This week, we take a break from holiday ads to showcase some winners that stood out for their product appeal. Amazon Fire TV’s latest spot, again featuring Gary Busey, was able to be funny while showcasing the product, earning the brand the title of Category Overachiever. Similarly, TrueCar rose to the occasion to earn the title Top Ace Score. While TrueCar has aired quite a few ads throughout 2014, this ad is exceptional for its ability to be clever while still imparting high amounts of information.
Amazon Fire TV and Gary Busey are no strangers. The duo first hit our home screens back in April. Now though, they are back in this new spot, “Powerful Stick.” The ad earned an Ace Score of 610, coming in 12.6% above the Television Services 12-month category norm.
The 30-second spot excelled because of the product featured—the Amazon Fire TV—earning high scores in the components of Information, Change and Desire. Consumers learned something new from Busey in the ad, awarding the ad an Information score 15% above the Television Services 90-day norm. Additionally, consumers rightly felt the brand was moving in a new direction, giving the ad a Change score of 679, 16% above the norm.
We can also see how the product shined in the graph below. When asked what was the best thing about this commercial, 29% of consumers said it was the Amazon Fire TV. However, Busey stole his fair share as well, with 19% of consumers saying he was the best thing about the ad.
The optional responses from consumers, below, reveal even deeper insights into the ad’s performance. While some (4%) consumers were not a fan of Busey’s oddities (as shown by his name in red, below), even more consumers (9%) still said the ad was “funny.” Another 14% also used the word “Amazon” in their response, signaling the high brand memorability.
With several competitors to the Amazon Fire TV now out in the world, it’s important for brands to be able to differentiate from one another. It seems putting such a memorable character, such as Busey, in a spot is an interesting way for the Amazon Fire TV to set its advertising apart.
Watch this year’s winning Ads of the Week by Category Overachievers.
For people who hate to haggle when buying a car, TrueCar has made buying a car a whole lot easier. TrueCar’s latest ad, “Real Price,” features the brand’s new app, which allows users to scan a car to figure out what to pay for the car. Consumers awarded the ad with an Ace Score of 634, the highest of any ad to debut last week.
Interestingly, the gender/age chart below reveals a telling trend regarding which consumers are most interested in TrueCar’s services. Younger men and older women scored the ad the highest with women ages 50+ awarding the ad a score of 714, which is 13% higher than the ad’s overall Ace Score.
The ad’s ability to be informative and instill a sense of desire in consumers helped it reach its high score. Many consumers learned something new from the ad, earning it an Information score of 712, which is 10% above the 90-day norm. Likewise the ad earned a Desire score of 632, also 10% above norm, making consumers say, “I want that,” after watching the ad.
The ad’s informative approach can also be seen in the word cloud, below. Of the 326 optional consumer comments, 6% mentioned how “informative” the ad is. Additionally, 16% simply mentioned the word “app,” which is not much of a surprise considering 36% of consumers said that the ad’s product was the best thing about “Real Price.”
TrueCar has debuted many ads throughout 2014, with each one touting the product’s no-bargaining ease of use. However, of the 17 ads the brand has aired, “Real Price” is currently the highest scoring.
