ITV, System1 unveil winner of Euros ad comp
July 9, 2021
ITV and System1 have announced that Aldi’s “Good Swap Bad Swap Euros” advert has won their creative contest to receive a free ad spot during Sunday’s eagerly awaited Euro 2020 Final as England take on Italy at Wembley live on ITV.
Aldi’s advert, which features commentator Clive Tyldesley analysing a BBQ like a football match was deemed to be the most emotionally engaging and enjoyed amongst audiences.
System1, an independent specialist ad testing agency, worked with ITV to measure each ad’s level of emotional engagement using their star rating system to arrive at a shortlist of five. Their approach is based on the work of psychologist Paul Ekman and has been validated using the IPA’s effectiveness award winners to link emotional engagement to long term effectiveness.
Aldi’s advert was deemed the winner based on the use of both System1’s ad testing methodology and feedback from a representative sample of UEFA Euro 2020 viewers from the ITV Village, ITV’s community of viewers managed by STRAT7 ResearchBods, on which was the most liked in the context of the tournament.
The top five adverts which rated the most highly were Aldi, plus Carlsberg ‘The Seal’, Gillette ‘Gillette X Raheem Sterling – Best Face Forward’, Kopparberg ‘To Firsts That Last’ and Ocado ‘There’s an Ocado Just For You’.
Sean McGinty, Marketing Director, Aldi UK said: “We’re delighted to win this competition and it’s great to see that our distinctive brand tone of voice has resonated so well. With this execution we wanted to ensure we were relevant and so by partnering with legendary commentator, Clive Tyldesley, we were able to deliver our famous Aldi humour in a way which has clearly appealed.”
Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy and Planning ITV, ITV Commercial said “As we’ve seen from the incredible viewing figures across the tournament, nothing captures the mood of the nation quite like live football and it’s clear from our research results that Aldi’s football themed ad has completely tapped into this. Sunday’s final is the most anticipated TV event in 55 years and I’m delighted that Aldi will be part of it as winners of this competition.”
Jon Evans, CMO at System1, said “Aldi have a track record of making wonderfully effective advertising and continue their strong performance with their Euro ad. They get the basics absolutely right with brilliant use of humour, a strong cultural reference and lots of character. Special mention must also go to Carlsberg, who also scored highly and make a serious point in a fun and engaging way that really connected with audiences