In a first-of-its-kind study, Dr. Lisa Haverty and Dr. Steve Blessing applied CogScore Creative Testing to Superbowl XL ads and predicted, with scientific accuracy, which ads consumers would remember best, and why.
Brand recall is crucial
The most crucial component of a Superbowl ad is its brand memorability. With only seconds to reach consumers, likability and persuasiveness could backfire if they’re attributed to a competitor’s brand.
If you're a beer and you're not Bud, don't bother
A majority of consumers in this study guessed that Bud as the brand for ads they weren't sure about. This "Budweiser Effect" was accurately predicted by CogScore, proving again the importance of understanding consumer cognition .
USA Today's AdMeter doesn't measure effectiveness
This funny and popular Ameriquest ad made the coveted Top 10 of USA Today's 2006 AdMeter. But not a single person could recall its brand name in this scientific study. In fact, AdMeter has no correlation with brand recognition.
Details of the Study
In this study from the Cognitive Science Society, undergrads tried to identify the brand for SuperBowl XL ads one year after the game aired. CogScore was used to predict the accuracy of their responses.
Ads Ranked by Brand Recall
As a reference point: only 33% of consumers in this study could recall who played in the game and who won the game.
Percent of consumers in study who correctly recalled the brand for each ad:
