Are you a fan of crisp sandwiches, or does the prospect of combiningcrunchy and soft textures make you feel queasy? Walkers believes there is adebate to be had, and by tapping into it, the brand has created the most effective public reaction advertisement of April.
The 60-second TV commercial is a tongue-in-cheek depiction of thedivisive topic, with crisp sandwich fans encountering dismay, disgust, andindignation.
Walkers spent more than £3 million on the ‘CrispIN or CrispOUT'campaign, which aired on TV, social media, and in print. The sandwich chainSubway teamed with the brand, which made it a priority campaign for the April-May cycle. Subway provided its own advertising budget, earmarked for out-of-home media.
The Walkers' ad scored in the 98th percentile for expressiveness,according to The Works, a monthly assessment based on Kantar Marketplace data.In other words, it ranked in the top 3% of all advertising in the United Kingdom on that metric.
Lynne Deason, Kantar's UK head of creative excellence, adds,"We know this is crucial from an effectiveness standpoint because ourbrains are programmed to pay attention to things that make us feel something."
The Works survey, conducted in collaboration with Marketing Week andthe Advertising Association's Trust Working Group, polls 750 consumers on theiropinions of five of April's most popular television commercials (150 consumers per commercial).
The study looked at the key criteria that have been shown to impactwhether an ad will be effective in the short term and contribute to a brand'slong-term success.
Kantar also utilised EmotionAI-powered facial coding to determinehow consumers reacted emotionally to each ad, determining the ad's ability toelicit an emotional response as well as the kind of that feeling.
CrispIN or CrispOUT was in the top 2% of ads for making viewerssmile and in the top 21% for making viewers enjoy themselves.
But the commercial isn't just for fun. It's also important to notethat it's closely linked to the Walkers brand. On salience, an ad's ability toattract attention and build memories connected with a brand, the campaign placed in the top 6%. That, according to Deason, is a "very strong" outcome.
“We know this is critical in determining how effective the ad willbe in the short and long term,” she continues.
In addition, the ad was in the top 25% of all advertising in the UKin terms of creating a sense of "love" and affinity for the company, whichis a determinant in how effective the ad would be in the long run.
Meanwhile, the advertisement was seen to have a good chance of beinghighly effective in the short run. Despite the fact that the ad only scored inthe ninth percentile for persuasion, Kantar estimates it has a 74 percent chance of driving a sale because it scored in the 90th percentile for awareness.
“It's a wonderful instance of how creativity and innovation can turna human insight into a memorable ad,” says Deason. W