For this week’s throwback Thursday we tested Life cereal’s iconic “Mikey” ad with 500 consumers, balanced against age, gender and income. The below respondent, one of 370 who opted to leave a specific comment about the ad, captured a common sentiment – as well as the year it first aired. This is just one ad you can’t forget.

Not only is the ad exactly 40 years old, it claims a record for one the longest running ads of all time, spanning 1974 to 1986; and, according to America, they wouldn’t mind seeing it again or sharing it with the next generation.

The ad earned an overall Ace Score of 646, putting it in the top-quintile for today’s cereal ads. The ad scored highest with consumers ages 36-49 (682)—12.6% higher than the average score for cereal ads. Men ages 50+ aren’t quite as sentimental about Mikey as their female counterparts, scoring the ad two points above norm, while women ages 50+ scored the ad 18.5% above norm. Respondents ages 21-35 were not quite as generous – both males and females failed to hit the norm for the category.

Likeability and Attention soar on an ad that is likely getting a boost from the nostalgic. That said, “Mikey” has the highest Likeability score (773) of any cereal ad to air this year, 15% greater than the 90-day category norm. Perhaps more importantly, Relevance and Desire scores were also both above norm.

Of the sample, 69% of the viewers said that they had seen the ad during its original airing awarding it an Ace Score of 662, about 10% higher than the Cereal norm. Consumers who hadn’t previously seen the ad as a group, scored the ad 6% below norm suggesting its heritage played a major role in its success.

Another common theme among respondents was their affinity for the classic ad’s message and style. Many purport that advertisers have lost their way, and that the simplicity in the message and how the story is told would be welcome today.

So cereal brands (and all advertisers ready to reach the nostalgic), perhaps a look into your archives may bring out an ad that harkens back to a simpler time and can remind those with the purse strings that the brands they loved as children are still available for purchase today.

Reach out to us on Twitter to suggest some of your favorite throwback ads! Or contact us to test ads or ad concepts that you may consider reviving.