Ace Metrix, the leader in measuring the impact of video advertising, today released lists of the ads that U.S. consumers found the most heartfelt, funniest, and weirdest. The lists were derived through a combination of machine learning and Natural Language Processing methods looking at the frequency of emotive words and phrases used in viewer comments. With over 8,000 video ads analyzed in 2017, and over 3 million viewer comments, these ads distinguished themselves by achieving the highest level of emotional impact with viewers.

“Ace Metrix has invested years in measuring the impact of video ads. In particular, the emotional impact an ad has on viewers and how that gets them to pay attention and be persuaded to take action,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. He continued, “Viewers continue to control what they watch. These days, ads need to provide a certain ‘emotional’ reward for viewers to watch until the end, or even get them to pay attention in the first place. It’s more than just breaking through the clutter; ads need to establish an emotional connection with viewers. But in today’s cord cutting media environment, that is no easy task.”

“All of these ads excelled in making us feel something. Whether it was humor, inspiration, tugging at our heartstrings or downright ‘what was that?!’, real viewer reactions created these lists of the best of the best,” said Daboll.

The Most Heartfelt Ads of 2017 -- frequently occurring words and phrases include very heartfelt, brought tears to my eyes, very emotional, and heartwarming.

             
Rank   Brand  

Ad Title

   Length
1   Subaru  

Share Kindness

   0:30
2   Hyundai  

A Better Super Bowl

   1:30
3   Walmart  

#BetterTogether

   0:30
4   AT&T  

Rise Up

   0:30
5   MasterCard  

Stand Up

   0:30
   

 

 

The Funniest Ads of 2017 -- frequently occurring words and phrases include hilarious, funny, made me laugh, and hahaha.

             
Rank   Brand   Ad Title   Length
1   Skittles  

Romance

   0:30
2   SkinnyPop  

The Theater

   0:30
3   Kia  

Hero’s Journey

   1:00
4   Kraft Macaroni & Cheese  

Swear Like A Mother

   1:35
5   Chik-Fil-A  

CowzVR Reality

   0:30
     

The Weirdest Ads of 2017 -- frequently occurring words and phrases include eerie, disturbing, creepy, and weird.

Weird isn’t necessarily bad. Some ads are made with the main purpose of grabbing attention, as is often the case with those that leave us with a weird feeling. Brands may be targeting a specific, narrow demographic, whose message or language might not be understood by others. But all of these ads were in the top decile for Attention; grabbing and keeping viewers hooked all the way through some pretty strange and long ads leaving viewers to ask the question “what did I just see?”.

             
Rank   Brand   Ad Title   Length
1   Halo Top  

Eat The Ice Cream

   1:35
2   TurboTax  

Scary Dependents

   0:45
3   Mailchimp  

KaleLimp

   1:00
4   Gushers  

Squid

   0:15
5   Nissan  

No Lazy Horses

   1:00
     

You can find a detailed version on the Ace Metrix website, here.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix® is the standard in television and digital video analytics, dedicated to measuring the impact of video ad creative. We provide data and insight to enable marketers and creative teams to produce more impactful work, test and adjust creative executions in real-time, and understand what creative drivers impact their brand KPIs. The Company is privately held and is backed by leading venture capital firms and industry leaders including Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Palomar Ventures, Leapfrog Ventures and WPP.

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