In this wave of The Interesting Index, emotions run high, one brand nabs two top spots and animals steal the show, writes Sarah Walsh, strategy director, The Public House.
The Interesting Index is a quarterly research project designed to understand what advertising people in Ireland remember and why. This quarter’s most remembered ads are:
- Aldi Good Food. Good Mood
- Tesco Can’t Argue with That
- Flogas: Gas Man
- Lotto It Could Be You
- Lidl We Care Back
- Supervalu Real Savings
- Virgin Media Walrus Whizzer
- Tesco Mobile Same But Tesco
- Cadbury Memory
- Sky Mobile Expect More
Emotions ran high this wave, with a mix of sadness and amusement across the different spots. While ads like Cadbury’s ‘Memory’ and Lidl’s ‘We Care Back’ brought a tear to many an eye, brands like Aldi, Flogas and Tesco opted to leverage humour to boost recall – with both emotional approaches proving to be extremely effective.
“The ad for Lidl and family carers Ireland, I remembered it because I’m a carer to my dad who has dementia”
This was the strongest quarter for humour so far, with those describing feeling ‘amused’ by the ads they saw jumping to its highest ever levels. Perhaps humour is making a much-needed comeback in advertising.
“It’s for Flogas. It’s about the young and funny gas man explaining that they don’t just do gas, they also do electricity. The whole thing is gas!”
That said, this quarter’s most remembered ad was Aldi’s ‘Good Food. Good Mood’. Most remembered it for its memorable setting and humorous delivery. Perhaps the originality of a food retailer ad which doesn’t take place in the home around a kitchen table helped Aldi stand out from the pack.
“Aldi ad where the family has broken down. They are showing the cheese board etc. That the family are eating whilst not bothered about being broke down. It’s a great ad and my family love when it comes on It’s a happy ad and funny with the tractor!”
In a first for The Interesting Index, one brand (Tesco) takes 2 of the top spots – for their grocery and mobile campaigns. The brand leveraged a novel and relatable insight to stand out within the grocery category – the age- old debate around whether pineapple belongs on pizza. This clearly stuck in people’s minds and helped Tesco land their ‘can’t argue with it’ campaign successfully.
“I remember it because I often have had the same debate.”
But that wasn’t Tesco’s only appearance in the top 10. Their ‘Same but Tesco’ campaign which featured cats talking about how they use their phones clearly resonated with many and got people laughing – a surefire way to drive recall.
“Tesco mobile ad with the cats talking about owners only using their phones to take pics of them – I find it hilarious loved this ad.”
Animals made yet another appearance in the top 10, with Virgin Media’s Walrus popping up once again for another wave after coming in at 7th spot back in Q1. And it’s no wonder – System 1 reports that ads with Fluent Devices perform better on brand recognition than those without (92% versus 86%).
“A Walrus is driving a speed boat. It is a funny ad which always makes me smile. I never tire of watching it.”
And finally, another type of brand device, a celebrity endorser, was used effectively by Sky Mobile with Roy Keane being the main reason for recall of their ad.
“The ad is for Sky Mobile. It starts with a barista misspelling Roy Keane’s name as Joy. I found it memorable because I don’t remember having seen Roy in an ad before, it was very funny and it also clearly communicated what it was selling.”
While the majority of respondents thought this wave’s advertising was only ‘OK’ and enjoyed it less than our previous two waves, the number of respondents saying the advertising was ‘good’ has jumped significantly versus this time last year, from 28% to 37%. Hopefully a sign of improving creative across the board with more interesting work to come in our next wave.
The Interesting Index – a joint initiative from The Public House, Bounce Insights and adworld.ie – is a quarterly survey conducted amongst 1,000 nationally representative respondents in Ireland. This survey was conducted in June 2025
