Ads from Amazon, HUL, and Marico are among the “most effective” in 2021

According to analytics, insights, and consultancy firm Kantar’s second India research on advertising campaigns, advertisements for consumer companies Amazon, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Marico, Mondelez, and Whirlpool made the list of the most successful television commercials for 2021.

The consultancy recognised the best television commercials in five product categories: food and beverage, personal care, durables, home care, and services. A special section on social causes and an article titled “Un-stereotype” that praises gender-inclusive advertising were also included in the report titled “Creative Effectiveness Awards in India.”

Kantar examined traditional storytelling techniques in the global survey, which included more than 13,000 creatives from businesses. It tested more than 1300 ads in India, and the successful ones demonstrate key traits like being imaginatively captivating and coming up with compelling narratives that increase brand sales.

In the Mondelez commercial for ChocoBakes Cake, created by the advertising firm Ogilvy, a child and his brother are seen stealthily stealing a cake from their house in the middle of the night. Their answer manages to let their parents know about their sneaky antics, but they are stunned by the taste of the product.

The Nihar Naturals hair oil advertisement by Marico in the personal care category features a girl defying all the expectations placed on her and choosing to pursue a career in journalism rather than the usual path of study in teaching. Amazon, Surf Excel Matic Liquid, and Intellifresh Everyday Care from Whirlpool all made the list of successful TV commercials. Vim Liquid, Comfort, and Surf Excel took home the Kantar award in the digital category.

According to Kantar, consumer testing was done on the advertising. The testing essentially consists of a survey, and the questions are compared to a database of norms that was established. Within the 12-month period, an advertisement is often tested among 200–300 consumers.

The ads are evaluated on two pillars, according to Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client officer of the insights division at the research firm. The first pillar is determined by the consumer, who serves as the jury, and it measures whether the advertisement increased short-term sales when consumers had a favourable perception of the brand. The second is whether a brand can develop equity, which is a longer-term metric. These two come together to have a creative effect. Many of this year’s winning advertisements present highly positive gender stereotypes.

The company, according to her, employs “un-stereotype” as a metric where they evaluate advertisements to see if they convey a positive image of a female character and a male character before using it to compare the advertisements side by side to see which is more accurate on this aspect.

“Ads that do well on the un-stereotype metric actually tend to give a much higher uplift on both brand equity, as well as short-term sales likelihood. So it makes incredible business sense to un-stereotype,” she added.

According to Kantar, effective digital advertising relies on hooking people early on and evoking strong emotions. According to the corporation, in order to be engaging and current, digital ads must capitalise on the moment and embrace current topics and trends.