Insight agency TRA has asked 1,000 New Zealanders about their favourite ads, and the top ten ads most liked by the public are also very effective at achieving business results.
According to the findings, ASB’s “Ben and Amy” has taken the number one spot, with nearly twice as many people mentioning this ASB campaign as their favourite than the next most favourite ad, Sky’s, “Life needs more sport”.
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TRA conducted the research in March 2021. The key question, ‘what is your favourite ad on TV at the moment?’ encouraged candid feedback from viewers on what ads had stuck in their hearts and minds. The TRA survey looked at a nationally representative sample of 1000 New Zealanders aged 18 to 60 years old (sourced from the Dynata research panel). Open-ended responses were manually coded to look at frequency of mentions, resulting in a top ten. Survey participants were also asked why they liked their favourite ad, and how it made them feel about what was being advertised.
The top three favourite ads were united by a uniquely Kiwi sense of humour – from the uplifting warmth of ASB’s “Ben and Amy”, to the nostalgic summer moments in Sky’s “Life needs more sport” and Pak’nSave’s reliably funny Stickman one-liners.
Electric Kiwi’s earworm, “Song Ban”, and TrustPower’s emotional “Lost and Found” ranked fourth and fifth, with Mercury, KFC, Lotto, Nova and AA Insurance rounding out the top 10.
“We’re stoked to see how Kiwis have embraced ASB’s Ben and Amy characters. They’ve generated a real fanbase who are invested in them and their story” says Shane Evans, GM Marketing at ASB.
TRA Managing Director Andrew Lewis said: “New Zealand’s favourite ads all showcase the kind of engaging storytelling that connects with viewers. These creative ideas have emerged from listening to the audience, getting to know them and understanding their cultural context. The result is ads that are memorable and gets brands into customer conversation – like ASB’s Ben and Amy.”
Carl Sarney, Head of Strategy for TRA, added: “New Zealand’s favourite ads all demonstrate TRA’s three principles of creative effectiveness in their execution. They’re remarkable, or surprisingly different from what other brands are doing, they’re rewarding, offering audiences entertainment value, and remembered – committed to their brand and ad idea across all touch points.”
