Disney’s Super Bowl centennial ad has been declared the most effective
Disney’s 100th anniversary ad was named the most effective ad of last night’s Super Bowl by System1.
System1’s Test Your Ad platform predicts the long- and short-term commercial effectiveness of ads by recording the emotional responses of viewers. Based on the responses, it assigns the ads a star rating from 1.0 to 5.9, which indicates the ad’s ability to increase market share.
The Super Bowl commercial, featuring famous faces and moments from Disney’s 100-year history, scored 5.3 stars. Typically, only 1% of ads receive five or more stars.
The second highest scoring ad of the night was M&Ms’ ‘Back for Good’ ad. It almost broke the five-star barrier and scored a 4.8 on System1’s efficiency scale. The ad was M&M’s second ad of the night and saw the return of the brand’s “spokescandies” characters, who appeared to be on hiatus in the first ad, revealing their revival.
T-Mobile rounded out the top three with 4.7 stars. It saw John Travolta update his famous Midsummer Nights performance to compliment the brand’s broadband network. He was joined by actors Zach Braff and Donald Faison.
On average, this year’s Super Bowl ads fared better than last year’s in System1’s effectiveness ratings. The average score for all ads this year was 3.0. Last year, no ad scored five or more stars, and the average score was 2.6 stars.
The rest of this year’s top 10 includes Amazon’s Saving Sawyer with 4.4 stars. Jeep’s ‘Electric Boogie’ (4.3 stars), Michelob Ultra’s ‘Ultra Club I New Members Day’ (4.2 stars), ‘Stallone Face’ (4.2 stars) from Paramount+, a brand of dog food Farm dog “Forever” location (4.2 stars), Bud Light’s ‘Hold’ (4.1 stars) and snack brand Popcorners’ ‘Breaking Good’ (4.1 stars).
Source: System1
Fewer than 1 in 10 Britons are ‘proud’ to be British
Fewer than one in 10 Britons are “proud” of their nationality, suggesting the UK’s brand needs a serious refresh.
Conversely, the top feelings associated with being British are sad (42%), worried (39%) and angry (31%).
Traditional and stereotypical British tropes are the dominant associations people still hold in the UK. The royal family (72%) was the most common country-related motive for Britons, followed by the weather (60%) and food such as fish and chips (48%).
Although the UK has one of the world’s largest creative industries sectors globally and consistently scores above the average global innovation ranking, only one in five Britons agree that their country is “innovative”.
The study also suggests that the UK lacks a unifying national value. More than 9 in 10 Americans say belief in individual liberties is important to being “truly American.” Conversely, the most common value emerging among British respondents is ‘democracy’; however, less than half (48%) referred to it. Tolerance (37%) and the rule of law (36%) also came out as the top British values among respondents to the survey.
“We suffer from a cultural hangover, living in the shadow of past glories. It’s no surprise that the equity in our national brand is becoming weaker – a brand in urgent need of rejuvenation,” says David Proudlock, CPB’s chief strategy officer.
Source: CPB London
One-third of marketing budgets are spent on operational excellence
Nearly one-third (31%) of marketing budgets are spent on achieving operational excellence, despite inconsistent impact on business performance.
Indeed, 72% of operational excellence activities do not exhibit characteristics consistent with success.
Research shows that companies with a ‘strong pursuit’ of operational excellence complement the day-to-day management of marketing. They are associated with processes such as automated workflows, efficient use of agile methods, and continuous efforts over several years.
Organizations with a strong pursuit of excellence are 43% more likely to report exceeding their operational goals than those without a strong pursuit. However, these organizations also spend an average of 45% more and dedicate 18% of their workforce to marketing operations excellence, compared to an average of 5% of employees dedicated to all other activities.
“CMOs are under pressure to make every dollar count,” says consultant Michael McCune, CEO of Gartner Marketing. “However, their teams are spending a large portion of their budgets on changes and improvements in inefficient ways.
“‘Business as usual’ marketing activities must change, but CMOs must not divert funds from activities such as advertising and trade shows, which can have a more significant impact on marketing’s overall ability to drive growth.”
Source: Gartner
Most UK consumers feel powerless in the face of climate change
Half (52%) of UK consumers say they feel powerless in the face of climate change, with almost four in 10 (38%) saying the climate crisis is having a negative impact on their mood or mental health.
A survey of 2,000 UK adults by Firstlight Group found climate change fatigue, with almost four in 10 (38%) feeling fatigued by messages on the topic and 42% feeling lectured about it.
Shockingly, a quarter of UK adults do not believe climate change is a real and present threat, with research highlighting a disconnect between some issues.
“I have more things to worry about than climate change. It’s much more important in my life,” said one participant whose business was crippled by rising energy costs.
Many brands are now committed to net zero policies; however, it may not resonate with consumers as a result of the study, where the majority of the population (56%) cannot confidently explain what net zero actually is.
Affordability and accessibility are the factors that most drive people to engage with climate change. When asked what factors most interest the public in a climate expert, respondents chose “facts and science” (54%), “plain language explanation” (44%) and “messages about me and my life.” (28%).
Source: Firstlight Group
Most marketers think that senior management doesn’t understand the value of marketing
Many marketers at B2C brands feel their work is undervalued by the rest of the company, with 75% saying senior leaders don’t understand the value of customer marketing to the wider business.
A survey of 200 senior marketers by Planning-inc found that many feel they lack the funding and resources to perform their roles effectively. Almost half of those surveyed (47%) believe that they do not have adequate resources to obtain information about customer behavior. Indeed, less than a quarter (23%) are confident they have a complete view of individual consumers.
More than four in 10 (43%) describe current personalization efforts in communications as “uncertain”. Despite this, 86% of those surveyed still send 11-25 communications per week, indicating that many marketers rely on volume over relevance.
Research shows that for most marketers, the speed of action on an idea is quite slow. 81% of brands take four or more days to act on an idea.
Source: Planning-inc