“Aardman are masters of showmanship – compelling characters, strong narratives, a focus on human motivation and the living. In this report, we describe how the studio gets those enviable results, sharing insights and case studies on what it is that makes Aardman’s work so special. And what you can learn from The Aardman Effect.”
Stories with character.
Characters with heart.
Advertising with a smile.
Putting on a Show is a first-of-its-kind book from System1 and Aardman that is a love letter to the power of craft in advertising, and the strongest evidence yet that creativity is the industry’s greatest superpower. From Wallace & Gromit to the Serta Sheep to Lurpak’s Douglas, the independent, multi-award-winning studio has regularly developed work featuring its IP and original brand characters for advertisers.
We analyzed 96 of Aardman’s commercial campaigns for brands from the past 40 years. The result? Ads that consistently rank in the top 1% for creative effectiveness, especially those featuring Aardman’s iconic characters, which average our highest possible long-term effectiveness score: 5-Stars.
Authored by System1’s Andrew Tindall and Beth Marchant, this book celebrates the magic of advertising with character, story, humor, and craft – and shows how putting on a show, as Aardman so often does, delivers lasting business impact.
Creative features for broad-beam attention are key to effectiveness
Advertising that puts on a show leads to greater business impact
FAQs
What is Putting On a Show?
Putting On a Show is a first-of-its-kind report from System1 and Aardman Animations exploring “The Aardman Effect,” the consistent use of character, story, charm, and craft to put on a show for brands. Co-authored by System1’s Andrew Tindall and Beth Marchant, with a foreword by Chief Creative Officer Orlando Wood, the report analyzes 96 of Aardman’s commercial campaigns from the past several decades and shows why they consistently rank among the most creatively effective ads in the world.
What is The Aardman Effect?
The Aardman Effect describes Aardman’s unique ability to increase positive emotion and, crucially, reduce Neutrality (the absence of any emotional response) in advertising. Ads produced by the studio consistently score in the top 1% for creative effectiveness in System1’s global database, and those featuring Aardman’s own character IP, like Wallace & Gromit, average the highest possible long-term effectiveness score: 5-Stars.
Methodology: How was the research conducted?
System1 worked with Aardman to build a broad, representative sample of its advertising, testing 96 Aardman campaigns using System1’s Test Your Ad platform across the US, UK, France, Sweden, Australia, and Canada. The sample included ads featuring Aardman’s own IP (like Wallace & Gromit) as well as bespoke characters created for specific brands (like Thatchers’ cider ads), which allowed researchers to compare the effectiveness of famous versus brand-owned characters. Results were benchmarked against System1’s global database of over 165,000 tested ads.
Do Aardman ads actually outperform other advertising?
Yes. On System1’s Star Rating, which predicts an ad’s contribution to long-term brand growth, 19% of Aardman ads achieve the top 5-Star rating, more than four times the global average of 4%. A further 36% land in the 4-Star range, more than double the 16% global benchmark. Across the board, Aardman’s average Star Rating is 4.2, roughly double the global average of 2.2.
How do people emotionally respond to Aardman ads compared to other advertising?
Aardman ads are significantly more engaging than the average ad. Compared to global advertising benchmarks, Aardman’s campaigns reduce Neutral responses (feeling nothing at all) by 13.4%, increase Happiness by 18.2%, and boost emotional intensity by 33%. This matters because Neutrality is a major hidden cost in advertising: the average UK TV ad is 52% Neutral, and the average US ad is 47% Neutral, meaning most advertising fails to make people feel anything at all.
What is “Showmanship,” and how does it differ from “Salesmanship”?
Showmanship and Salesmanship are the two schools of advertising described in the report, building on Orlando Wood’s research. Salesmanship targets an audience already close to buying, using direct messaging, facts, and calls to action to prompt an immediate sale. Showmanship, by contrast, appeals to a broad audience through storytelling, humor, character, and emotion, building the fame, positive feeling, and easy recognition that drive brand growth over months and years. The two approaches work together, but it’s Showmanship that has the greater long-term commercial impact, and it’s where Aardman excels.
How much more “Showmanship” do Aardman ads contain?
Aardman’s campaigns contain more than double the showmanship (broad-beam) features and roughly half the salesmanship (narrow-beam) features of typical TV advertising. On average, an Aardman ad contains 6.7 broad-beam features compared to 2.6 in a typical TV ad, while narrow-beam features drop from 5.2 to 2.6. Showmanship features matter because campaigns in the top 20% for these features are far more likely to generate large fame or buzz effects (80% vs. 33%), sales gains (1.7x more likely), and profit gains (3x more likely) than those in the bottom 20%.
What are the “Six Creative Levers” of The Aardman Effect?
Tell Stories Full of Character: building characters with agency and “quiddity,” the specific traits that make them feel alive and individual.
Take Audiences on an Emotional Journey: using tension and even negative emotion, balanced with a positive resolution, to create a memorable emotional arc.
Make Advertising with a Smile: using humor to disarm audiences and make even “dull” categories feel approachable.
Create Familiar Faces and Places: building recurring, recognizable characters and settings that deepen emotional connection over time.
Get Animated: using the freedom of animation to exaggerate emotion and tell stories that go beyond the literal.
Lean into Showmanship Features: deliberately building in the broad-beam creative features (sense of place, implicit communication, distinctive accents, and more) that are proven to drive attention and emotion.
What is a “Fluent Device,” and does Aardman use them?
A fluent device is a recurring character, scenario, or slogan that becomes synonymous with a brand over time, think Geico’s Geck or Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot. System1’s research shows campaigns with a fluent device are 73% more likely to report significant profit gains than those without. While Aardman’s own IP (Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep) isn’t brand-owned, the studio has created standout brand-owned fluent devices, most notably Lurpak’s Douglas and the Serta Sheep, both of which have driven strong long-term recognition for their respective brands.
What’s the difference between a “hired device” and a “fluent device”?
A fluent device (like the Serta Sheep) is created specifically for, and owned by, a brand. A hired device is an existing, famous character, like Wallace & Gromit, that a brand borrows for a campaign. Hired devices arrive with a built-in audience and instant emotional resonance, giving a head start in the battle for attention, but they can also risk overshadowing the brand itself if not integrated carefully. Aardman’s advertising work is built on using both approaches effectively: leveraging its own famous IP as hired devices, and helping brands build their own fluent devices from scratch.
Does entertaining advertising really drive business results, or is that just a nice idea?
The data says yes, and the effect isn’t limited to Aardman or to any one media channel. Peter Field’s analysis of the IPA Effectiveness Databank found that creatively awarded campaigns are 12 times more efficient at driving market share growth than non-awarded campaigns. System1 research also shows entertaining advertising consistently drives better results across media: radio ads that entertain see an 8.2% increase in claimed consumer behavior change (versus 0.2% for those that don’t), entertaining digital ads achieve a 65% success rate in brand awareness gains (versus 20% for less engaging ads), and on digital platforms, entertaining ads deliver six times the action-intent gains of less engaging ones.
Who is Putting On a Show for, and how do I get it?
The report is written for marketers, creative teams, and brand leaders who want evidence-based proof that creativity, character, and craft drive real commercial results, not just award recognition. It’s available to download in full via the request form on this page.
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