Crazy Frog named most irritating ad of the year

by Drew Barrand, Marketing 03-Jan-06, 08:55

LONDON - Jamster's Crazy Frog ringtone ad has been named the most irritating TV execution of 2005 by the British public.

The survey of 1,000 adults, which was carried out exclusively for Marketing by TNS, revealed that 60% of the public thought the ad, showing the creature riding an invisible motorcycle to the backing of a version of 'Beverly Hills Cop' theme 'Axel F', was the most irritating of the year.

Much of the irritation was undoubtedly caused by Jamster's media buying strategy, which saw it spend £10m in May alone. The ad, created by Jamster's in-house team, was aired 83 times an hour.

While Jamster topped the poll, financial services firms provided three of the year's five most irritating ads. The second-placed 'Quote me happy' campaign for Norwich Union Direct by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO was disliked by 55% of respondents, while Elephant.co.uk (44%) and Diamond Car Insurance (40%) took the fourth and fifth slots.

WCRS' Phones4U 'hand signal' ad took third place (48%).

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