Advertising wear out largely a ‘myth', says System1

Using its Test Your Ad platform, which rates adverts on a scale of one to 5.9, System1 said that there was evidence that advertising ‘wear out’ is largely a myth, with advertising more likely to ‘wear in’ instead.

As part of this study, System1 compared the star rating of more than 50,000 adverts up to 7,000 days after release, and found little variation in scores over time, with some adverts increasing in effectiveness over time.

System1 said several adverts that had outperformed the market at Christmas 2023 included adverts repeated from 2022, including by Cadbury, Coca-Cola and the National Lottery.

Other high-performing adverts included Aldi, with its recurring character Kevin the Carrot, M&S Food’s M&S Fairy and Duracell, which has brought back the Duracell Bunny.

Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1, said: “Traditionally brands have felt pressure to come up with something new at Christmas.

“But the evidence shows that effective ads and characters are effective every year, with five-star ads retaining their effectiveness when re-used. Christmas ads don’t usually wear out, and festive characters actually wear in.

“Neither M&S Fairy or Kevin the Carrot scored five stars on their first appearance – but marketers invested in them and had a long-term plan, and now they’re getting our maximum score for long-term effectiveness.”