose last quarter. These two metrics originate from Ace EMO, which measures the strength of emotional and cultural connection using Natural Language Processing and machine learning analysis of voluntary verbatim comments. Scores are determined relative to every ad in the Ace Metrix database and are passively derived so responses are not susceptible to forced exposure bias (eg. survey questions like “how heartfelt was this ad?").
Q2’s Most Empowering
Ace Metrix recorded an unprecedented spike in ads registering signal on its Empower metric -- 37% of all those in Q2 to be exact. Historically, only 12.5% of all ads scored on it. This uptick was the direct result of the pandemic as 63% of Q2’s Empowering ads were COVID-19 themed (as were all but one of the top ten ads below).
The Empower score measures positive Cultural Perception, indicating when an ad’s purpose-driven message inspires, encourages or motivates viewers. Purpose during the pandemic came naturally to brands and the universal impact of COVID-19 meant most, if not all, of the viewers could connect with brands’ efforts.
| Brand | Ad Title | Length | Empower Band |
| Frito-Lay | It’s About People | 1:00 | Extreme |
| Mercedes-Benz | Be The Best | 1:00 | Extreme |
| Brawny | Giants Initiative | 0:30 | Rare |
| Sports United | Real Heroes | 1:55 | Rare |
| Angel Soft | Give Together Now | 0:15 | Rare |
| Subaru | Never Been More True | 0:30 | Rare |
| Frito-Lay | #Joygivers | 0:30 | Rare |
| Lowe’s | Giving Thanks | 0:30 | Rare |
| Cheers | 1:00 | Rare | |
| Michigan State | Beat the Odds | 0:30 | Rare |
| Lyft | Rallying Our Community | 0:25 | Rare |
Q2’s Most Prodtastic
Prodtastic measures when the product advertised generates an emotional response from viewers and is the primary driver of the ad (as opposed to storytelling). Oftentimes it is expressed as a general fondness for the product and/or its attributes. Last quarter, 20% of all ads scored on this measure (vs. 12% historic norm). Non-COVID ads were the main contributors to this increase as only 17% of Q2’s Prodtastic spots were COVID-19 themed.
Early on in the quarter, Ace Metrix’s Prodtastic metric was making a name for itself among the highest scoring non-COVID-19 ads. All but one of Q2’s most Prodtastic ads followed suite in achieving Ace Scores significantly above the recent all-industry norm.
| Brand | Ad Title | Length | Prodtastic Score |
| Tide | Get It Clean | 0:15 | 10 |
| Tropicana | Very Refreshing | 0:15 | 9.4 |
| Campbell’s | Delicious Flavor | 0:15 | 9.4 |
| Dove Soap | The Best Brand | 0:15 | 9.2 |
| Ocean Spray | X Nature | 0:15 | 9.1 |
| Cheerios | Taste the Crunch | 0:15 | 9.1 |
| Hellman’s | Big Appetite | 0:15 | 9.0 |
| Bounce | Simple Use | 0:30 | 8.9 |
| Lysol | Super Clean | 0:30 | 8.4 |
| Kraft | Savor the Sizzle | 0:15 | 8.3 |
Visit the Ace Metrix Site for more insights about Q2’s top performing ads.
About Ace EMO
Ace Metrix measures the strength of emotional and cultural connection in advertising. The proprietary approach quantifies 57 emotions and reactions such as: Heartfelt, Nostalgia, Humor, Authentic, Dishonest, Preachy, and Sexist. Scores are passively derived from voluntary respondent verbatim comments using Natural Language Processing and machine learning analysis. Each of the 57 emotions are evaluated relative to all other ads in the Ace Metrix database, totaling over ten million verbatims.
About Ace Metrix Inc.
Ace Metrix measures ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to video ads, providing the advertising industry an unbiased resource to measure creative impact. Ace Metrix scores every national television and digital ad across 96 categories creating a complete comparative database—Ace Metrix LIVE®. A unique panel of at least 500 consumers, demographically balanced to the U.S. census, scores each ad in the exact same manner. The results are presented on a scale of 1–950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as Attention, Likeability, Information, Change, Relevance, Desire and Watchability. Ace Metrix applies a natural language processing algorithm to the hundreds of qualitative verbatim responses collected for each ad, deriving additional metrics related to emotional and cultural engagement.
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Note: Ace Metrix®, the Ace Metrix logo design, Ace Score®, Ace Metrix LIVE® and Creative Lifecycle Management® are registered trademarks of Ace Metrix. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Sammi Scharninghausen Ace Metrix, Inc. (800) 279-7984 x4300 [email protected]