With 38 ads on average airing per minute across national TV, breaking through the clutter is essential. According to a recent analysis from Nielsen, there are five common characteristics of TV ads that resonate with consumers. The top five characteristics for ads that scored highly on “breakthrough,” an ad’s memorability, per consumers, are:
• Audience-Appropriate Humor – Tickling America’s funny bone is a proven winning tactic for making them remember an ad.
• Relatable Characters & Situations – Audiences will connect with personalities and scenarios that they can identify with.
• Simple & Upbeat Storyline – Ads should do more than convey information by telling a story for your audience to interpret and relate to.
• Character Dialogue to Tell a Story – Character dialogue makes for more memorable storytelling; changing a message from simple prose to a conversation will give the story life.
• Build an Emotional Connection – An effective emotional appeal resonates with consumers by triggering the brain to identify an experience as important enough to remember.
“The ability to create a true winning commercial is an undeniable art form, but there’s science behind it too,” said Joe Stagaman, EVP, Advertising Effectiveness Analytics for Nielsen. “Recent Nielsen research has found that nothing helps consumers feel connected to an ad like a good laugh, tugging at the heart strings or connecting with them on a personal level.”
RBR-TVBR asked Stagaman for some specific examples of these ads:
“Ads that are funny and endearing are more likely to resonate with consumers. The most memorable ads from the last Super Bowl are perfect examples. Dorito’s ‘Grandma Slinging Baby,’ M&Ms’ ‘Sexy & I Know It,’ and Bud Light’s ‘Go Fetch Dog’ really hit the nail on the head, according to consumer feedback. These ads were, respectively, 77, 75 and 61 percent more memorable than the average commercial.”
