Ad of the Week: Category Overachiever
Returning to the top of our Category Overachiever list for the second week in a row is Xbox with “Jennifer’s Turn”. This spot takes an unusual angle compared to most ads in the Video Games and Consoles category, earning it an Ace Score of 645, over 30% above the 12-month category norm. This spot even performed 4% better than last week’s winning Xbox One ad “The Invitation”.
Unlike “The Invitation”, which is full of elaborate special effects—a real attention-grabber—, “Jennifer’s Turn” is a simpler story of a woman who takes over the TV to play her favorite game, Death Rising 3. So, what makes this unassuming ad that much more engaging than the action-packed one? While the gender/age demographic graphs look very similar across the two ads, there is one standout difference. Women ages 16–20 rated “Jennifer’s Turn” over 5% higher overall. Also, these ladies’ scores in Likeability and Desire increased 6% and 11%, respectively, when compared to last week’s winner.
A look into the verbatims from this young, female demographic reveals what was appealing in this ad. Aside from the voice control feature, many of the surveyed women took note of the female lead. In fact, across all demographics, 8% of consumers remarked that the gamer was female, a twist from the usual male-dominated gamer ad.
Our surveyed consumer’s aren’t the only ones who noticed this different take. On YouTube, one of the highest rated comments is from Andre McMillian who wrote, “This video is [a] pretty slick feature for those of us who’s [sic] wives are gamers too!”
Watch this year’s winning Ads of the Week by Category Overachievers.
Whether you enjoy cooking at home (and then cleaning up the mess you just made) or prefer to simple pleasure of eating out, we have you covered this week. In an Ace Metrix first, there is a three-way tie for Top Ace Score. Of the more than 90 ads to debut last week, Lysol’s “Time to Change the Way We Clean”, Hillshire Farm’s “Making It Remarkable” and IHOP’s “Holiday Meal” each came in with an Ace Score of 654.
Although each of these ads is different in terms of product and message, they all contain an element we’re starting to see frequently as the holidays approach—images of family and friends. According to each spot, Lysol protects your family against harsh chemicals, Hillshire sausages are made with a family recipe and IHOP is the perfect place for a get-together this holiday season. Consequently, each of these ads were rated higher among consumers with children in the home.
As may be expected, women were particularly fond of Lysol’s All-Purpose Cleaner. On average, women rated this ad nearly 14% higher than men. However, as you can see from the graph below, each of the gender/age demographics scored this ad higher than the 90-day Household Cleaner category norm.
Breaking away from gender stereotypes, Hillshire Farm’s sausage spot appealed to both men and women equally. This meaty ad found its sweet spot among men 36–49 and women 36+.
Slicing open the verbatims reveals that men loved the visuals of the meat cooking, while women found the brand and story most engaging.
Savory images of food seem to be popular for earning high marks (nothing new there). IHOP’s scenes of crepes, pancakes and turkey dinners heated this holiday spot’s Desire score to a mouthwatering 714, 9% higher than the Restaurant category average.
After making our holiday ad list and checking it twice, numbers have doubled since last week. Notably, IHOP is one of the few Restaurants to have debuted a holiday ad so far.
All three of these ads tell of the coming holidays, which are just around the corner. This season, we’re offering a holiday package so advertisers don’t miss a beat during this 4th quarter push. Contact us to learn more about our Holiday Advertising Analytics Package.
