Yet-to-be-unveiled Knorr ad gets preview groups drooling

"While consumers might be inclined to rate an ad purely on its enjoyment value, advertising must also have the ability to persuade the general consumer to actually buy a product," says Emmet O' Hanlon, head of Strategy & Planning at DDB South Africa.

He explains that what ultimately makes an ad persuasive, is telling people something relevant about the product but doing so in such a way that they buy into it on an emotional level: "What makes the Knorr campaign work is the fact that it taps into a deeply felt human truth that resonates with consumers. The advertisement also achieved 100% 'likes', meaning that all consumers, young and old, found something to like about the ad, placing it among the top four percent of most-liked ads in LSM B across all market categories."

Ad PreView, the research technique implemented for Unilever by Millward Brown Impact, tells us how hard a campaign execution is likely to work before being aired or undergoing any major production.

PreView tests ads in unfinished and finished format and tells us how effective the communication is likely to be when flighted. It tests three core aspects of the advert, including memorability, communication and consumer response.

"Essentially this is the ability of the ad to be persuasive, to cut through the clutter, and for the brand to be remembered," O' Hanlon says.