Media

Top 10 TV Ads for December 2016

Paul Ausick

Published: January 10, 2017 11:40 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:00 pm

A well-established metric by which to measure television advertising is how memorable the ad is. The more memorable the ad, the more bang for the advertiser’s buck, because consumers are more likely to remember the ad and the brand when considering a purchase.

Nielsen publishes a monthly scorecard on the most memorable prime-time English language TV ads among adults ages 18 or over. For December 2016, the ad must have launched between December 1 and December 31. Nielsen’s Brand Memorability Index is based on a score of 100 as being the average. Thus, a score of 200 means that a viewer is twice as likely to remember the ad compared with recall of an average ad.

For December, four of the top 10 ads were broadcast by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the hospital took the top two spots in the ranking. The hospital, which charges no fees for its services, depends on contributions to support its work. Memorable ads, especially around the holidays and the end of the (tax) year, could make a big difference in the amount of money the hospital raises.

Here are the 10 most memorable December ads, along with the ad description, ad length and Brand Memorability Index score:

1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Sitting with Janelle — Family; 15 seconds; 240 index score
2. St. Jude: Sitting with a Little Girl — Share; 15 seconds; 216 index score
3. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid [Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG)]: Rescue Workers Cleaning Birds — Bird Going Back to Wild; 15 seconds; 200 index score
4. KFC Restaurants [Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM)]: $10 Chicken Share; 15 seconds; 196 index score
5. St. Jude: Images of Child Cancer Patients; 120 seconds; 196 index score
6. Budweiser Beer [Anheuser Busch InBev S.A. N.V. (NYSE: BUD)]: Man Trying to Open Can With Gloves; 15 seconds; 188 index score
7. St Jude: Sitting with a Girl in a Red Shirt; 15 seconds; 188 index score
8. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV): Man Asking Where He Should Take a Trip; 30 seconds; 168 index score
9. Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S): Man Walking in Mall; 30 seconds; 160 index score
10. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD): Elves Unpacking Items in Truck; 30 seconds; 156 index score

Visit iSpot.tv to view a 30-second version of December’s most memorable ad.