Some familiar faces returned to The Interesting Index’s Top 10 list, in what was otherwise a relatively flat quarter with no single campaign running away with people’s attention, writes Sarah Walsh, Head of Strategy, The Public House.
That said, as always, a particular group of brands managed to cut through the noise and get remembered. This quarter, the most remembered ads in Ireland were:
- Sky Mobile – Expect More
- Aldi – It’s Not Complicated
- Tesco – Same But Tesco
- Tampax – Tampax Saved My Vibe
- Vodafone – Ask Once Promise
- Supervalu – Yes You Scan
- Novig – Novig is Just Sports
- Flash mop
- Vodafone – Celebrating 25 Years of Connection
- Outsurance Real People, Unreal Savings
Sky Mobile’s partnership with Roy Keane continues to pay dividends. Respondents were able to recall the ad in detail, with Keane’s performance and the campaign’s humour continuing to land. This is now the 7th consecutive time the campaign has appeared in the top 10 – an impressive run.
“Sky Mobile and it featured Roy Keane being his usual grumpy self wanting to get the best value for his money I remembered because Roy was playing up to his public persona.”
Aldi continues to leverage their challenger brand status to great effect. The latest installment of their ‘It’s Not Complicated’ platform, featuring talking self-checkouts, had respondents laughing at the not-so-subtle jabs at competitors’ loyalty schemes.
“Aldi’s ad for it’s not complicated, where supermarket scanning machines are talking about how you save money, Aldi just says we have lower prices, it is clever and simply memorable.”
Another familiar face this quarter was Tesco Mobile’s cats campaign. As with Sky Mobile, respondents seem to be enjoying rewatching it for its dry humour and so far it’s showing little sign of wearout.
“An ad for Tesco Mobile with cats. The ‘nice hat’ scene really stands out.”
It wasn’t all repeat visitors to the top 10, though. Tampax made an appearance this quarter and as with Flash, weaving the brand name into a catchy track appears to have made the work particularly easy to attribute, and at times annoyingly hard to get out of your head.
“Tampax, was an ad for period pads, was memorable because it was played during
every ad break on love island whilst also having a catchy theme tune.”
SuperValu proved that taglines can be catchy too with their ‘Yes You Scan’ line sticking in people’s minds.
“Ad for Yes You Scan for SuperValu. I remember because the strap line is catchy”
Another relatively rare sighting for the Interesting Index was a non-local campaign, and one that’s caused a lot of controversy lately. Novig’s campaign with Sydney Sweeney proved that cheap shock tactics still get you noticed, albeit not necessarily respected.
“The gross Sydney Sweeney ad, for Novig. Oversexualised, and I hate seeing gambling being glamorised.”
Vodafone managed to appear twice in the top 10 with two separate campaigns. Their Ask Once Promise ad was remembered for the relatability of its school run storyline, while their 25th birthday ad had people enjoying the nostalgia of it all.
“Vodafone, I really enjoyed that ad, it was like a little trip down memory lane, meeting under the clock, 087, abbreviated texts to save money. It was fun.”
OUTsurance continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of brand characters as they return to the list once again.
“Outsurance ad for car insurance. Memorable because it had real customers not actors. Also the paperwork character is a funny quirky touch.”
Overall perception of advertising declined this quarter, with more people deeming it just ‘OK’ compared to ‘good’ last quarter – a trend we’ve seen previously at this time of year. Unsurprisingly, there was also a drop off in ‘interested’, ‘happy’ and ‘excited’ emotions in response to the ads respondents saw.
If this quarter demonstrated anything it is the power of creative consistency – one of
the most powerful drivers of brand growth. By maintaining a consistent presence and committing to one brand idea told well over time, some brands managed to effortlessly retain their spot in consumers’ minds. Or of course you could just shortcut all that and embrace the chaos of controversy like Novig.
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 September 2026.
