Kantar, today, unveiled to South Africans and the world the Best Liked Ads that celebrates South Africa’s favourite TV commercials. These are the ads that have been rated as the best liked by the South African audience, whom we believe to be the most important critic – the person who ultimately chooses to buy your brand or not.
Remembering and rebellion topped the qualities of the year’s hero ads, with liquid messaging at the very top of the list. Sasol’s ‘This isn’t just any fuel, #ThisIsGlugGlug’ by FCB Joburg was not only the top ad of Q2 2019 but also the overall best-liked ad for the year, filled with all the wide-eyed wonder and nostalgic feel-good magic of the original ‘glug-glug’ ad of 1991.
Click here to watch Sasol’s winning ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf1wD3FxOIw&feature=youtu.be
This renewed take on that much-loved classic proves the oft-quoted Maya Angelou
true: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will
forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” We
know that people feel first and think second, and ads that are creative and
emotionally engaging tend to work better and build memorable and lasting
impressions.
The same clearly holds true for brands and flows smoothly into the year’s
second-best: Heineken’s ‘Unmissable’ by Publicis Milan for the Uefa League,
also the star ad of Q1 of 2019. This piece of communication’s star power links
to the universal truth that watched kettles never boil and your team is most
likely to score that all-important equalising goal when your attention is
momentarily diverted from the on-screen action.
Click here to watch the Heineken winning ad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezz6MsndP-o&feature=youtu.be
Making a run for it
Nonetheless, whether you saw it happen live with your own eyes or not, it’s
still something to celebrate – something you can’t help but do when seeing the
year’s overall third-spot contender, Edgars’ spunky ‘Don’t tell me what to do’
by VMLY&R, featuring the colourful Tsonga chameleon Sho Madjozi, who has
changed the SA fashion and music game alike and brought a taste for local
flavour to global palates.
Little wonder that dance culture is such a core component of the nation’s
essence. But we also feel the beat of intensifying the action, especially if
you’re as driven as the feisty female athletes associated with Nike’s ‘Dream
Crazier’ mantra by Wieden + Kennedy, even more of a win when reflected on in
#WomensMonth: “If they think your dreams are crazy, show them what
crazy dreams can do.”
Click here to watch Edgers winning ad:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONv2xqfRHQ&feature=youtu.be
Then again, you may not be as keen on the treadmill as the competitive gymers in Ogilvy SA’s ‘Treadmill’ work for Cadbury Lunch Bar but you’ll certainly be entertained as they slide neatly into the fourth spot for the year. But it’s Vodacom’s ‘It’s a tie’ by Openfield Marketing, cinching fifth position overall, which proves VR and AR may well be the way of the future when it comes to sport, especially with remote living now the way of the world and many feeling they’re starting to live at work rather than working from home.
Next stop, adventure!
That sense of adventure and urge to rebel was another strong thread in the advertising that kept us entertained last year, felt strongly in sixth place with Savanna’s #RulesDontApply by FCB Joburg and Tropika’s ‘School of Smooth’ by Joe Public, coming in ninth for the year and the highest-ranked ad of the final quarter of last year. We want to close our eyes to the chaos and picture ourselves lulled by the sound of waves and the tasty tropics far, far away. It’s a trend that’s bound to continue as the nation’s eyes have been largely turned inward as a result of all the mayhem and upheaval of 2020.
That delicious storytelling air of ‘take me away’ also wafts through in Nespresso’s ‘Really George’ from McCann New York, with the Game-of-Thrones-esque update on the epic coffee quest featuring George Clooney and Natalie Dormer rated the top ad of Q3 and coming in 13th spot overall for the year. Escapism at its best.
The top of the 20 Ads are:
#1 Ad for 2019
Sasol – This isn’t just any fuel. #ThisIsGlugGlug
FCB Joburg
#2 Ad for 2019
Heineken Unmissable
Publicis Milan
#3 Ad for 2019
Edgars Don’t tell me what to do
VMLY&R
Kantar is the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company.
