Nation’s Favorite Ads 2024

Christmas Outperforms the Super Bowl 

In 2024, holiday season ads averaged 3.5 Stars, equating to ‘Good’ brand-building potential, compared to ‘Modest’ potential for all nationally aired Super Bowl LVIII ads, which averaged 2.6 Stars. Additionally, 17 of more than 150 holiday ads achieved an ‘Exceptional’ 5 Stars. Typically only about 1% of ads reach the 5-Star mark but many brands lean into emotional storytelling, nostalgic cultural references and familiar brand characters during the holidays, resulting in a higher percentage of impactful work.  

Consumers favorite holiday ads, ranked by Star Rating (long-term brand-building potential), are: 

 1. Coca-Cola / Secret Level, Silverside AI and the Wild Card 

“Holidays are Coming” – 5.9 Stars  

Our testing revealed that the majority of people didn’t know or care that Coke’s series of ads leveraged AI. That’s largely thanks to the decades of human effort that have gone into making “Holidays are Coming” an instantly recognizable and beloved ad. Coke leaned into its distinctive assets – the trucks, the song and more – to ensure audiences would know it was a Coke ad and enjoy the still familiar story.  

 2. Capital One / GSD&M 

“Holiday Night Fever” – 5.8 Stars 

What’s better than John Travolta? The return of John Travolta! Capital One re-gifts their 2023 ad, which sees John Travolta dressed as Santa, strutting around town making purchases with his Capital One card. Inspired by Saturday Night Fever, this version was once again a hit with consumers, scoring even higher than it did in 2023. It’s a testament to the power of wear in, a reminder that something doesn’t need to be new in order to shine.  

 3. Twinkly 

“Twinkly Christmas with Chevy Chase” – 5.8 Stars 

Lighting brand Twinkly leans into star power with a cameo from Chevy Chase, reprising his role as Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s a great example of using a ‘hired device,’ or celebrity spokesperson, well – Chase is in his element as he showcases his stunning light display. Read more in our Ad Of The Week feature.  

 4. M&M’s / BBDO New York 

“They Do Exist” – 5.7 Stars 

The long-running spot from M&M’s sees Red and Yellow, two of the famous spokescandies, debating the existence of Santa and running into the man himself. By leveraging their ‘fluent device,’ the candymaker is able to ensure the brand is recognized and not one of its competitors. And by re-airing the ad year after year, M&M’s benefits from the built-up goodwill around the commercial.  

 5. Pillsbury

“Help Santa: Cinnamon Rolls” – 5.7 Stars 

Who doesn’t love the Pillsbury Doughboy?! Pillsbury put their small star in the spotlight with this humorous story about coaxing Santa back to the house with a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls.  

Celebrities, Humor & Music Score with Big Game Viewers 

While Big Game ads average only slightly better than the average US ad (2.3 Stars), 2024’s event had a few standout stars. Most commercials rely heavily on ‘hired devices’ to entertain audiences, rather than fluent devices. While fluent devices typically perform better than hired devices, Michelob ULTRA, Hellmann’s and T-Mobile found success by embedding celebrities into storylines that aligned with their respective talents. Humor and music also played an important role in eliciting positive emotions among viewers. 

The top Super Bowl ads are: 

 1. Michelob ULTRA / Wieden+Kennedy New York  

“Superior Beach” – 4.8 Stars 

It might seem odd to put one of the word’s biggest futbol stars in a football-themed ad, but Michelob are able to let Messi shine and tie in Jason Sudeikis, known for his role as football & futbol coach Ted Lasso. The action-packed ad was our top Super Bowl ad – dive deeper into why Messi was the right move in our Ad Of The Week feature.  

 2. Reese’s / Erich & Kallman 

“Yes!” – 4.7 Stars 

Orlando Wood’s research finds a decline in the use of humor over the last 3 decades, but Reese’s recognize the power of laughs. Their Super Bowl used riotous slapstick and proved that you don’t need a famous face to entertain audiences. Humor drives intense, positive feelings – the perfect mix to deliver both short- and long-term results.  

 3. Hellmann’s / VML 

“Mayo Cat” – 4.5 Stars 

Hellmann’s sticks to its food waste messaging to showcase how Hellmann’s can transform food and reduce the amount of food going to landfill. But they do so in a humorous way to cement the message in a more impactful way. The ‘mayo cat’ draws high levels of happiness and surprise, leading to a strong 4-Star result for the brand. Read the full summary via our Ad Of The Week series.  

 4. T-Mobile / Panay Films 

“That T-Mobile Home Internet Feeling” – 4.5 Stars 

Each Super Bowl, we’re treated to a singalong from brand ambassadors Zach Braff and Donald Faison and 2024’s ad did not disappoint. This year, the duo is joined by Jason Momoa for a Flashdance-inspired ad. Consistency is key – T. Mobile recognize the value of bringing the main stars back in the same setting but delivering a new experience year after year.  

 5. Lindt / Grey Toronto 

“Life is a Ball” – 4.4 Stars 

Most chocolate ads rely on the same formula – close-up shots of melted chocolate, a look at the process of making the delicious and of course scenes of someone enjoying the product. Lindt keeps all the elements that work well but puts a twist on the usual with a delightful soundtrack and a flying truffle. After all, it’s the Super Bowl – a time to take creative risks!  

Olympic Viewers Applaud Aspirational Ads

The global sporting event lends itself to inspiring ads that celebrate athletes at their best — displaying sportsmanship and celebrating wins both big and small. Whether focusing on those who are established in their field or still aspiring to reach their goals, some of the best Olympic commercials landed higher on the podium than Super Bowl ads by taking viewers on an emotional journey. Despite the controversy around Google’s AI campaign, the positive emotions during the human-centric moments were able to counteract some negative reactions to AI features.  

The top Olympics ads are: 

 1. Comcast / Spark Foundry 

“Sportsmanship” – 5.7 Stars 

Many Olympics ads feature athletes we’ll see in the Games (and hopefully on the podium!). Comcast goes a bit of a different route, highlighting young rising stars exhibiting sportsmanship and then balancing it with footage of professionals at the top of their game. One scene near the end shows a young girl watching the Games, bringing the story full circle. Professional Olympians inspire us to do great things and hopefully reach the elite Olympic level. We discuss the ad in more detail in our Ad Of The Week series.  

 2. DICKS.com / Arts & Letters 

“Big Moments Everyday” – 5.7 Stars 

Dick’s Sporting Goods also focuses on young athletes, showing endearing moments like a young girl finding out she’s ‘made the team!’ and a basketball buzzer beater. Small athletes, big moments. And the ‘found footage’ style brings authenticity to the ad. You can view the full write-up via Ad of The Week.  

 3. NBC Sports 

“Why is Sabrina in Paris?” –  4.6 Stars 

NBC Sports lean into the power of cultural references by featuring Sabrina Carpenter, responsible for the hit of the summer, “Espresso.” How do they tie the Olympics to the popular songstress? An animated bird meets her at a Parisian café, where she’s drinking espresso of course! Sabrina then explains she’s in town for the Games and we see exciting clips of some of the top athletes. It brewed up a strong 4-Star result and positive feeling in viewers.  

 4. Xfinity 

“Someday Starts Here: Swim” – 4.4 Stars 

The Olympics offer no shortage of inspiration and the ads are the same! Xfinity puts swimmer Torri Huske at the center of the story, bringing an energetic ‘will she or won’t she’ feeling as we watch Huske race. Huske then transforms into a young girl, who’s envisioning herself touching the pool wall. It’s revealed that she’s watching the race – like its parent company Comcast, Xfinity brings aspiring athletes and Olympians together into one powerful ad. 

 5. Google / in house 

“Dear Sydney” – 4.4 Stars 

Just like Coke’s AI trucks, Google also got into a bit of hot water with viewers this year for promoting Gemini, its gen-AI chatbot. But our testing revealed some interesting findings. Yes, the moments where AI was discussed saw a negative reaction. But the ad is able to elicit enough positive emotion thanks to the sweet human story of a dad and daughter. And importantly, the negative emotions never dominate. A reminder of the importance of human connection or ‘betweenness’ and putting narrative over product features, as well as the ability for pre-testing to identify these emotional nuances. Read more via Ad Of The Week here.  

One of the underlying themes of 2024’s top ads was creative consistency. This year saw brands return with familiar storylines, distinctive assets, or repeat ads, sometimes with slight twists.  

• T-Mobile continued its neighborhood storyline with the same dynamic dancing and singing duo – Zach Braff and Donald Faison – to once again rank among the top Super Bowl ads 

• Pillsbury’s recurring character ‘fluent device,’ the Doughboy, helped the brand score exceptionally well across numerous ads 

• M&M’s re-aired its long-running Christmas ad, Capital One’s 2023 holiday ad returned again and Coca-Cola refreshed its “Holidays are Coming” spot with the help of AI and recognizable brand assets. 

Our full round-up includes a look at other consistent brands, as well as some of the least dull ads, or those that are effectively eliminating neutrality, which we know to be the enemy of effectiveness. Don’t miss all the brands and agencies in our Nation’s Favorite Ads list for 2024!