This quarter, we’ve taken a fresh approach to naming the top ads. Advertisers have many objectives when developing new video campaigns, and Ace Metrix has a broad set of metrics to help advertisers determine whether their ads are achieving those objectives.

We took the 1,800 ads to debut this quarter, online or on national television, and identified those ads that accelerated on a particular dimension – those that demonstrated extraordinary breakthrough, excelled at providing information, changed perceptions, and generated incredible desire – and of course those that were undeniably likeable.

We’ve provided a snapshot of those winning ads here. To learn more about what made these ads work and why, and to understand how your ad creative compares, contact us!

“Most Attention Grabbing” – Ads Powered by Outstanding Attention Scores

Among breakthrough ads powered by outstanding Attention scores, the top honor goes to IKEA’s online only spot, Rediscover the Joy of the Kitchen. Scoring 26% above the Retail category norm for this component with a score of 775, this jingle-themed ad hooked viewers and maintained their attention for 90 seconds, which is no easy feat. In fact, over 10% of the 407 optional viewer responses included the word “attention.” This ad had the biggest impact among women aged 50+, scoring an 830 component score with this group.

AT&T’s Corporate Promotion ad, Accident, achieved an outstanding attention-getting score of 763. While 19% higher than average in its category, this ad’s dramatic delivery of a critical message, not texting while driving, was described as powerful, startling, and shocking. Viewers also noted that the subtle branding further stressed the importance of the message.

The third ad to achieve outstanding Attention scores this quarter is Honda’s Paper, a 60 second ad that captures the imagination while demonstrating innovation through hand drawn imagery. This ad showed remarkable breakthrough ability with men 21-35, landing an 812 attention component score among that group, and 719 overall for the component.

“Most Likeable” – Ads Powered by Outstanding Likeability Scores

Turning our attention to the ads scoring highest for “Most Likeable”, Intel’s Shubham Banerjee & Intel Edison came in at 25% above the category norm with a 767 component score. This 1:55 web-only spot tells the inspirational story of an eighth grade boy who employs Intel Edison technology to build affordable Braille printers for the blind. Similar to AT&T’s ad, the likeability score of this ad drives home consumer’s appreciation for brands that use their message to bring attention to important societal needs or issues. By not focusing on specific product information, but rather adopting this approach, brands are building equity and trust with consumers.

PetSmart also excelled in this category, scoring 722 for Likeability with their ad Adopting More, showcasing another important cause, pet adoption. In a mere 15 seconds, this upbeat spot uses music and animal imagery to capture the hearts of all demo segments fairly evenly, and raise awareness of the many pets waiting to be adopted.

Finally, University of Central California’s spot, Impact, was able to get a meaningful message across in 30 seconds and scored 698 for the component. The ads tells the story of a little boy from Brazil whose life is changed by UCF’s impact program when they create a bionic prosthetic limb for him. Viewer comments included words like “touching” and “inspiring”, and the ad appealed to all gender and age groups relatively equally.

“Most Informative” – Ads Powered by Outstanding Information Scores

The Home Depot’s Color App ad earned a Top Ads honor by effectively communicating information, coming in 20% above the category norm for this component. Consumers were intrigued by a technology that enables them to see how different paint colors will look in a room, and found the product itself and message among the best things about the ad.

Cheerios’ announcement of their new gluten free status in Box Number One also earned outstanding Information scores, coming in at 36% above the category norm for this component. Consumers appreciated the brand and product, with the message being the single best thing about the ad. Seventy four percent of viewers identified the Cheerios brand in unaided brand recognition and 18% mentioned the brand by name in optional verbatim responses about the ad. While the creative was incredibly effective at delivering new product information, the brand will no doubt face challenges in light of the news around gluten in fact being found in the new offering.

Rounding out the most informative ads, Guinness’ Gates conveyed the story of the brand’s rich beer-making history and heritage in an engaging 90 second format. The ad delivered at 26% above the category norm with a 671 score, with words such as “interesting,” “informative,” “history,” and “tradition” being echoed in viewer comments. Among those who describe themselves as current users of the brand, the component score shoots up to 805, indicating that learning more about Guinness appealed to their consumers.

“Most Perception Changing” – Ads Powered by Outstanding Change Scores

Ads that change perception of a product or brand are an extremely valuable commodity. Domino’s Order Anytime ad, which entertains by showing celebrities ordering pizza on their mobile devices, was a clear leader in this category, with a score of 707. Consumer comments demonstrated that they were impressed by the use of technology to order pizza, with over 30% of respondents saying either the brand or product itself was the single best thing about the ad.

We’ve always known that people love ads with babies and the perception changing score for Microsoft’s Windows 10 ad, Future Is Here further confirms it. The ad comes in at 16% above the category norm for this component, with the characters and visual scenes combining for 35% of viewers’ single best thing about the ad. Nearly 30% of the 322 viewer comments include the word “children”, “babies”, or “cute”. Comments also indicated interest in how the next generation will experience technology.

Dick’s Sporting Goods delivered with their Sportsmatter ad which conveys a positive message of how children in need can benefit from organized sports. With a component score of 678, which is 16% over the category norm, the brand portrayed its philanthropic side, resulting in words like “helping”, “great” and “good” appearing in 32% of the 368 viewer comments. Brand recognition ran high with this ad, as “Dick’s” was identified by 75% of respondents.

“Gotta Have It” – Ads Powered by Outstanding Desire Scores

Another ad that has run only online to date appears among the most notable, with Peligroso Tequila’s Tropical Storm coming in with a score of 734, 14% above the category norm. The 90 second spot depicts the creation of the “Tropical Storm” margarita, and with 32% of viewers saying the visual scenes were the best thing about the ad, it’s no wonder that desire runs high for the product. Comments tended to mention wanting to try the recipe or the drink right away.

Samsung Mobile Phone’s Write Anything ad comes also earned the title of “Gotta Have It” with a Desire score of 698. Portraying the ability to easily make notes using the Galaxy Note 5’s stylus, 36% of viewers thought the product itself was the best thing about the ad. Viewer comments demonstrated that people could relate to the idea of always needing to write something down, and wanting that capability in their phone.

Delicious food imagery often equal high desire scores, and Real California Dairy’s Grilled Sandwich is no exception. Coming in 17% above the category norm for desire, with a score of 681, viewers often used words like “want,” “love,” “great,” and even “sexy” to describe the tantalizing grilled cheese sandwiches. With 31% of respondents saying the visual scenes were the best thing about the ad, it’s clear that a classic such as the grilled cheese sandwich will resonate with viewers.

Want to know more about these standout ads? Contact us today.

Watch all the winning ads: