The Top Ads for Attention in May 2022

Olive Garden's "We Really Mean Never Ending" Ranks #1 for Both Top Ad Overall, and Top Ad with Females

Congratulations to Olive Garden! The restaurant's ad "We Really Mean Never-Ending" broke through to capture attention better than any other ad in the month of May 2022. With a 112 Creative Attention Score (CAS) among broadcast and cable audiences, P2+, the ad had broad appeal. But what's worth noting, and rare in our analysis, is that the ad also scored highest with Females - netting a Creative Attention Score of 115 with the demo.

As a reminder, our Creative Attention Score measures how well an ad engages viewer attention compared to other ads that ran in the same pod. It is an excellent measure of the creative strength of an ad. Advertisers can access Creative Attention Scores, and second-by-second performance for any TV ad in TVision's SAAS platform, Ad Scoreboard.  Our clients find this data helpful for optimizing campaign in-flight, as they can better understand which ads perform best with key audiences, control for frequency, and avoid ad wear-out.

In this ad, Olive Garden emphasized its well-known endless refills of soup, salad, "buttery breadsticks," and featured families and friends enjoying the famous first course. In fact, the mention of "buttery breadsticks" successfully drew viewers' eyes to the screen, and notched the highest spike in viewer attention of the entire ad.

Lowe's  "Go Outside and Play" Wins Top Ad for Males

As the weather warms, and more people enjoy their time outside,  the home improvement store Lowe's successfully captured eyes-on-screen attention from men i. The retailer's 15-second ad scored an impressive 125 CAS, with classic creative elements driving attention, including music, the buzz of a hedge trimmer, and another attention boost at the end of the ad when they promoted the price of their outdoor dining set. 

Muscle Milk "Own Your Strength" Wins Top Ad for 18-34-Year Olds

This month, we're also taking a look at the coveted demo of 18 to 34-year-old adults. Candace Parker stars for Pepsi's Muscle Milk in this ad that best broke through to capture the attention of the lucrative, but hard-to-engage audience. The popular WNBA star, peppy music, and a health-conscious talk track helped this ad finish strong with important audiences.