| Brand | Ad Title | Length | Air Date |
| NBA | Be Cheerful | :30 | 11/22/19 |
| Walmart | Share The Love | 1:00 | 6/5/19 |
| Nike | Maynor de Leon | 1:00 | 7/9/19 |
| Nike | Justin Gallegos | :30 | 7/9/19 |
| Dick’s Sporting Goods | Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation | 1:00 | 5/20/2019 |
| Cigna | Being Here | :30 | 9/16/19 |
| Quicken Loans | The Answers | 1:00 | 11/7/19 |
| NFL | Inspire Change | :20 | 2/7/19 |
| Citibank | Citi Entertainment Takes on Confidence | 2:00 | 9/4/19 |
| Infiniti | Inspiring Others | 1:05 | 4/5/19 |
The occasional But signal above indicates internal conflict. For most of these ads, the main point of conflict arose from viewers appreciating the message and the ad in general, but not understanding what was advertised or how the advertiser was connected. The favorability of each ad’s message is evident in the overwhelming popularity of that aspect when viewers were asked to name the Single Best Thing in each ad:
Nike’s dominant presence on the most empowering list comes as no surprise as time and again we’ve seen the brand masterfully execute campaigns that take a stand and/or inspire (we acknowledged their skill in Q3 too!). Both Nike spots among 2019’s most empowering knocked it out of the ball park on every quantitative component we measure, significantly beating 2019 apparel norms. “Justin Gallegos” was the stronger performer of the two and was slightly more successful in driving positive purchase intent.
Two professional sports brands, the NFL and NBA, tapped into their athletes’ inspirational power to empower in a Likeable and Relevant manner. The inside look at how the leagues and their players impact communities was viewed favorably across a wide audience and left a positive impression on fans of all interest levels, including non-fans.
Cigna and Quicken Loans were the only two brands on our list with ads that were aligned with veteran-related causes. Cigna’s “Being Here” focused on its own initiatives, while Quicken Loans highlighted its support of an external, philanthropic organization. Both ads significantly outperformed respective industry norms on all of our component measures, but they were particularly successful in Breakthrough (Attention-grabbing in a Likeable manner) and Communication.
Now more than ever, brands are encouraged to find their purpose and advertise the heck out of it. This battle for cultural relevance in consumers’ minds is making “purpose” less of a differentiator among brands while at the same time adding more to the clutter pile. However, that’s not the case for these ads as they distinguished themselves from the rest as the most empowering of 2019 -- congratulations!
