Dettol ad named as most effective campaign

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 | By Jack Jones

A nostalgic campaign for Walkers Crisps featuring Gary Lineker and Cat Deeley and Kellogg’s free cornflakes ad were ranked second and third.

Paul Baker, head of Mercury, the division of TNS that conducts the research, believes that the Dettol ad tapped into public concerns over recent health scares.

“An increased awareness of protecting yourself and your family against germs, caused by the recent publicity of swine flu and E. coli, is likely to have contributed highly to its success,” he says.

Viewers completed a questionnaire to determine their emotional response to the ads, and to assess their motivation to buy the product or service advertised.

Baker says: “We know that the more an ad emotionally connects with the consumer, the more likely they are to act on it.’

The Mercury rankings are updated on a quarterly basis to provide clients with feedback on adverts as they launch. The final results for 2009 will be revealed in January.

More than 200 ads were rated between April and September and the Top 10 were:
1. Dettol
2. Walkers
3. Kellogg’s
4. iPhone
5. Tesco
6. Premier Inn
7. Morrisons
8. Comparethemarket.com
9. Currys
10. Jacob’s.