Top Ten Most Liked New Ads, May 10, 2010 to June 6, 2010
RANK	Brand	Description	Likeability Index
1	Target	Black smoke emerges from jungle; “Lost” theme; First Alert smoke detector	209
2	Aflac	Animated kids play roughly with toys; if you get hurt, you get paid cash fast; Toy Story 3	151
3	McDonald’s	Shrek Forever After Glasses–Donkey tells Shrek that outside forces are making him crazy	148
4	Ford	Fiesta–People with arrows highlight gas mileage; 40 more movies, concerts, ballgames	139
5	Walmart	Mom let me show you the coolest rollback in the store; what’s better than a dessert on rollback?	134
6	Johnsonville Sausage	Man wrestles with children at summer barbecue, then runs to grill and eats sausage	124
7	Chevrolet	Everyone deserves a car they can count on; images of cars in testing; Red X engineers obsessed with quality	122
8	Visa	Debit–Characters from Toy Story see Buzz in shopping basket and try to save him from getting bought	121
9	Hebrew National	Hot dogs made with 100% kosher beef; woman dressed as royalty renames them “Queen Elizabeefs”	120
10	Cadillac	CTS V–World’s fastest production sedan; 0-60 in 3.9 secs; car accelerates on street at night	114
Source: The Nielsen Company Only new ad executions considered, airing weeks of May 10 to June 6, 2010. The Likeability Score is the percentage of TV viewers who report to like “a lot” an ad they were exposed to during the normal course of viewing TV (among those recalling the brand of the ad). These scores are then indexed against the mean score for all new ads during the period (Likeability Index). 100 equals average. For example, with a Likeability index of 209 the top-ranked Target ad has proven to be 109% better-liked than the average new commercial during the past four-week period.

Top Ten Most Recalled New Ads, May 10, 2010 to June 6, 2010
RANK	Brand	Description	Likeability Index
1	Walmart	Watch Mr. Rollback drop the price of your summer cookout; Heinz ketchup, Sara Lee hot dog buns	241
2	Pantene	Stacy London announces the first reality hair star winner during “live” commercial	224
3	Target	Wild boar runs through jungle; “Lost” theme; Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce	210
4	Target	Black smoke emerges from jungle; “Lost” theme; First Alert smoke detector	209
5	Target	Man types numbers into computer; execute button doesn’t work; “Lost” theme	207
6	Subway	Man eating a burger falls through hammock; try a Fresh Fit meal	200
7	Verizon	Droid–Smart phone can see through walls, locate restaurants and shops though viewfinder	193
8	Domino’s	Workers try to get Bill Johnson to try their pizza; 2 medium, 2 topping pizzas for $5.99 each	187
9	Victoria’s Secret	Biofit 7-Way–One bra that you can wear seven ways; different strap arrangements shown	186
10	AT&T	Huge sheets of orange cloth cover buildings and landmarks across the country	182
Source: The Nielsen Company Only new ad executions considered, airing weeks of May 10 to June 6, 2010. The Recall Score is the percentage of TV viewers who can recall within 24 hours the brand of an ad they were exposed to during the normal course of viewing TV. These scores are then indexed against the mean score for all new ads during the period (Recall Index). 100 equals average. For example, with a recall index of 241 the top ranked Walmart ad has proven to be over 2.4 times as memorable as the average new commercial during the past four-week period.

According to The Nielsen Company, nearly 90% of the national advertisements aired during the telecast achieved higher brand recall in the finale, compared to their average in other primetime programming on broadcast and major cable networks in the prior week.

The ads, which spanned the Automotive, Retail, Telecom, CPG, and other categories, on average generated 51% higher Brand Recall, 92% higher Message Recall, and 66% higher Likeability when airing in the LOST finale versus their other airings in the prior week.

Even during its regular season, LOST has typically provided a strong vehicle for advertisers. Nielsen found that commercials airing in the three May episodes leading up to the finale were on average 27% better-recalled during LOST than they were in other primetime programs. Still, with a 51% lift in Brand Recall, the finale episode delivered an even higher level of commercial attention.

Verizon, which had run a series of “hybrid” tie-in ads during the preceding retrospective episode, posted one of the strongest gains of any advertiser. Its traditional ads on average generated 100% higher Brand Recall during the LOST finale.

Viewers, which skewed slightly more female (54%) than male (46%), were particularly fond of a spot from Target, which incorporated themes from the show into a customized creative. Target’s “smoke monster” ad promoting First Alert detectors, captured the strongest Net Likeability of any ad in the show – nearly quadrupling the average of all other spots in the telecast.

A sampling of finales from other highly engaging TV series – across reality, drama and comedy – found that advertisers generally received 10-30% greater Brand Recall compared to their airings in other programming.

Recently, Nielsen launched the TV advertising effectiveness solution Nielsen IAG in the U.K. and published its inaugural U.K. data on the most memorable TV ads for the period Jan. 25 through Feb. 21. The research showed that while Colgate’s advert featuring a tooth-sensitivity test in a shopping mall was the most memorable ad (87 percent more likely to be remembered than the average ad), Mr. Muscle’s ’superhero’ ad helping a woman unclog a sink made Mr. Muscle the most recalled advertiser (157 percent more likely to be recalled than the average advertiser).

Ideally an ad would score well on how many people remembered it (General Recall) but also on how many remembered who the advertiser was (Brand Recall). The first is a measure of an ad’s ability to break through and generate a memorable impression and is the main indicator of creative strength. The second reflects impact, a key gauge of how well a brand is being communicated through an ad

Mr. Muscle’s ‘superhero’ ad, for example, scored high on both General Recall and Brand Recall. An ad that has much higher General Recall than Brand Recall, however, may be suffering from poor brand communication. For example, the ad in which British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton, a former world champion, helps build a big red Lego-type bridge scored very high on ad recall but comparatively low on how many remembered it was for Santander.

Going Negative Late at Night
Following Woods’ early morning SUV crash on black Friday, Nielsen IAG measured more than 20 instances through December 7 where a late night joke paired Woods with one of his sponsors. As comedians took their swings at Woods, the mentions generated a higher-than-average recall of the associated brand (55% vs. a late night norm of 39%). Higher brand recall can often be good news, but in Woods’ case, the data provides evidence of a higher than expected negative shift in viewer opinion for those brands. On average, about 6% of viewers recalling a brand mention in a late night show report a negative opinion. In the case of Tiger Woods’ sponsors, the negative shift was 11%.

“Brands associated with Tiger are now working with a double-edged sword,” notes Randall Beard, EVP & General Manager, Nielsen IAG. “The saturation of Tiger in the media has heightened the recognition of his sponsor affiliations. But at the same time for these brands, the controversy is contributing to a more negative impact on public perception. It’s the age-old debate: is all publicity, good publicity?”

Brand Association and Buzz
With the steep rise in the use of consumer generated media, everyone is a publicist, and consumer opinion online also shows a shift towards the negative for Woods. Data from a Nielsen Buzzmetrics Brand Association Map analyzed language in online chatter centered around Woods and found that prior to the scandal, adjectives like “Great,” “Good,” and “Best” dominated along with other sports-related terms. But scanning conversations 10 days after, words like “Voicemail,” “Mistress,” and “Affair” drowned out positive or neutral commentary.

A Rising Tiger Lifts All Brands
If the short-term public perception of Woods lingers, it may cause longer term issues for sponsors. Prior to the controversy, when Tiger Woods was featured in a TV ad, sponsors on average saw a 16% higher recall of the commercial itself, along with a 22% higher brand recall, and a 39% higher net likability when compared to ads from those brands that did not feature Woods*. Just as his presence in TV ads matters, Woods’ presence on the PGA Tour has been a ratings winner in the past. A study conducted by Nielsen when Tiger returned from injury last February, showed that the ratings in the tournaments where Woods did not play were down 47% compared to the previous year. In this sense, Tiger’s marketing impact extends to all PGA advertisers, not just the one who have exclusive deals for him with apparel, grooming, games, financial services, automobiles, and sports drinks.

* This summary analysis is based on Persons 13+, from 9/22/08 to 11/29/09. Included advertisers are EA video games, Nike, Gatorade and Gillette. Note: Accenture or Tag Heuer not included because all measured commercials for those advertisers during time period contain Tiger Woods.

The Boehringer-Ingelheim drug, which treats male urinary symptoms due to BPH, offered two creatives last season that were recalled at a rate 42% greater than the average based on all newly-launched prescription drug ads.  These latest installments of Flomax’s direct-to-consumer TV campaign feature men at a baseball game and men playing on a golf course.

“With relevant and consistent visuals that stand out from the rest, the Flomax ads prove that marketers can still be creative and memorable even within the restrictive pharmaceutical category,” said Fariba Zamaniyan, senior vice president at Nielsen IAG, Healthcare.

Cialis (Eli Lilly) and Gardasil (Merck) tied for second on the list with 32% greater recall than the average drug ad launched last season. The ad for Cialis, which treats erectile dysfunction in men, was an extension of its “What are you waiting for?” campaign and featured its iconic outdoor tubs and a variety of male and female couples. Gardasil, which guards against cervical cancer and HPV in women, filled its creative with images of moms and their daughters who “chose” to get vaccinated engaging in a variety of activities such as surfing, shopping and swimming.

Wyeth’s “Wind-Up Doll” TV campaign for Pristiq for the treatment of depression “winded up” the top three.  It was the only newcomer at the top of the DTC ranking this past TV season, with a recall index of 128.

A key takeaway from the rankings, said Ms. Zamaniyan, is that DTC advertising is not just successful when symptoms of the ailment treated by the advertised drug are shown.  Any prescription drug ad, she says, can still be memorable without the display of symptoms and still  connect with the audience while staying within FDA guidelines.

“The bar for creativity shouldn’t be lower for pharma because of the regulations in place,” Zamaniyan argues. “In fact,  it should be higher given the level of investment and volume of competitive activity on the airwaves.” 

Nielsen’s recall index is limited to responses among adults 18+ who correctly recalled the storyline of the ads they were exposed to within 24 hours after airing. Only ads airing during entertainment and sports programs on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW) on Broadcast prime time,  Evening News, Late Night and Syndicated Prime Access (Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Access Hollywood) were included in the ranking.  The ads are measured at comparable media weight to control for differing weight levels across the campaigns.