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.

Top 10 Online Broadcast TV Network Entertainment Programs* for December 2008 ranked by Unique Viewers (U.S.)

The rankings are based on broadcast networks that tag their online offerings. Hulu.com was excluded from the survey as it does not currently report VideoCensus data at the program level. Web sites included in the survey are: ABC.com, CBS Television, CWTV.com, Fox Broadcasting and NBC.com.

Watch a video from John Burbank, CEO, Nielsen Online

To read more about Nielsen’s VideoCensus, including additional rankings for top entertainment programs ranked by time spent online and information on our methodology, view the entire release here.

FOX’s “American Idol” was the top TV program of 2008, according to Nielsen.  Tuesday night broadcasts of “American Idol,” through December 7, drew 15.5% of U.S. TV households, on average, while Wednesday night “American Idol” broadcasts drew an average of 15.3% of all TV households.

Viewers with DVR access gave NBC’s “Heroes” the biggest bump any primetime program received in 2008.  The average TV audience for “Heroes” increased by 35% when timeshifted viewing within seven days of a program’s original air date was factored into Nielsen’s ratings.  FOX’s “Fringe” and ABC’s “Lost” also drew large audience boosts — +26% and +25%, respectively — from DVR viewers.

The 2008 Superbowl, which drew 43.1% of all U.S. TV households, was the most popular single telecast of 2008. 

Top 10 TV Programs – Regularly Scheduled

Top 10 TV Programs – Single Telecast

Top 10 “Timeshifted” Primetime TV Programs

View the press release.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.