Kantar announces South Africa's Top 20 Best Liked Ads for 2019

The way you make me feel…

Remembering and rebellion topped the qualities of the year’s hero ads, with liquid messaging at the very top of the list. Sasol’s ‘This isn't just any fuel, #ThisIsGlugGlug’ by FCB Joburg was not only the top ad of Q2 2019 but also the overall best liked ad for the year, filled with all the wide-eyed wonder and nostalgic feel-good magic of the original ‘glug-glug’ ad of 1991.

This renewed take on that much-loved classic proves the oft-quoted Maya Angelou true: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” We know that people feel first and think second, and ads that are creative and emotionally engaging tend to work better and build memorable and lasting impressions.

Kantar South Africa's Best Liked Ads of the last 35 years

Kantar  5 Dec 2019

The same clearly holds true for brands and flows smoothly into the year’s second-best: Heineken’s ‘Unmissable’ by Publicis Milan for the Uefa League, also the star ad of Q1 of 2019. This piece of communication’s star power links to the universal truth that watched kettles never boil and your team is most likely to score that all-important equalising goal when your attention is momentarily diverted from the on-screen action.

Making a run for it

Nonetheless, whether you saw it happen live with your own eyes or not, it’s still something to celebrate – something you can’t help but do when seeing the year’s overall third-spot contender, Edgars’ spunky ‘Don't tell me what to do’ by VMLY&R, featuring the colourful Tsonga chameleon Sho Madjozi, who has changed the SA fashion and music game alike and brought a taste for local flavour to global palates.

Little wonder that dance culture is such a core component of the nation’s essence. But we also feel the beat of intensifying the action, especially if you’re as driven as the feisty female athletes associated with Nike’s ‘Dream Crazier’ mantra by Wieden + Kennedy, even more of a win when reflected on in #WomensMonth: "If they think your dreams are crazy, show them what crazy dreams can do."

Then again, you may not be as keen on the treadmill as the competitive gymers in Ogilvy SA’s ‘Treadmill’ work for Cadbury Lunch Bar but you’ll certainly be entertained as they slide neatly into fourth spot for the year. But it’s Vodacom’s ‘It’s a tie’ by Openfield Marketing, cinching fifth position overall, which proves VR and AR may well be the way of the future when it comes to sport, especially with remote living now the way of the world and many feeling they’re starting to live at work rather than working from home.

Next stop, adventure!

That sense of adventure and urge to rebel was another strong thread in the advertising that kept us entertained last year, felt strongly in sixth place with Savanna’s #RulesDontApply by HelloFCB+ and Tropika’s ‘School of Smooth’ by Joe Public, coming in ninth for the year and the highest ranked ad of the final quarter of last year. We want to close our eyes to the chaos and picture ourselves lulled by the sound of waves and the tasty tropics far, far away. It’s a trend that’s bound to continue as the nation’s eyes have been largely turned inward as a result of all the mayhem and upheaval of 2020.

That delicious storytelling air of ‘take me away’ also wafts through in Nespresso’s ‘Really George’ from McCann New York, with the Game-of-Thrones-esque update on the epic coffee quest featuring George Clooney and Natalie Dormer rated the top ad of Q3 and coming in 13th spot overall for the year. Escapism at its best.

Congratulations to the following brands and agencies:

#1 Ad for 2019

Sasol This isn't just any fuel. #ThisIsGlugGlug
FCB Joburg

#2 Ad for 2019

Heineken Unmissable
Publicis Milan

#3 Ad for 2019

Edgars Don't tell me what to do
VMLY&R

Top 20 of 2019