Just which were South Africa’s favourtie advertisements for 2012? Millward Brown has issued its Best Liked Ads list that celebrates the country’s favourite television commercials and their advertising agencies, as chosen by consumers.
2012 was certainly the year of the fast food outlets – the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector – winning eight out of the top 20 ads, and five out of the top 10 coming from this part of the economy. Spur took top slot, with Wimpy coming in second place. Nando’s, Debonair’s Pizza and Roman’s Pizza came in at seventh, eighth and ninth position. And three of Nando’s ads were featured in the top 20.
“Could the huge increase in the number of QSR ads on the list be a sign of the times? The economic environment is still quite tight post the 2009 recession, and consumers are searching for small, affordable treats for their families – relevance is therefore key in engaging the South African public and some categories are more relevant than others,” Millward Brown said.
“Regardless of the category, some of the key ingredients in great advertising that we see are humour, kids, animals and celebrities. Of all the QSR ads on the list, humour is the common thread – something that the South African market tends to resonate with quite strongly. TV ads are increasingly seen as ‘entertainment’ and if you can make us smile or laugh, you are entertaining us. And if you entertain us with a brand that is very relevant, you may just have a winning combination…”
One way to ensure relevance is to ‘localise’ the ad – all of the QSR ads on the list had a distinct South African flavor. MTN, Bells and Castle Lite were also very strong in this regard. This isn’t to say that locally produced ads are better than internationally produced ads, we just need to caution the importance of the ability of the ad to ‘travel’.
