The Nation’s Favourite Ad Awards: Unique Qualities that Shone

Each year, System1 and ITV team up to celebrate the Nation’s Favourite Ads, and this year, we’re taking a fresh approach. Think of it as the Spotify Wrapped of advertising—going beyond Star Ratings to highlight brands that achieved significant uplift within their category, avoided being “Dull,” and embraced the compounding effects of creative consistency. While Christmas ads once again took centre stage, many brands stood out throughout the year for their unique qualities—such as representation, emotional appeal, and the introduction of new creative platforms. These campaigns, often overshadowed by holiday buzz and industry chatter, deserve recognition for their distinct impact.
So, which brands excelled in these areas? Let’s take a closer look!
Commitment to Positive Change & Integration of AI
- Dove / SOKO
- “The Code”
- Star Rating: 4.6 Stars
Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, launched in 2004, has consistently challenged unrealistic beauty standards. In a world increasingly shaped by AI-generated “perfect” models, it remains a timely reminder of Dove’s mission to celebrate real beauty. This ongoing commitment, strong brand message, and exceptional execution deserve recognition.
New & Returning Advertiser
- Jammie Dodgers / McCann Manchester
- “Jam-Packed with Mischief”
- Star Rating: 4.6 Stars
Returning to screens after over a decade, Jammie Dodgers are a standout example of embracing a unique brand personality to break through on TV. By adhering to many of the principles System1 identified in ITV’s Breakthrough research, Jammie Dodgers shine in a category where first-year advertisers typically score just 2.4 Stars. Their use of showmanship helped them break through with a memorable impact.
Dynamic Storytelling
- British Airways / Uncommon
- “May we Haveth One’s Attention”
- Star Rating: 3.0 Stars
A 15-second digital ad campaign is challenging enough to capture emotional engagement, let alone a 5-minute safety briefing. Yet, in their latest safety video, British Airways sparked a remarkable response, achieving the highest emotional dynamism of 2024. This means consumer emotions shifted the most throughout the 5 minutes, a significant achievement for a typically functional and disengaging category.
The Happiest Ad
- Cadbury / VCCP
- “Yours For 200 Years”
- Star Rating: 5.9 Stars
To celebrate 200 years of consistent customer commitment, Cadbury repurposed their 2018 “Mum’s Birthday” campaign, achieving an exceptional Star Rating. With their signature brand codes and storytelling style, this ad reinforces that Cadbury truly knows their customers. It was the happiest ad on System1’s Premium Ad Database in 2024, outperforming the Christmas buzz with a whopping 74% happiness!
Star Studded Partnerships
- Santander / House337
- “Banking With the Enemy”
- Star Rating: 3.3 Stars
Celebrities shone brightly in 2024, with one of the standout partnerships being Santander’s long-standing collaboration with Ant and Dec, focusing on their rival bank, Antanddec. Ant and Dec are a prime example of using celebrities effectively, leaning into their familiar personalities and humour, and returning as winners among consumers.
New Character
- Funky Pigeon / VCCP
- “Give a Funk?”
- Star Rating: 4.1 Stars
Characters are a proven way to drive emotional appeal and category distinctiveness, so it’s only fitting to celebrate brands that leverage this strategy. In 2024, Funky Pigeon introduced a new character and saw strong performance as a result. Fun, unique, and brand-centric, it’s a fantastic example of how to soar with a fluent device!
Humour
- Irn-bru / Leith
- Star Rating: 5.0 Stars
Humour remains one of the rarest features in advertising and has steadily declined over the years. Yet, as identified by Orlando Wood in his books Lemon and Look out, it is also the most effective form of happiness for driving long-lasting business effects. This year, Irn Bru stood out as a top contender, using irony, satire, and misplaced hope to create a comedic and unexpected campaign—one that was perfectly aligned with its brand. Despite the rarity of humour in ads, Irn Bru’s approach shows how it can still be a powerful tool for brand differentiation and impact.
Family Favourite
- OXO / Above + Beyond
- “Made with OXO, Made with Love
- Star Rating: 4.8 Stars
Storytelling emerged as a winning recipe for brands in 2024, with a focus on universal human truths like family, love, connection, and compassion driving highly emotional campaigns that resonated widely. One standout was OXO, with a simple yet powerful narrative featuring a father and daughter. This campaign topped the effectiveness charts, offering a key lesson for brands: sometimes, simplicity is the key. By focusing on how their products enhance everyday pleasures, brands can create more meaningful connections with their audience.
Representation
- Doritos / Goodby Silverstein & Partners
- “For the Bold in Everyone”
- Star Rating: 4.4 Stars
Surprise is a key emotion measured by System1, positively influencing Star Ratings. In 2024, brands averaged 11% surprise, but Doritos broke the charts with 27% in their stereotype-defying campaign. As highlighted in our Wise Up! report, over-55s are rarely shown in advertising with independence, humour, and agency—three qualities Doritos nailed. This campaign serves as a lesson for brands to break free from stereotypes around age, gender, and ethnicity, showing that all audiences want to be entertained and represented in an empowering, fun way.
Most Disgusting
- Pot Noodle / adam&eveDDB
- “Nothing Satisfies like Pot Noodle”
- Spike Rating: 1.69 Spike Rating
Disgust is one of the rarest emotions in advertising, accounting for just 1% of emotions in 2024. While most brands shy away from this feeling, Pot Noodle embraced it to create one of the spikiest campaigns of the year. With the highest percentage of disgust at 30% and exceptional short-term sales potential (measured by our Spike Rating), it proved that any emotion is more powerful than none. This campaign highlights the importance of using emotions to stand out and drive sales, showing how brands can leverage even the most unexpected feelings to be distinctive.
The Nation’s Favourite Ads
This is just a glimpse into the fantastic ads that flooded our screens in 2024, with many more to discover. Have you made it to the Nation’s Favourite leaderboard? Find out in our upcoming webinar, where we’ll explore which brands stood out in their categories, defied dull advertising, and unlocked the commercial power of compound creativity.
January 29th 10am – 11am GMT