LOS ANGELES, CA–March 16, 2011 – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, today released an industry report on automotive insurance ads, which found Liberty Mutual to be the most effective auto insurance advertiser in both the last year and the last quarter. The insurer’s “anti-texting while driving” ad featuring Oprah Winfrey was the most effective auto insurance ad in the last year. The anti-texting theme was also employed by AllState’s “Joi Carter: X the Text” ad, which was the second-most effective auto insurance ad in the last year.
The Ace Metrix “Auto Insurance Advertising Effectiveness Report” reviews the effectiveness of the 136 different auto insurance ads that have run in the last year from companies that include Allstate, Esurance, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm and 21st Century.
“Once again this demonstrates that in order for an ad to reach maximum effectiveness it must deliver a relevant message to a wide audience. Both of the anti-texting ads scored high attention scores with an educational message that resonated across a wide cross-section of Americans,” said Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix. “And, we know from our previous study around celebrity ads that Oprah is viewed as a particularly credible spokesperson for this issue.”
Top Five Most Effective Auto Insurance Ads of the Last Year*
| Brand | Ad Title | Air Date | Ace Score |
| Liberty Mutual | Oprah Winfrey: Think You Can Text and Drive | 5/7/2010 | 653 |
| Allstate | Joi Carter: X the Test | 9/20/2010 | 607 |
| Liberty Mutual | Woman Saves Man Walking Into Traffic | 6/5/2010 | 602 |
| Liberty Mutual | Car Explodes | 1/1/2010 | 592 |
| Allstate | Mayhem is an Out of Date GPS | 1/4/2011 | 575 |
*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc. Based on Ace Metrix data collected from January 2009.
Auto Insurance Brands Continue Ad Battle
According to J.D. Power and Associates, advertising spending for insurance in 2009 ballooned to $4.15 billion with a large portion of that coming from Auto Insurance. This rate of growth outpaced all other ad categories combined and shows no signs of slowing as the auto brands continue to battle for consumer attention.
Ace Metrix data shows that Liberty Mutual is winning the brand battle with a strategy centered around running fewer separate creative executions, while Allstate, Progressive, State Farm, and Geico are using a wide variety of campaigns and creatives.
Most Effective Auto Insurance Advertising by Brand
| Brand | Number of Ads Rated | Average Ace Score |
| Liberty Mutual | 6 | 576 |
| Progressive | 13 | 515 |
| 21st Century | 3 | 507 |
| Allstate | 41 | 505 |
| Nationwide | 6 | 495 |
| State Farm Auto | 20 | 471 |
| Geico | 42 | 471 |
| Esurance | 9 | 454 |
Note: The measure of ad effectiveness is a more robust measure than mere popularity and takes into account such criteria as an ad’s watchability, likeability, relevance, information, persuasiveness, ability to alter opinion, and ability to create desire.
About Ace Metrix
Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace Score™ measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management™ suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers.
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