NEW YORK – How to determine the most popular TV ads of the year? Nielsen has a likeability index, that’s how. The audience measurement firm has released its list of the most-liked ads and product integrations through Nov. 30, 2012—excluding those that played during the Super Bowl. JCPenney scored four of the top 10 spots with the help of a campaign featuring Ellen Degeneres.
Top 10 Most Liked New Commercials
Rank
Brand
Ad Description
Likeability Index
1
Ancestry.com
Ellen Harrington (:15)
319
2
Wendy’s
My dad Dave Thomas (:30)
269
3
JCPenney
No receipt no return (:60)
256
4
Ocean Spray
Cran-Cherry George Washington (:15)
256
5
JCPenney
Why so many coupons? (:60)
250
6
KFC
Hide & Seek (:15)
244
7
JCPenney
Excuse me, where are all the shoes? (:30)
238
8
JCPenney
What’s with the 99? (:30)
238
9
M&M’s
I’m Ms. Brown (:15)
238
10
Ford
Ford Mustang driving down the road changing colors (:60)
231
Only new ads airing between Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2012, were considered. Top ads were identified by filtering on general recall, brand linkage, and likeability linkage, then ranked on net likeability. The Likeability Index was calculated by taking the likeability score—percentage of viewers who liked the ad “somewhat” or “a lot”—for each top ad and indexing versus the mean score of all new ads during the same time period. For example, with a Likeability index of 319 the top ranked Ancestry.com ad has proven to be 3.19 times as well liked as the average new ad.
Product placements that made this year’s top 10 integrated the specific brands into the storyline of TV programs, and most placements involved longer-term show sponsorships. “Community” was down with Subway, and “Hawaii 5-0” was heavy with Chevy.
Top 10 Best Recalled Branded Integrations in Scripted Shows
Rank
Brand
Branded Integration Description
Program (Network/Air Date)
1
Subway
Dean Pelton gives a speech at a ribbon cutting ceremony where a Subway restaurant is being opened in the cafeteria
“Community” (NBC, 3/29)
2
Subway
Dean Pelton reveals to Shirley that a vacant space at Greendale Community College was sold to Subway
“Community” (NBC, 3/15)
3
Porsche
Alan tells Robin and Bridget that he’d vote with them for a brand new red Porsche, then he is shown driving one.
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS, 1/2)
4
Chevrolet
Danny and Steve are shown driving in a silver Chevrolet & passing police men in silver Chevrolets
“Hawaii Five-0” (CBS, 11/12)
5
Tootsie Roll
Andre tells Mike and Harry that there are free Tootsie Rolls in the pocket of their suits; Samuel and Harry try to negotiate a deal in Tootsie Rolls.
“Mike & Molly” (CBS, 5/7)
6
Louis Vuitton
Finch tells John that Ashley just charged $5,000 worth of Louis Vuitton suitcases
“Person of Interest” (CBS, 4/26)
7
M&M’s
David Lee offers Veronica a bowl of M&M’s
“The Good Wife” (CBS,11/25)
8
Charmin
Aaron says he would trade $80 million dollars in the bank for a roll of Charmin
“Revolution” (NBC, 9/17)
9
Chevrolet
Danny and Steve get out of a parked Chevrolet car, before investigating a crime scene in an open field.
“Hawaii Five-0” (CBS,10/15)"
10
Kit Kat
Frankie tells Brick to unload his Halloween sack of candy because she is craving a Kit Kat. She uses her foot to take a Kit Kat from his candy pile.
“The Middle” (ABC, 10/24)
Only branded integrations airing in new shows during the measurement were considered and weighted similarly to commercials.
The U.S. ad spend for the first three quarters of 2012 was up 2.5 percent across all media types from the same time period in 2011. The biggest advertisers by spend during the period included Procter & Gamble, AT&T and General Motors. Categorically, automotive ruled again.
Top 10 U.S. Advertisers by Industry
Rank
Product Category
Jan.-Sept. 2012
1
Automotive
$8 billion
2
Restaurant – Quick Service
$3.28 billion
3
Automotive Dealership
$2.84 billion
4
Telephone Services – Wireless
$2.75 billion
5
Pharmaceuticals
$2.42 billion
6
Motion Pictures
$2.32 billion
7
Department Stores
$2.23 billion
8
Direct Response
$1.47 billion
9
Restaurants
$1.32 billion
10
Insurance – Auto
$1.24 billion
Industry categories were ranked on total ad expenditure across cable, broadcast (English- and Spanish-language) spot, syndication, print, radio, direct mail and outdoors
Top 10 U.S. Advertisers by Company
Rank
Parent Company
1
Procter & Gamble Co
2
AT&T Inc
3
General Motors Co
4
Toyota Motor Corp
5
Ford Motor Co
6
Comcast Corp
7
Verizon Communications Inc
8
Fiat SPA
9
Loreal SA
10
Berkshire Hathaway Inc
Nielsen recently reported the U.S. ad spend for the third quarter of this year, which was up 7 percent compared to a year ago. The presidential election and the Summer Olympics were the major contributors, Nielsen said. Automotive alone was up 26 percent in the quarter to $2.7 billion. Fast food advertising reached $1 billion, up 14 percent compared to 3Q11. Auto dealers spent $1 billion, up 22 percent from the same period a year earlier, and wireless providers bumped their spend up 15 percent to $887.3 million.
