Dettol tops ranking of most motivating TV ads

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 03-Nov-09, 10:20

LONDON - The most motivating TV ad in the past six months was for Dettol's Surface antibacterial spray, according to a top ten compiled by TNS's new ad research service Mercury.

Mercury measures how an ad positions a brand emotionally and whether consumers are likely to go on to make a purchase.

Paul Baker, head of Mercury, said: "An increased awareness of protecting yourself and your family against germs, caused by the recent publicity of swine flu and E coli breakouts, is likely to have contributed highly to the success fo the Dettol ad.

"In the ad Dettol addresses a problem that a lot of people feel very strongly about and therefore connects with people at a fundamentally emotive level."

The top ten TV ads ranked by Mercury for the period from April to September 2009 are:

Dettol - Surface Antibacterial Spray (Euro RSCG). We see an image of raw chicken on a kitchen surface, we then see a young girl pick up a lolly from the same surface and eat it. We are told that bacteria can survive on surfaces for up to 24 hours. We then see someone cleaning surfaces, including a child's high chair with this product and making them safe to eat from.
Walkers - Gary's Cycle Ride (AMV BBDO). Gary Lineker and Cat Deeley cycle romantically through/past UK leisure destinations or activities, such as a National Trust castle, Thorpe Park and paintballing, in a spoof of the film 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. They stop at a pub, where Gary shows off his bicycle tricks, until he sees a van full of this product. He then swaps Cat for the van's delivery man, who he wheels away on the front of his bike, with Cat in hot pursuit.
Kellogg's - Free Cornflakes (Cheetham Bell JWT). Animation - on a beautiful sunny morning, a man (W.K. Kellogg) settles down to have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He picks up his newspaper and reads the headline: "Free Kellogg's corn flakes and milk".
Apple iPhone - 3G Mobile Phone (TBWA Media Arts Lab). We see a hand demonstrating the 'cut and paste' function of this handset by cutting and pasting telephone numbers, articles and maps.
Tesco - Hot Air Balloon Pick Up (The Red Brick Road). A woman is waiting outside a store with her shopping for her husband to pick her up. She rings him on her 'mobile to see where he is. He says he's "just pulling in" then arrives in a hot air balloon. They load their shopping into it and then take off into the sky. They toast crumpets on the way.
Premier Inn - Psycho Nightmare (RKCR/Y&R). Lenny Henry is in the bath in a scene reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's, Psycho, threatened by a costumed version of himself wielding a knife. He goes on to say how some places can be a nightmare but this place isn't.
Morrisons - The Search for Fresh Fish (DLKW). Robert Lindsay is seen in various locations in search of fresh fish. First we see him pushing a supermarket trolley in a river; then he's looking through the bottom of a boat; then through a circular hole in some ice; then on a fishing trawler.
Comparethemarket.com - Aleksander & Sergei (VCCP). A meerkat with a Russian accent talks about how people get confused between his website and another website. We are introduced to Sergei, a computer engineer, who launches a new computer server to deal with the excess internet traffic.
Currys - Fridge Freezer Reclying (M&C Saatchi). Two men struggle to fit a fridge freezer into their small car. They eventually put it in a shopping trolley and attach the trolley to the back of the car, but it doesn't work as planned.
Jacob's Cream Crackers - Your Way. Alan Titchmarsh is shown creating his perfect topping for the product with salad ingredients, in minute detail.