Ace Metrix, a television ad effectiveness researcher which provides data on the creative lifecycle of campaigns, revealed that Dairy Queen (which has broken seven new ads this year), has been the most effective quick-service restaurant (QSR) TV advertiser YTD with an average Ace Score of 618 (compared to an industry average of 578). Subway, which has launched more new ads (19) than any other QSR this year, had the most successful single ad (Ace Score of 655), which touted the hazards of eating “greasy fast foods.”
“It’s interesting to see Dairy Queen beat the behemoths, including McDonald’s, which has just recently reintroduced Ronald McDonald for the first time since last year,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “Subway’s frequency of new ads and commitment to creative messaging this year has also clearly paid off, as four of its ads were among the Top 10 most effective ads YTD, along with four from Dairy Queen, one from Wendy’s and one from Baskin Robbins.”
Subway’s Ace scores have moved from a low of 470 in October to consistently above 600 in recent months.
|
Most Effective QSR Advertisers, 2011 YTD** |
||||||||||||
|
Rank |
Product | Number of Ads | Avg. Ace Score* | |||||||||
| 1 | Dairy Queen | 7 | 618 | |||||||||
| 2 | Wendy’s | 5 | 610 | |||||||||
| 3 | Baskin Robbins | 3 | 599 | |||||||||
| 4 | KFC | 5 | 594 | |||||||||
| 5 | Subway | 19 | 594 | |||||||||
| 6 | Burger King | 3 | 593 | |||||||||
| 7 | Popeye’s | 2 | 591 | |||||||||
| 8 | Chick-fil-a | 1 | 589 | |||||||||
| 9 | Taco Bell | 6 | 579 | |||||||||
| 10 | Sonic | 6 | 578 | |||||||||
| OVERALL CATEGORY NORM | 578 | |||||||||||
| 11 | McDonald’s | 16 | 577 | |||||||||
| 12 | Quizno’s | 1 | 575 | |||||||||
| 13 | Jack in the Box | 2 | 569 | |||||||||
| 14 | Arby’s | 3 | 554 | |||||||||
| 14 | Dunkin’ Donuts | 3 | 525 | |||||||||
| 16 | Starbucks Coffee | 3 | 490 | |||||||||
| 17 | Long John Silver’s | 6 | 470 | |||||||||
| Rank | Product | Ad Message | Ace Score* | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Subway | Greasy Fast Foods | 655 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 |
Wendy’s |
People Stand In Carton And Try Fries | 648 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Dairy Queen | Not Just Bunnies | 648 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Dairy Queen | Bubbles With Kittens In Them | 643 | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Dairy Queen | DQ Soft Serve Mother’s Day | 633 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Subway | Training Days | 628 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Dairy Queen | Man Fences His Future Self | 619 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Baskin Robbins | Man Whispers into Baby Monitor | 619 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Subway | Clocks Announce Breakfast | 619 | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | Subway | Double Bacon Egg & Cheese New $5 Footlong | 618 | |||||||||||||||
*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.
** Does not include pizza ads
