Kantar Millward Brown announces South Africa's Top 20 Best Liked Ads of 2016

In number one spot is the Samsung ad, Sister. The ad is part of a global campaign (Sink, another ad from the campaign comes in 16th on the list) and tells a universal story that can connect with viewers from around the world. Instead of leaning into technical jargon to highlight the phone’s innovations, the team from Leo Burnett in Chicago focused on a central narrative that weaves through the ads with touching and familiar stories, where the functional benefits of the device create purposeful and emotional experiences.

In fact, over 70% of the top 20 ads in the list use storytelling to engage their viewers, and we see brands playing a leading role in the narrative. “People love a good story. Stories are the reason we stay awake late to finish a book, watch a movie or binge watch on Netflix. Stories engage us like nothing else. We know that stories with emotional relevance and creative engagement are critical to an ad’s success,” says Natalie Botha, Creative Development Director at Kantar Millward Brown South Africa.

Coming in at number two is the Play Every Day ad from Vodacom, the only telecoms company in the top 20. The ad by Ogilvy Johannesburg also utilises storytelling laced with humour, a traditional ingredient for engagement that prevails in more than half the ads. Surprisingly only two dogs make very short cameos in the Vodacom and Baby Soft commercials, but we see loads of ads with kids, another typical ingredient for success. Several of the ads use iconic music to capture one’s attention, and a handful of celebs draws us in further.

Interestingly, more than a third of the ads are created by global agencies, with both the Samsung and Coca-Cola campaigns designed purposely to travel, allowing for media efficiency across these brands.

Commenting on their Play Every Day win, Nyimpini Mabunda, Chief Officer of Consumer Business at Vodacom, says, “We are honoured to receive another accolade from Kantar Millward Brown and have our work recognised as one of South Africa’s Top 20 Best Liked Ads of 2016. The success of Vodacom Play Every Day continues to exceed our expectations. Its resonance with the people of South Africa shows that our approach of creating personable, playful and proudly South African ads is a winning formula. Play Every Day has created three new millionaires. It was played more than 500 million times by 16 million people, with 80 million voice and data bundles allocated up to 31 January 2017.”

Congratulations to the brands, marketers and agencies on their stunning achievement in creating the ads that South Africa loves!

Click here to view the ads. [PDF]

Adtrack™ is Kantar Millward Brown's proprietary advertising testing system, evaluating the impact and liking of all new brand advertising in South Africa for over 30 years. The resultant database stands at over 90,000 TV adverts tested, and more than 1.1 million interviews conducted, making this database one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Find out how your creative and media benchmarks against the competition. Get in touch with us on 011 202 7000 or mail moc.nworbdrawllim@ewahS.elleziL.