Every three months, TRA, in partnership with ThinkTV, surveys regular 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 of November 2022 

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

1. Trustpower – Meant to be Together
2. Westpac  – Together Greater 
3. ASB – Ben and Amy 
4. ANZ – Sameer’s Why 
5. PAK’nSAVE – Stickman 
6. Genesis – Introducing George and her family 
7. Turners – Tina from Turners new to list 
8. Southern Cross Health Insurance – Sweet Caroline new to list 
9. NZ Post – Keeping ho-ho hush hush returns to list 
10. Cadbury – Mum’s Birthday returns to list 

Learnings from the marketers behind the work 

We reached 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’s already featured twice on New Zealand’s Favourite Ads list 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. 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. 

3. 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 November 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.” 

4. 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.” 
 
The campaign has led to strong interest with ~1400 customers taking out loans to fulfil their energy efficiency goals. In the last three months, just over $60 million in lending has been drawn down under this offer, with the most popular uses being to purchase electric vehicles, or install double glazing and heat pumps. This momentum is expected to continue. 

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. 

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 heading into Christmas 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 and savings so they can get the most out of the festive season. 

“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. Genesis – George and her family hit the road in their new EV

Launched in June this 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 new 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.”  

This is just the beginning for George and her family. Genesis have built an enduring platform to talk to multiple proof points. Kiwis will get to know more about the family with future executions. 
 
Since campaign launch, brand love and consideration metrics have been moving in right direction. 

7. 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. 

8. Southern Cross Health Insurance – Sweet Caroline

‘Sweet Caroline’ is a beautifully-told story that has really resonated with Kiwis. They love the ad for ‘tugging at the heartstrings’ and ‘showing workmates that really care.’ Others find the story authentic and relatable – ‘It made me emotional and happy because you really feel hopeless when you are sick.’ And a few mentioned that the uplifting ending brought them to tears. 
 
At the heart of the brief, the not-for-profit Friendly Society Southern Cross wanted to communicate the extraordinary value of being part of a team that truly cares.
 
Regan Savage, Head of Marketing & Engagement, says that they wanted to tap into the way members feel when they've had their lives changed (and in some cases saved) by treatments funded by Southern Cross.  
 
“It's hard to put a price on the value of that support; we needed an idea that would deliver that weight, ultimately in an uplifting and positive way. So, it's about being true to the moment of truth you share in your customers' lives - big or small, funny or serious, daily or just once in a while.”  

Importantly, it’s more than just an ad campaign and Southern Cross Health Insurance have launched new initiatives to deliver on their ‘With You’ brand promise. “This campaign launches a sea-change in what it means to be a member, with new membership benefits like mental wellbeing, counselling and annual health checks. These are our values in action. We can do this because of our membership model, and it proves how invested we are in our members’ health.”

9. NZ Post - Keeping ho-ho-hush

2022 marks the fourth year of running this Christmas ad, and it continues to deliver strong results for the business. It’s another good example of a TV ad wearing in, not out. 
 
The objective for the campaign is to shift brand associations away from mail to parcels and delivery. This is achieved through a story that focuses on the great lengths couriers go to at Christmas and highlighting the role that NZ Post plays. 
 
“We wanted to dramatise what we believe is the most magical time, and one of the most magical moments in connection to that parcel delivery,” says Sarah Sandoval, GM Consumer Marketing & Brand. 
 
Kiwis appreciate the ad for being ‘clever’, ‘funny’ and for ‘capturing the magic of Christmas.’ Keeping presents a secret is a relatable challenge so it’s easy for people to see themselves in the story.  
 
The campaign achieves a healthy ‘Remembered’ score through making an NZ Post Courier a central part of the story. This character has been used as a consistent distinctive asset for NZ Post across a variety of campaigns and messages since launch.

10. Cadbury - Mum's Birthday

There are other executions of ‘There’s a glass & a half in everyone,’ but this is the favourite. It was in the top ten consistently the year that it launched back in 2019 and is back again.    

Produced out of the UK but with a universally-appealing story about a girl trading her most beloved toys for a bar to give to her Mum on her birthday. Kiwis love it because it’s a cute and heart-warming display of generosity. Further, it feels very down-to-earth in its use of a family that are not particularly ‘well-to-do’ and a setting that is imperfect and warts and all.      

‘Mum’s Birthday’ is a good reminder of the efficiency that can be achieved from creating an iconic and effective ad – you can keep using it year after year. 

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. And it works for promotion work just as well. 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. Meridian is a great example of a brand that is 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 over half featuring ongoing brand characters, it’s clear this this is a powerful way to achieve strong brand attribution.