The Nation’s Favourite Ads – 2023

What were the top TV ads of 2023? We used System1’s Test Your Ad platform to survey over 700,000 consumers and uncover how they really feel about the latest campaigns, from Super Bowl spots to holiday commercials and everything in between.

We know that the more people feel the more they buy. That’s why Test Your Ad asks participants to detail the emotions they feel – like happiness, surprise, sadness, anger and more. Based on these emotional responses, we assign each ad a Star Rating from 1.0 to 5.9. The higher the Star Rating, the more potential the ad has to drive profit gain and market share growth. Typically only 1% of ads score in the 5-Star range.

In 2023, many brands reinvested in exceptional creative from years past, and we applaud them for doing so. This was an especially common tactic during the holiday season, with major retailers and FMCG brands opting to let their ads wear in further. But for this list, we opted to focus only on new ads.

So, read on to discover the top 50. And congratulations to both the brands and the agencies that helped bring these ads to our screens. It’s truly a team effort, and when you achieve a brand-building win, it’s the icing on the cake.

The Nation’s Favorite Ads 2023
Top 50

OREO / Dentsu Creative

Super Mario x OREO Limited Edition Cookies

OREO secures the best score we’ve ever seen in the extremely competitive biscuit category and the #1 spot across all of 2023’s ads. The collaboration with Nintendo stands out for the love, attention to detail and commitment to the concept. A Mario videogame level with coins and pipes replaced by cookies and milk, and the classic Mario theme tune played on glasses? Beautifully simple, with high scores across Star, Spike and Brand Fluency.

Disney / Publicis Imagine

Lifetime

100 years of history gives Disney plenty to work with in its second centennial ad of the year. The brand magically combines its many distinctive assets – familiar and lovable animated characters – with scenes of real Disney fans witnessing the wonderment of its parks, films and entertainment. And with a voiceover from the founder Walt Disney himself, it’s no wonder that the commercial hits emotional highs with viewers. Don’t miss the first 100-year celebration ad, which aired during Super Bowl LVII, a bit further down our list.

Publix / 22squared Inc.

Happy Mothers Day

Supermarket Publix’ Mother’s Day effort is a real masterclass in how storytelling and emotional timing. A middle-aged woman is teaching a younger man – we assume it’s her son – how to make cakes. Turns out it’s her son-in-law, making his wife and kid her mom’s cakes for Mother’s Day. The ad is so effective due to the human connection built up between the man and his mother-in-law. When we get our second and third hits of human connection – between husband and wife and mother and daughter – they feel even more real. It’s a pure feelgood slice of life, perfectly executed. 

Amazon / in-house

Joy Ride

Amazon's global Christmas campaign performs amazingly well in the US, defying age stereotypes and promoting shared joy. The ad, set to The Beatles' "In My Life,” features three spirited older women watching sledders from the bottom of a snowy hill. One of the women cleverly orders seat cushions from the retailer so they too can join in on the fun. It’s a simple story filled with nostalgia that everyone can relate to. And it’s a rare feature for older characters who often aren’t the stars of today’s ads. With scores like this, it’s clear they should be. 

Kinder

Let That Kid Flag Fly

Kinder introduces a new chocolate bar to the US market with this fun-filled ad that combines mesmerizing, slow-motion shots of chocolate with playful, realistic scenes featuring a family pretending to be superheroes. It’s also got a very right-brained, melodic soundtrack thanks to an instrumental version of The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” Infused with heartwarming moments, the ad is the perfect balance between storytelling and product promotion.

Hershey’s / Arnold

Let’s S’more More

Everyone knows the joy of stacking a graham cracker, Hershey’s chocolate and a marshmallow to make a delicious s’more. Hershey's put a fun spin on the typical bonfire treat with a wintertime hack, all while capturing the essence of family bonding. The ad shows a family making s’mores in the oven – perfect for cold winter nights. And of course there are mouthwatering shots of melting chocolate to make viewers hungry for Hershey’s, no matter the time of year.

Macy’s / BBDO New York

Hey, Santa

Macy’s make a return to Nation’s Favorite with a heartwarming tale of a young boy trying to pick out the perfect gift. Viewers will likely assume he's shopping for mom or dad, but Macy's have a clever and sweet twist up their sweater sleeves. He decides to use his visit to Santa’s Grotto to turn the tables and give Saint Nick a present - fuzzy slippers for him to kick back and relax once his long day of listening to Christmas wishes is complete. It’s a lovely execution, with traditional music and an opportunity to show off the full Macy’s range en route to the punchline.

Hershey’s / Arnold

Team Building

Not every ad needs a pricey celebrity spokesperson or a cast of polished actors. Featuring real people enjoying your product and time with one another is an authentic way to put your brand at the center of a story. Just take this Hershey’s ad as an example – it highlights the Crockett Cougars, a real softball team in Austin, Texas as the players make s’mores with one another, their family members, friends and coaches. Audiences feel the realness too, delivering a 5-Star result for the chocolate brand.

Apple / TBWA\Media Arts Lab

The Invincibles

Stories about dogs have a special way of touching our hearts. Apple follows the journey of a three-legged dog Trip who gets a prosthetic leg crafted with the help of the iPhone. There’s a few more furry friends featured in a montage, and though they're also differently abled, they’re running with tails wagging and tongues out thanks to their prosthetics. Apple hits high marks for maintaining a signature look and feel with its ‘Shot on iPhone’ series, while also bringing in melodic music, an uplifting ending and lovable pets.

Disney / in-house

Disney100 Special Look

Disney have a huge advantage over most advertisers - their library of dozens of the world’s most popular characters, who they make full use of in their creative. Most Disney ads are like this one, with a montage of beloved characters and franchises giving a feel of how wide and deep the Disney magic goes. This centennial special adds a minor twist on the template by giving plenty of screen time to fans, especially Disney-loving children playing at those characters.

Capital One / GSD&M

Holiday Night Fever

Capital One's unconventional Christmas ad stars John Travolta in an homage to his iconic role in Saturday Night Fever. This time, Travolta is a stylish Disco Santa, donning a red suit and making purchases with his Capital One card while grooving through 70s New York City. It’s a testament to leveraging nostalgia and cultural references. With a dash of familiarity, you’re sure to delight viewers by building upon something they already love.

King’s Hawaiian / Omaha

King’s Hawaiian Slider Sunday

This King's Hawaiian campaign is a great example of letting hired devices, or celebrities, do what they do best. In this case, it’s showcasing the competitive yet playful relationship between football legends and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning. Who will be the champion of the football watch party, officially known as “Slider Sunday”? The ad cleverly incorporates humor through the witty one-upmanship between the Mannings to bring authenticity, entertainment and mouthwatering shots of King’s Hawaiian creations.

Hershey’s / Arnold

Lane’s Story

Hershey’s mixes product and purpose to highly emotional effect. This ad tells the story of Lane, a young boy with cerebral palsy who wants to be a Hershey’s Taster. The candy brand makes Lane’s dream come true to the delight and pride of his classmates. This kind of ad focusing on brands helping out and doing good has fallen a little out of fashion as brands opt for more high-level, abstract engagements with “brand purpose.” But the fact is showing your brand making a difference to just one person can feel more real and impactful than all the big statements.

Reese’s / Anomaly

Bonkers

By now the distinct sound of actor Will Arnett’s voice is enough to signal the start of a Reese’s ad, but the brand is smart to lean into other distinctive assets like the colors orange and brown. This signature look, along with mouthwatering up-close shots of peanut butter cups and punchy voiceover copy, have helped the brand score a consistent string of 4- and 5-Stars. We frequently talk about the importance of branding early and often, and Reese’s demonstrate how effectively distinctive assets are at signaling a brand.

Adobe Photoshop

Magic Garden

Software ads don’t often hit 5-Stars, but that’s because they don’t typically zag from category codes. Adobe forgoes the usual ‘zig’ and takes viewers on a delightful journey into the world of creativity. The ad focuses on a young girl creating a birthday card featuring all her favorite things and fantasies, like cats, unicorns and a cupcake house. The use of a child narrator to deliver the message about Adobe's generative AI tool adds charm and drives happiness among viewers to achieve an exceptional score. 

Popeyes / McKinney

We don’t make sense. We make chicken.

Popeyes’ leans hard on its New Orleans heritage in this ad, listing all the things about the city that don’t make sense – but that happen anyway, because that’s how New Orleans does things. It’s a sly way of promoting the chicken chain’s own against-the-norm practices, like slow marinating, which may not make sense in a fast-food world but which make Popeyes the success it is. The mix of local pride, delicious food, vibrant street life and a funky soundtrack sends the ad into 5-Star territory. 

Walmart / Fallon, Publicis NY, the community, Contender, and Digitas

Holidays: Find Your Thing

Walmart has something for everyone in this holiday ad featuring humorous and relatable situations, like one parent inquiring whether the other has purchased batteries for all the toys the kids will soon be unwrapping, a young girl stealing a cookie when nobody's looking and two sisters accidentally gifting each other the same sweater. Walmart also continues its track record of prioritizing representation in its ad, showcasing people of different races, ages, abilities and cultures throughout the ad.

Chewy / Arnold Worldwide

Inheritance

“Inheritance” is one of a series of Chewy commercials which take a look at how important our pets are to us, and how we treat them as one of the family. In this case, a talking feline (Mr. Marbles) gets some juicy bequests in his owner’s will – to the horror of the two-legged family members. With the power of humor, Chewy expertly flips the script on cats’ reputation as independent-minded, sly, and a little aloof, and wins over audiences.

Wegman's

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Retailer Wegmans’ ad for its chocolate cake is literally just a shot of the cake and an employee talking about how nice it is. But the cake looks delicious, and the worker sounds sincere and genuinely enthusiastic about it. Even though the formula here is one retail and food brands have been using for decades, when you get the execution right people aren’t tired of it, and Wegmans’ authenticity leaves audiences feeling genuinely happy. 

Kroger / adam&eveNYC

Cuisine Exchange

Kroger's masterclass in right-brained advertising features characters with agency, implicit communication and melodic music. It focuses on a childless couple who host foreign exchange students and cook them globally inspired meals. With the former students and the now elderly couple coming together for a holiday meal at the ad’s conclusion, it’s no wonder it was described as “emotional” and a “tearjerker.”

Amazon / Wieden+Kennedy London

Gourmet Guard

Amazon’s ad about a security guard who takes up cooking and then takes a chance on a new career as a chef is a lesson in why storytelling is so effective. It showcases the benefits of Amazon Prime – super-fast delivery and a wide variety of products. But framing it as a story means the ad can include effective brand-building elements, like human connection between the aspiring chef and his coworker and scenes unfolding in progression. Plus it’s all wrapped up with a great soundtrack (King Curtis’ “Memphis Soul Stew” – what else for a cookery-themed ad?).

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Factory

Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal regularly achieves high marks by effectively incorporating its Fluent Devices, the Cinnamojis, into fresh scenarios, and this ad is no exception. The majority of viewers (92%) recognized Cinnamon Toast Crunch due to its strong brand focus and consistent character presence, with a noteworthy 81% average Fluency Rating, one of the highest in its category. 

Reese’s / Anomaly

Mini Gifts

Reese’s add a splash of red and green to their typical orange-and-brown palette to bring a bit of holiday cheer. Once again, the brand is able to hit high scores in just 15 seconds thanks to a campaign that maintains a consistent look and feel from ad to ad. Reese’s executions are also an important reminder that not every ad needs to have hidden depths to be effective. Sometimes the simplest ideas can be the most successful.

Travelers / Fallon

Ring

Insurance tends to be a dry, transactional category – the category has a 1.9-Star average on Test Your Ad. But sometimes brands cut to the chase and tell the emotional stories behind a category which is all about protection. When they do, high scores often follow. Do the audience actually believe Travelers would send someone into a sewer to retrieve a wedding ring? Maybe not, but that’s hardly the point – the idea is the brand will go that extra mile for its customers, and that emotional message lands strongly and well. 

Mint Mobile / Maximum Effort

Record Deflation

Mint has come a long way since its first ads, in which shower carpets and chunky milk grabbed viewers’ attention by grossing them out. The company is now owned by Ryan Reynolds, who has a flair for making quirky, witty ads that play on his celebrity while still pushing product benefits. In this case, he announces a price cut on Mint Mobile’s plans with the help of a few jokes and a clip of a goat. While other carriers zig, Mint Mobile happily zags and lands a strong 4.8-Star score as a result.

M&Ms / BBDO New York

They’re Back for Good

One of the most talked-about marketing ploys of Super Bowl LVII was M&M’s supposed retirement of their spokescandy characters. Of course, it was a set-up for a gag about comedian Maya Rudolph replacing the brand’s Fluent Devices. The spokescandies’ made a triumphant return at the end of Super Bowl night, earning the brand 4.8-Stars and further cementing their title as most valuable distinctive assets.

Capital One / GSD&M

On the Road Again

The top NCAA March Madness tournament ad was from sponsor Capital One, who unleashed a formidable celebrity line-up to promote the tournament and the brand’s long association with it. A-Listers Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Garner, basketball legends Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson, and country music icon Willie Nelson all show up to sing a rendition of his classic “On the Road Again.” Willie’s music is the glue the ad needs to turn from a parade of famous faces into a proper celebration. 

Keebler

Magic Is Here: Bus Stop ‘Ahhh Fudge’ Moment

Never underestimate the value of recurring Fluent Devices. The Keebler Elves are 55 years old and still starring in high-scoring ads. The elves do more than just show up and introduce the brand – they turn this 15-second ad into a miniature story, giving a kid a treat to balance the annoyance of a missed bus. The Elves have a bus of their own too, nodding to the “Hollow Tree” mythology of these well-loved brand mascots. All in all an excellent use of a familiar character.

Corona / MullenLowe

Umbrella

Corona’s ongoing campaign has arrived at a winning formula where brand ambassador Snoop Dogg and regular sidekick Andy Samberg are joined by another star as they shoot the breeze on a beach. In this case it’s football legend Eli Manning who helps deliver a 4-Star result. Corona’s commercials feel less like ads and more like bits of a sketch show thanks to the odd-couple dynamic. While Snoop is perpetually cool, Samberg is equally uncool. Another great example of giving celebrities space to do what they do best.

Hershey's / Arnold

Dinner is Served

In addition to its much-loved "Christmas Bells,” Hershey’s treat us to another seasonal spot this year. This 15-second version of “Dinner is Served” showcases a long table filled with mouthwatering mains and scrumptious side dishes. But there’s one final reveal before dinner can be served: festive Hershey’s kisses on a silver platter make a perfect dessert. Highlighting moments made better by Hershey’s leads to strong Star and Spike Ratings.

T-Mobile / Panay Films

New Year. New Neighbor.

A big theme of Super Bowl LVII ads was nostalgia for old movies and TV shows, with T-Mobile’s Grease pastiche being the best-performing. Referencing already-loved popular culture is a shrewd way of ensuring people feel good about your ad, and with the budgets required for Super Bowl ads, it can be a safer bet than using all-new IP. Travolta and the rest of the crew’s singing lands T-Mobile a good Brand Fluency score and a ‘Strong’ Star Rating. 

Shopify

Sell Anywhere

Shopify’s plant-shop focused ad gets a high score thanks to subject matter and perfect timing. On screen as in real life, plants help people feel good, and these ones are beautifully shot. The ad also debuted in the springtime, showcasing lots of sunshine rand greenery at a time when everyone’s ready to shed the chill of winter. Shopify’s 4.7-Star Rating is no fluke. The ad also performs exceptionally on short-term Spike and has a very strong Fluency rating. A top-class use of 15 seconds to explain, promote and please the viewer. 

Major League Baseball / Wieden & Kennedy

Baseball is Something Else

Despite only showing about half a second of the actual sport, Major League Baseball’s ad is a celebration of the culture of baseball and the buzz of anticipation around opening day. The fans, the food, the groundskeepers, the mascots, the bats and balls and pitching gloves are all part of the montage that’s set to the instantly recognizable William Tell overture. With all these elements working together, it’s no wonder there’s so many fans of the work.

Chewy / in-house

Pets Aren't Just Pets, They're More: Unbridled Joy

Chewy’s choice to make its holiday commercial a piece of rapid-fire sketch comedy is a bold one, which helps the ad stand out amidst the tinsel tide of Christmas ads. It also gives it solid replay value – there are jokes you might only catch the second or third time around. And it means the ad can end on a laugh line after delivering its main commercial message about cheap prices. That gives it a “peak-end” that helps the commercial land emotionally.

Publix / 22squared Inc

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from Publix

Publix are no strangers to creating ads that make audiences feel, so it’s no surprise they’ve landed in our Top 50 more than once. Thankfully, this particular commercial won’t make you cry. Instead, it goes all in on happiness with a simple and relatable story about family members gathering around the table to enjoy a delicious holiday feast. But in the midst of the cooking chaos, there’s someone who’s been left behind. Their beloved dog Ruckus eventually finds his way inside so he can be part of the family fun.

Google

Google Pixel 8: Audio Magic Eraser

Many tech ads focus on close-ups of the hardware and use voiceover or words on the screen to highlight features. But these ads are typically only interesting to those in the market for the product right now. Google focuses this spot on its Audio Magic Eraser tool but elevates it from a straightforward product demonstration. It highlights how high winds, water fountains and barking dogs get in the way of a crystal-clear video. The relatable and funny scenarios enable the noise-erasing tool to be positioned as the perfect solution to an everyday problem.

Tide / Saatchi & Saatchi NY

You’re Gonna Need More Tide

Tide revives a classic 2010s ad format, the compilation of user-generated video, and uses rapid-fire editing and comedian Kumail Nanjiani to give it a modern, TikTok-era shine. “It’s A Mess Out There,” runs the tagline, capturing both the chaos of modern life and the very literal spills, stains and dirt Tide exists to battle. Video effects cleverly insert Nanjiani into the real footage, helping him drive home the ad’s commercial message about Tide Power Pods’ increased capacity. 

Lay's

Farms Across America

Self-aware humor is a big creative trend right now. Since the Super Bowl winning “It’s A Tide Ad” in 2018 we’ve seen brand after brand break the fourth wall and have fun with ads that gently mock their own cliches. This delightfully surreal Lay’s spot is another example – what starts as a standard “map commercial” showing where Lay’s has its farms turns into something odder when the flags being placed turn into real-world giant flags descending from the skies. It’s a quirky idea but the execution is spot-on, and the ad lets Lays turn a boring provenance claim into something a lot more fun. 

Consumer Cellular / Alto

Freedom Calls

Since 2022, Consumer Cellular has featured actor Ted Danson in its ads, and while the brand’s spokesperson doesn’t appear in this 4th of July spot, it still achieves a strong 4-Star result. To highlight that the company’s customer service team is based in the U.S., Consumer Cellular relies on a familiar song – “America the Beautiful” – to delight audiences and transform a typical customer service interaction into a sing-a-long. Melodic music is a proven key to success so it’s no wonder that it drives happiness and high emotional intensity, two essentials for long-term brand building.  

H-E-B

Sharing Love

Similar to how we’ve seen Hershey’s leverage authenticity, retailer H-E-B features real people in its holiday ad. To promote its annual Feast of Sharing dinner, which has been running for more than 30 years, the brand showcases an inspiring and heartfelt montage of employees, families and volunteers coming together for a delicious meal and entertaining activities for children and adults alike. With an ability to deliver strong results, this genuine approach is certainly something to consider.

Jersey Mike’s / Highdive

Arm of the Slicer

Jersey Mike’s have taken “Eye of the Tiger” and done a cheeky re-write on the lyrics, turning it into a song celebrating the sandwich chain’s deli slicers. Brand ambassador Danny DeVito shows up too, to introduce the ad and give the slicers an excuse to burst into song. It’s easy to see why this tactic works. Cultural references are a killer ingredient for effective ads, and so are big, catchy, well-known songs. It’s no wonder mixing them together makes a 4-Star ad.  

Frito Lay / Publicis

Movie Night

This ad continues Frito Lay’s recent trend of making masterbrand ads alongside individual commercials for products like Ruffles, Doritos, etc. It’s a tactic which can run the risk of confusing viewers when it comes to brand attribution, but these masterbrand ads tend to perform well emotionally, getting audiences excited for snacking in general rather than asking them to think about a specific brand. This one is another hit, set at a backyard movie night to get viewers in the snacking mindset.

Hershey’s / Arnold

S'mores Table

It’s another feelgood Hershey’s ad showcasing the ways the brand brings real people together. This time the focus is on the “Biggest Small Town Festival” in Minnesota, which built a community s’mores table for the occasion. The event organizers explain that Hershey’s donated 40,000 chocolate bars for the festival – which certainly put a smile on attendees faces, and viewers also feel the happiness.

Lindt / Gotham, Inc.

Excellently Crafted

Lindt’s commercials typically feature their famous master chocolatier, stirring and pouring rich, melted chocolate to create its famous truffles. They’re great at getting viewers’ mouths watering. This ad to introduce Lindt’s line of “Excellence” dark chocolate bars takes a slightly different approach. For one, there’s dialogue between the characters – a woman who’s skeptical about the bitterness of dark chocolate and a chocolatier who’s creating a delicious bar for her using Lindt’s high-quality ingredients. With a strong 4.5-Star Rating, excellence is indeed a theme for Lindt.

Kinder

Holiday Joy

Holiday ads are no strangers to showcasing joy, and with a product named Kinder Joy it makes sense the brand would take the same approach. Kinder piece together clips of children enjoying the treat. There’s a young girl who gets excited at the sight of it in her stocking, and another who digs into the iconic egg-shaped dessert after appearing in a holiday play. The toys are also a delightful surprise, putting a smile on the children’s faces.

McDonald’s / DDB

The Little Mermaid and Black Girls Surf

Need another proof point of the power of storytelling? Watch this McDonald’s commercial for its Happy Meal tie-in with “The Little Mermaid.” We’re introduced to Maizy, a young surfer on the Black Girls Surf junior team. Disney heroine Ariel is an inspiration for Maizy, who feels like a mermaid when she’s surfing. Giving the audience a character to root for is a far more emotional and imaginative approach than a simple product-driven ad would be.

Instacart

Gift her a Mom-ent

Mother’s Day ads can be very traditional – delivery service Instacart have done a great job of capturing a younger, quirkier vibe, with a mom enjoying a self-pampering moment in a dry bath surrounded by gifts and treats. It can’t last, but her daughter rushing in to give her a hug is at least a delightful way to end the moment. Cam’ron’s instant earworm “Hey Ma” provides the soundtrack to this finely targeted Millennial Mom ad. Fortunately, happiness knows no generational divide, and Instacart scores 4.4-Stars with the wider audience too. 

Pillsbury / McCann Worldgroup

Quick Recipe

Pillsbury's effective advertising strategy revolves around leveraging their enduring Fluent Device, the Doughboy, who’s also known as Poppin’ Fresh. This ad features a TikTok-inspired video, widening its appeal across demographics. By tapping into the universal habit of seeking quick and easy meal ideas, Pillsbury strikes a relatable chord with viewers. And of course it showcases mouthwatering croissants. A strong 4.4-Star score demonstrates the power of consistently leveraging recognizable familiar characters.  

Popcorners / in-house (D3)

Breaking Good

Snack brand Popcorners aired their first Super Bowl ad in 2023 and also make their first appearance on our Nation’s Favorite list. They made the most of the pricey slot with cultural references – something that we very often see associated with high effectiveness. Breaking Bad’s Walter and Jesse are the stars here, making baked snacks instead of meth, and bringing big laughs along the way. While fans of the show will enjoy it most, it still scores a strong 4-Stars among the wider population. An impressive debut all around.

Budweiser

Folds of Honor Founder’s Story

For more than a decade Budweiser has partnered with Folds of Honor to offer scholarships to military families. In this commercial aligned with Independence Day, Budweiser gives the founder of Folds of Honor the opportunity to tell his story and brings the impact of the relationship to life by filling a Major League Baseball stadium with the 44,000 people who have benefitted from these scholarships. The patriotic spot earns strong marks for its uplifting message, all without putting Budweiser’s beer front and center. 