We’ve discussed before how, from an analytical perspective, Super Bowl ads are some of the best ads of the year. And, while it’s likely some Big Game ads will also make the Top Ads of the Quarter list at the end of the first quarter, this week, two such ads stand out for their ability to be effective with consumers. Budweiser’s much-talked-about “Lost Dog” ad earns the title of Category Overachiever this week for its ability to grab consumer attention as well as tug at their heartstrings. McDonald’s also successfully made an emotional impact on consumers with its Super Bowl spot, which earned the highest Ace Score of all 160 ads to debut this last week.
Continuing Budweiser’s now-famous, and equally adorable, #bestbuds campaign, “Lost Dog” tells the story of a puppy who gets lost and nearly reaches home, only to encounter one last obstacle. It’s truly a heart-stopping tearjerker. Rightfully so, “Lost Dog” earned an Ace Score of 652, which is an impressive 27% above the 12-month Beer category norm.
“Lost Dog” scored well above norm no matter the consumer’s beer preference. Despite 31% of the surveyed consumers indicating that they are not regular beer drinkers, the ad was still able to achieve its noteworthy high score. Across beer drinkers, however, those who had recently enjoyed flavored beer awarded the ad its highest score of 715. Likewise, those who are a fan of domestic, full-calorie beers—like Budweiser—awarded the ad an Ace Score of 706.
Along with the ad drowning in high scores, “Lost Dog” was able to achieve impressive feats in terms of Emotional Sentiment. On a scale from 1 to 100, the ad achieved an Emotional Sentiment score of 81, which is 23% higher than the American beer brand’s norm.
The word cloud below, which combines 381 optional responses consumers left for the ad, provides insight into why the ad was so emotionally compelling. The number one word consumers used to describe “Lost Dog” was, fittinginly, “love.” Nineteen percent of consumers used the word “love” in their optional response. Similarly, consumers also used words like “heartwarming” (5%), “adorable” (3%) and “touching” (4%) to describe their feelings.
While this next iteration in the famous puppy’s journey certainly pawed its way into people’s hearts, yet again, we can’t help but wonder what’s in store for Budweiser next Super Bowl. Will the puppy be back again? Either way, “Lost Dog” has proven that people still love puppies and the stampeding Clysedales, even garnering the second highest Ace Score of all Super Bowl ads from the 2015 set of spots.
Watch this year’s winning Ads of the Week by Category Overachievers.
McDonald’s one-minute Super Bowl spot not only earns the title of Highest Ace Score this week, but also earned the prestigious title of highest scoring Super Bowl ad as well. Consumers awarded “Pay With Lovin’” an Ace Score of 706 for its ability to appeal to consumers on an emotional level. In case you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch and try not to love this heart-tugging good deal.
Along with McDonald’s high Ace Score comes extremely high component scores. Nearly every component scored above 700 while Attention and Likeablity came in the highest at 763 and 759, respectively.
While “Pay With Lovin’,” in the end, is touting a new promotion, consumers were still rightfully swept up in the emotion of the ad. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed said that the ad’s message was the best thing about “Pay With Lovin’.” Another 18% indicated that the ad’s deal was actually the best thing about it.
Similar to Budweiser’s “Lost Dog,” consumers couldn’t stop lovin’ this ad. Fifteen percent of the ad’s 328 optional responses mentioned how much they “love” the ad, the deal or McDonald’s. Other consumers were so impressed with McDonald’s new promotion that they called the ad “heartwarming” (3%), “sweet” (4%), “amazing” (3%) and “touching” (3%).
The “Pay With Lovin’” promotion appropriately ends this Valentine’s Day, so there’s a limited time for the offer. With this big change for the QSR brand during the Big Game, we’re looking forward to what McDonald’s serves next.
