Google's "Loretta" is the most effective commercial of the 2020 Super Bowl
A study by the video ad tech company Unruly concludes that Google’s «Loretta» was the most effective commercial and likely had the greatest positive impact on brand and business metrics during this year’s Super Bowl. The commercial tells the story of an elderly man who asks his Google Assistant to show him saved memories of his late wife.
For the study, 40 of the biggest commercials from this year's Super Bowl were evaluated. For this purpose, the "UnrulyEQ Score" metric was used, which describes the ability of a campaign not only to excite consumers, but also to influence important brand metrics, such as brand preference and purchase intent.
Google took first place with an overall score of 6.5 out of 10, ahead of Cheeto's "Can't Touch This" (6.1) and NYLIC's "Love Takes Action" (6.0). Doritos and WeatherTech also made the top five. Other ads that made the top 10 were from Microsoft, Hyundai and Snickers. Coca-Cola, Amazon and Facebook's spots did not make the top 10.
| Rank | Brand | Campaign | UnrulyEQ Score | Intensity of emotional engagement (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Loretta | 6,5 | 49% | |
| 2. | Cheetos | Can't Touch This | 6,1 | 38% |
| 3. | NYLIC | Love Takes Action | 6,0 | 47% |
| 4. | Doritos | The Cool Ranch | 5,9 | 39% |
| 5. | WeatherTech | Lucky Dog | 5,8 | 42% |
| 6. | Microsoft | Be the One | 5,7 | 47% |
| 7. | Jeep | Groundhog Day | 5,5 | 44% |
| 8. | T-Mobile | Mom tests 5G | 5,5 | 39% |
| 9. | Snickers | #SnickersFixTheWorld | 5,5 | 34% |
| 10. | Hyundai | Smaht Pahk | 5,5 | 32% |
| US standard | 5,0 | 31 % |
Just under half of the respondents (49%) felt an intense emotional reaction while watching the Google commercial. The video was also almost twice as likely to make respondents smile and almost four times as likely to trigger an intense feeling of warmth in them. At the same time, the commercial was perceived as sad 12 times more often than the average U.S. ad. These intense emotional responses also had a significant impact on brand metrics. Half of all viewers rated the brand positively (49% vs. the U.S. average of 37%). Viewers' purchase intent (46%) and desire to learn more (47%) were also higher than the U.S. norm.
Sebastian Buss, Insight & Solutions Director at Unruly, summarizes, "The Super Bowl is traditionally a chance for advertisers to bring home the laughs. This year, however, two of the top three ads leaned heavily on more serious emotions. Google's 'Loretta' spot had the highest rating for sadness in the top 10, and both Google and NY Life Insurance triggered some of the highest ratings for a feeling of warmth, at 32% and 26%, respectively. It's a powerful illustration of how brands can stand out from the normally funny Super Bowl ads and really win people over with an unusual mix of emotions."
Jeep's "Groundhog Day," in which Bill Murray reprises his role from the iconic '90s movie, was the spot that generated the most laughs. 21% of respondents found the content funny. This was also the spot most likely to make people happy (25%).
For the study, Unruly analyzed the emotional responses of more than 2,500 U.S. consumers to 40 commercials aired during the Super Bowl using the content measurement tool UnrulyEQ. The results were then compared to a database of thousands of commercial videos. Ads that were found to have the same UnrulyEQ score were additionally ranked based on the measured intensity of emotional engagement. The average UnrulyEQ score is 5.0.
The value of the Unruly EQ Score describes a combined metric that summarizes emotional engagement (the percentage of people who feel an intense emotion) as well as brand impact (the percentage of people who have improved their opinion of the brand) and purchase potential (the percentage of people who intend to buy the product).
The full summary of the study data is available here.
