Animation or Actors?

Advertisers are rolling out their holiday-themed ads, many of which are sure to feature a cartoon reindeer or other festive animated character. However, recent research from the Nielsen Company suggests that, although marketers have a lot to gain with animated ads, they may be sacrificing audience engagement with commercials that don't resonate as well with savvy consumers.

The use of animation in television advertising (vs. live action ads) has become an attractive option for marketers, freeing advertisers from many of the creative limitations of live action film, and often times providing significant cost savings. In an analysis of television ads across all product categories, the study found that, in general, live action ads were more effective than animation ads. For all major categories, live action ads scored 22% higher than animation-only ads in Brand Recall (the percentage of TV viewers who can recall the commercial and its advertised brand 24 hours after viewing it).

For marketers looking to utilize animated advertising to drive grocery sales this holiday season, says the report, that creative style does seem to work more effectively for some CPG categories. For example, animation ads for the food ingredients and seasoning category, essential for every holiday dinner, resonated significantly better with consumers.

Read more at: Media Post