Guinness scores most effective ad in Q3

Ace Metrix, television and video advertising analytics provider, announced the most effective of the more than 1,500 ads that broke during Q3. The most effective ad of the quarter, judged by performance within its category, was from Guinness, a unique demonstration of “Friendship” that outperformed the beer category by nearly 30 percent with an Ace Score of 622. The highest scoring ad overall was from Dawn, which continued to refine its long-running wildlife campaign with “Saving Wildlife”, an ad that achieved an Ace Score of 646 and brings Dawn back to the ad of the quarter podium for the second time this year.

“With the notable exception of Dawn, the consistent theme among this quarter’s ads is ‘delivering the unexpected.’ This quarter’s highest honor goes to Guinness who took a break from describing the characteristics of their beer to remind us of the character of man,” said Peter Daboll, Ace Metrix CEO. “Conversely, Dawn’s wildlife campaign is a visual masterpiece—associating the brand with a philanthropic cause wrapped in oily, yet still lovable, wild animals.”

*See “Award Qualification and Methodology” below.

Depictions of camaraderie are key among the ads that outperformed category competitors this quarter, with Guinness’s inspired story of friendship leading the way. Petco also demonstrated the “Powerful Chemistry” between man and man’s best friend while Reebok challenged two running friends to “Be Ready.”

Netflix let its product portfolio speak for itself with a sizzle reel of its original and exclusive TV series content, which scored 26% over its category norm with an Ace Score of 592.

After earning the title of both Highest Scoring and Most Effective ad in Q2, Dawn returns with the highest scoring ad of Q3, “Saving Wild Life,” a short 15-second ad. Microsoft and Samsung both leveraged sarcasm to effectively demonstrate their product features and differentiation for seats on the list of top ads by Ace Score. Microsoft’s ad for its Surface tablet (Ace Score: 643) featured a pseudo-Siri narrator poking fun at the iPad while calling attention to the Surface’s benefits. Samsung’s “Never Been Better” ad (Ace Score: 642) allowed a family’s witty banter to describe the features of the latest SmartTV including voice activation. Longhorn Steakhouse’s “Longhorn Choices” delivered a little something for everyone, depicting a variety of mouthwatering food shots that visually satisfy nearly every palate while promoting its dinner and lunch values.

Honda also employed a sense of humor in its latest Odyssey campaign with a unique anthropomorphizing of garbage soon to meet its demise with the brand’s innovative onboard vacuum. Honda’s clever product demonstration was both a top-scoring ad among its category (scoring 22% over the average automotive ad) as well as the fourth most effective ad overall for the quarter. The ad hit on all cylinders and had broad demographic appeal earning Change, Attention and Information scores well over 700.