The results are in for New Zealand's top 10 favourite ads from Q4 2024; in the top spots, ASB’s “Ben & Amy” and ANZ’s “Sharma Family” have held firm – again taking out #1 and #2 spots respectively– underscoring the long-term impact of consistent, recognisable brand ideas.

The quarterly Favourite Ads Survey by leading research and insight agency, TRA, ranks the most popular television ads based on spontaneous recall and sentiment. This quarter’s results are based on candid feedback from more than 1,000 Kiwis aged 18 to 60.

1.     ASB, Ben & Amy [No change in rankings]  

2.     ANZ, Sharma Family [No change in rankings]  

3.     One NZ, Let’s get connected [+1 place]

4.     Tux, Feeding the kiwi in all our dogs [-1 place]

5.     KFC, The power of KFC [+2places] 

6.     Turners, Tina from Turners [+2 places] 

7.     PAK'nSAVE, Stickman [-1 places] 

8.     Genesis, George and family [-3 places]  

9.     NZPost, Festive Fibs   [returns to list]

10.    McDonald Summer Driver  [returns tolist]

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TRA’s Colleen Ryan, Partner at TRA attributes the recurring success of ads such as ASB’s “Ben & Amy”, to strategic consistency.  

Ryan said: “It’s unsurprising to see the same brands continue to dominate favourite ads rankings. The human brain does a paradoxical thing, it favours familiarity but also alerts our attention to what’s new and different. That’s why we see brands who invest in a single recognisable brand idea over time build popularity and momentum while continuing to hold attention by introducing fresh creative ideas into familiar campaigns. We see this in the enduring love of ASB and ANZ’s campaigns.

To understand what it is about the creative executions that win favour, we use our proprietary Creative Edge framework to analyse ad success. The framework includes the ‘three R’s’; how likely an ad is to grab people’s attention (Remarkable), entertain (Rewarding), and how strongly the brand is linked to the creative idea (Remembered).

While ASB and ANZ have held the top 2 spots in their rankings since December 2023, this quarter the results also revealed a comeback for NZ Post and McDonalds.

On the changes in rankings, Ryan predicted: “The one to watch is One NZ’s ‘let’s get connected’ campaign that continues to climb the rankings. Just over three months from launch, it’s now in third place; that’s effective advertising at play. Kiwis admire people who live life in their own unique way, and this ad reveals a range of quirky characters on an entertaining quest to find belonging and connection. Since launch, we’ve seen these highly recognisable TV characters used across multiple media channels and brand touchpoints talking about the full range of One NZ products and services.”

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