TRA, in partnership with ThinkTV, regularly surveys New Zealanders to find out which ads are resonating and which creative is going the distance. 

The survey asks a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 people a simple, unprompted question; “What is your favourite ad on TV at the moment?” We also ask them why they like it and how it makes them feel.  

The most frequently mentioned favourites make up our top ten list. Here are the latest results:

New Zealand's 10 favourite ads in March 2023

Note: '+/-' indicators note how the ranking of each ad has changed since last evaluation in November 2022.  

1. Trustpower – Meant to be Together
2. ASB – Ben and Amy +1
3. ANZ – Sameer’s Why +1
4. Westpac  – Together Greater -2
5. PAK’nSAVE – Stickman 
6. Turners – Tina from Turners +1
7. Genesis – George and her family -1
8. V Energy – Can you feel it? returns to list 
9. Meridian Energy – Be good to nature returns to list 
10. AA Insurance – Live a little freer returns to list   

Learnings from the marketers behind the work 

We reach out to the marketers who helped create these favourites to share their learnings and insights into what it takes to create popular and effective work. 

Read on for valuable learnings and inspiration for creating a favourite.  

Applying TRA's Creative Edge Framework 

For each of the public’s favourites, we also used our proprietary Creative Edge framework to consider the strength of the ad’s execution.  
  
The 'Three R's' of Creative Edge measure how likely an ad is to:  

• Grab people's attention (Remarkable); 
• Entertain them (Rewarding); and 
• How strongly the brand was linked to the creative idea (Remembered).  

The most effective campaigns achieve healthy scores across all Three R’s.  

1. Trustpower – Meant to be Together/Four Legs Good  

This is the perfect case study for why emotional storytelling is the ultimate tool in creating rewarding and memorable advertising. It was the most mentioned favourite ad for 2022, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. 

Meant to be Together has viewers feeling ‘full of emotion,’ ‘warm fuzzies,’ and ‘hopeful’. A few respondents even mention that it brought them to tears. No surprise then that it performs strongly on being an ad that people want to talk about.  

Carolyn Schofield, Head of Brand at Trustpower, says they’ve had massive amounts of positive feedback on social media as well as organic PR with journalists and radio hosts talking positively about the ad.  

Schofield notes that the plan is to stick with the platform long-term with 'Meant to be together' staying consistent across multiple stories. Think Specsavers or Snickers. She says they have seen a significant improvement in brand perceptions among those who have seen the ad vs those who haven’t.  

Schofield says that educating non-marketing stakeholders on best practice thinking, such as Field and Sharp, that’s grounded in data, was key to getting a long-term emotional storytelling strategy over the line. 

2. ASB – Ben and Amy  

Through strong creative commitment to their platform and characters, ASB have got to a place where new executions remind viewers of past ones they’ve enjoyed. Kiwis have become invested in Ben and Amy’s story; looking forward to seeing what comes next. 
 
‘The girl with the cold feet’ got the most mentions in the March survey. The ad, first released in March 2020, strikes a balance between feel-good fun and wholesomeness with Ben thoughtfully putting in a lot of effort to find a house with under-floor heating for Amy’s cold feet. It’s a great example of reflecting Kiwi’s unique sense of humour.  
 
The characters have become loveable and instantly recognisable brand assets. ASB achieves one of  the strongest creative edge score across the board.  
  
Bianca Osborne, HO Business Marketing at ASB, says that the campaign has been very successful in building ASB’s strongest ever brand metrics. “Importantly, branded recall and likability is really strong. This is delivered by our consistent use of characters, our warm tone, and the cultural truths we tap into.”

3. ANZ – Sameer's Why

With ‘Sameer’s Why’, ANZ cleverly wrap their Good Energy Home Loan announcement in a sweet and rewarding love story. It’s the inclusion of smile moments that make the ad enjoyable and memorable. Kiwis particularly enjoy the moment where Sameer tries to impress his crush by directing the solar panel installation. And they get a good laugh out of him shutting the hot water off on his poor Dad too.

Michael Reynolds, Head of Brand Marketing at ANZ, says that Sameer’s WHY is about putting purpose ahead of profit, connecting both customer financial wellbeing and energy efficient home upgrades for a more sustainable future. “It shows customers how being good to the planet can not only be good for your pocket – but also your heart.” 
 
In its first three months, 1400 customers took out loans to fulfil their energy efficiency goals, and just over $60 million in lending was drawn down under this offer. The most popular lending offer was used to purchase electric vehicles, or install double glazing and heat pumps. 

Further, ANZ continue to see a positive impact on brand and advertising metrics – helping drive strong consideration while making memorable and enjoyable ads Kiwis love to watch. 

4. Westpac – Together Greater  

This epic story is enjoyed because its imaginative, heartfelt, and shares an uplifting message of kindness and connection.

Suraiya Phillimore-Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at Westpac, says that ‘Together Greater’ has earned an “overwhelmingly positive response from customers”, with fans sharing videos of them enjoying the spot alongside babies and pets and even requesting soft toys of their favourite monster. 

Phillimore-Smith notes that arriving at the platform required a lot of research and customer testing which uncovered the core insight – people didn’t want banks telling them what to do, but to stand alongside them, empowering them to achieve their goals. 

The emotional storytelling used to bring ‘Together Greater’ to life is clearly resonating. Westpac are seeing positive gains in consideration for both customers and non-customers. 

We’ve also seen improvement in performance on ‘Remembered’ over time. This is most likely due to continued exposure to the campaign and use of the characters in follow-up executions and touchpoints. Westpac have been wise to give the hero execution the time and space it needed to wear in. 

5. PAK’nSAVE – Stickman 

Stickman has been the face of PAK’nSAVE for 14 years and is still making Kiwis laugh. This campaign is a masterclass in long-term brand building.  

More than a loveable character, Stickman acts as a constant reminder of PAK’nSAVE’s brand positioning – everything the brand does, including its no-frills advertising style, is to save customers money.  
 
PAK’nSAVE found a fresh new way to communicate this through drawing attention to what they don’t offer customers. In the ‘Collect Low Prices’ TV spot, Stickman explains that unlike other supermarkets, PAK’nSAVE doesn’t offer collectibles. 
 
Lauren Ness, Brand and CX, explains that PAK’nSAVE are focused on the things that matter most to customers – low prices.

“There’s no sticker book or online e-stamps, we keep it simple for customers because at the end of the day everything we do; we do to save our customers money,” says Ness. 

This consistency and focus has helped PAK’nSAVE fend off fierce competition, and the sustained success of Stickman has seen PAK’nSAVE awarded both the Brand Axis and Grand Effie in 2019.

6. Turners – Tina from Turners

Hilarious, vibrant, positive, happy, charming – these are the words that fans use to describe Tina from Turners.  
 
And the Turners brand gets full credit. Tina has a name that’s humorously linked to the brand, she wears a staff uniform, and the stories focus on her love of buying cars. So, there’s no mistaking who the ads are for. The campaign achieves one of the highest ‘Remembered’ scores of all that TRA has tracked.  
 
Sean Wiggans, General Manager at Turners, notes that a truly loveable character, done well, is a massive shortcut to salience and shifting perceptions.   
 
Wiggans also points to another effectiveness principle behind the campaign – focusing on one message. “People are busy and most don’t care about your brand, so you have to make it easy for them. And if your budget isn’t that big, you have to focus even more. Just make sure it’s the right message strategically and you execute it really well.” Chances are you’ll get a halo effect anyway - the Tina campaign is focused customers selling their cars – but has also been a big driver of buying cars as well. 
 
It’s been a big year for Tina. The campaign picked up the Marketing Supreme Award at the Marketing Awards, and two gold Effies. 
 
The results have continued to accelerate – 17 months after launch. Turners are growing in a declining market by selling thousands of extra cars which in turn has pushed their market share from below 6% in 2020 to over 8.5% share YTD. 

7. Genesis – George and her family

Launched in June last year, Genesis’ lovable family are already a big hit with Kiwis. People love the humour and can see themselves in the characters – “They’re just a real-life family with no airs and graces.”  
 
The latest ad sees the family get a new electric vehicle which they proceed to take on a classic Kiwi road trip with plenty of funny and relatable family moments.  
 
Stephanie Fahey, Head of Brand, says that Genesis are passionate about delivering innovative products and services for customers that help them to live more sustainably. “Our EV partnership with the ChargeNet network is a great example of that. It’s New Zealand’s first ‘energy roaming’ product which makes it cheaper and easier to charge your car away from home.”  

Genesis have built an enduring platform to talk to multiple proof points. Kiwis are getting to know more about the family with every execution.
 
Since campaign launch, brand love and consideration metrics have been moving in right direction. 

8. V Energy – Can You Feel It?

'Can You Feel It' is fun and upbeat with a twist of dark humour for good measure. The bugs sing along to ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, a catchy, energetic song that’s full of positivity as they enjoy a classic summer road trip.   

But it’s the dark humour that takes this ad to the next level where they perform the equivalent of a hit-and-run. The head bug says, “That’s unfortunate,” as he turns the windscreen wipers on to get rid of a splattered bug. Kiwis love this unexpected twist and quotable line.   
  
The spot performs strongly on Remembered too. It’s clear that careful attention has been given to brand attribution. The ad opens with the bugs buying a V at a gas station and they keep a can in their hands from that moment on. The van and lead bug are ‘V-green’ too. There’s no mistaking who this likeable ad is for. 

9. Meridian Energy – Be Good to Nature

Meridian’s brand character, Nature herself, makes one heck of an entrance in this ad. Appearing out of nowhere from a lightning bolt in the sky – it immediately grabs attention.   
  
Kiwis love it for its balance of epicenes with down-to-earth Kiwiness. The delivery of the ‘Nope’ line is right on the money.  
  
Jordan Fahey, Advertising and Media Manager at Meridian, says it’s an enduring platform designed to be expanded and built on over time. The focus has been introducing the character in a way that resonates with Kiwi culture and demonstrating that together we have the power to make a difference.  
  
Importantly, the brand is walking the talk. Over the past few years, Meridian have been planting thousands of trees to offset our carbon footprint and have created Certified Renewable Energy that not only reduces reported emissions for customers but is now on track to deliver over $2.5m of support for community and business decarbonisation.  
  
Fahey says that she is really pleased to see the work capturing audience’s attention and that this has translated into strong attribution scores and uplifting brand metrics.    

10. AA Insurance – Live a Little Freer

AA Insurance’s ‘Live a Little Freer’ campaign has had a steady presence in our favourite ads tracking. A memorable soundtrack over entertaining and relatable household accident moments has kept audiences smiling and kept AA Insurance top of mind.  
  
The campaign was launched in October 2018 and is still going strong. Melodie Vickars, Head of Brand, Marketing and Communications, says the advertising platform that was designed to differ from others in the category. “Rather than focus on things that could go wrong, creating fear and anxiety,  AA Insurance choose to focus on the things that matter most to New Zealanders – showing how insurance can allow us to live life a little freer, without the worry and fear of what if’s.”  

The work has been a great success, with the individual executions showing strong levels of recognition and driving positive associations that can easily be linked back to  AA Insurance. The campaign has been instrumental in allowing  AA Insurance to achieve some long-held goals, including becoming New Zealand’s most preferred general insurer. The 4 years since the campaign launched have been a significant period of growth for  AA Insurance, with a large increase in sales that are less reliant on incentives, and a strong lift in active policies.    

What have we learned?

Through looking at the ads that make the favourite list, we can arrive at five key principles for creating popular and effective work.

Build to last

Aim to create work that wears in, where you can add depth and meaning to it over time. And give your hero execution the time and space it needs to become familiar and loved.

Use emotional storytelling to create remarkable and rewarding work 

The trick is to create stories that don’t just grab attention but hold it. Including little ‘smile moments’ can make all the difference.

Tap into Kiwi Codes and cultural tensions  

Careful work has gone into creating ads that resonate with Kiwis at a cultural level. This makes them even more relatable and enjoyable.

Deliver on your brand promise 

It’s critical that you’re backing your brand promise up with real-world action. Genesis and Meridian are great examples of brands that are walking the talk. 

Don’t just rely on your logo at the end

There are great examples on this list of how weaving brand codes throughout the execution doesn’t get in the way of creating highly rewarding work. And with nine out of ten featuring ongoing brand characters, it’s clear this this is a powerful way to achieve strong brand attribution.