ADWEEK
Despite the growth in digital video this year, TV ads still very much strike a chord with consumers, according to Ace Metrix, which released its brands of the year finalists today.
The best-of list breaks out the most effective marketers across 23 industries and 85 categories, and while there is still a bit of wiggle room this year for campaigns that break in December, it’s safe to say that the list is indicative of this year’s top performers. Ace Metrix will officially announce the 2014 winners on Jan. 7.
More than half of this year’s winners are repeats from 2013, which is a far cry from ’12—when only Liberty Mutual made the cut from the previous year.
To make the ’14 list, a brand needed to launch five or more campaigns, and each sector includes 80 pieces of creative.
Check out the top performers by category below.
Clothing and retail
Sportswear dominated the apparel and footwear category this year, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that major sporting events the Sochi Olympics, World Cup and Super Bowl all took place this year.
Apparel and footwear
Adidas
Nike
Reebok
Skechers
Under Armour
Retail
Best Buy
Hallmark
Home Depot
Lowe’s
Petco
Automotive
Even though a number of automakers have pulled out of the upcoming Super Bowl, car brands still bulked up on ads in 2014.
Within the luxury section, Mercedes-Benz scored on Ace Metrix’s list this year, similar to other recent findings from Phoenix Marketing International.
Luxury
Audi
BMW
Buick
Mercedes-Benz
Volvo
Non-luxury
Ford
Jeep
Mazda
Nissan
Subaru
Beverages
Starbucks makes its first appearance on this year’s non-alcoholic list, driven by the launch of its first global brand campaign. Dunkin’ Donuts and International Delight are on the list for the second time this year, but interestingly, no soda brands are included.
Within beer, Coors, Stella Artois and Redd’s are new this year, while Budweiser and Samuel Adams make repeat appearances.
Beer
Budweiser
Coors
Redd’s
Samuel Adams
Stella Artois
Non-alcoholic beverages
Dunkin’ Donuts
Gatorade
International Delight
Snapple
Starbucks
Spirits, flavored malts and wine
Bud Light Lime-A-Rita
Jack Daniel’s
Pinnacle
Skyy Vodka
Woodford Reserve
Food
Within food, TV staples like Frito-Lay, Mars and General Mills proved to be effective this year. Elsewhere, quick-service is particularly interesting and shows consumers’ move away from traditional fast food with Panera Bread on the list. Pizza Hut also made the cut, with its recent rebranding.
Packaged foods
Campbell’s
Cheerios
Oscar Mayer
Pillsbury
Quaker Cereals
Restaurants
IHOP
Longhorn Steakhouse
Olive Garden
Outback
TGI Fridays
Candies and snacks
Cheetos
Hershey’s
Lay’s
M&M’s
Snickers
Quick-service restaurants
Baskin-Robbins
Dairy Queen
Panera Bread
Pizza Hut
Taco Bell
Financial services and insurance
The only financial service newcomer to the list this year is LifeLock, while 2013 winner TD Ameritrade makes its second consecutive appearance.
Financial services
Citibank
JP Morgan Chase
LifeLock
TD Ameritrade
Wells Fargo
Insurance
Allstate
Farmers
Liberty Mutual
Nationwide
State Farm
Technology and telecom
While financial service brands remain rooted on the list, four out of the five companies in the software and website category are new this year. Plus, Google grabbed spots on two categories: Software and websites and hardware.
Technology hardware
Dell
Google Hardware
Intel
Microsoft
Samsung
Software and websites
Android
Care.com
GoDaddy
Google
Squarespace
Mobile
Apple iPhones
HTC
Kindle
LG
Samsung
Video games and consoles
Disney
Nintendo
Playstation
Ubisoft
Xbox
Telecom
Comcast
Dish Network
Hulu
T-Mobile
Verizon FiOS
