System, The Creative Effectiveness Platform, unveils the ads of the month for July. System1’s Test Your Ad platform measures consumers’ emotional responses to ads to predict their commercial potential. Creative is assigned a score of 1.0 to 5.9 Stars based on long-term brand-building potential.

Ads that make people feel intense, positive emotions like happiness and surprise score high on the scale. Usually, just 1% of ads secure a 5-Star score. 

Creative Brand Platform of the Month – Muller Rice

Muller Rice is three years into its partnership with Arsenal star Declan Rice, and the relationship’s grown well beyond a one dimensional (or pun dimensional) celebrity endorsement. In VCCP’s latest work with the brand, Declan Rice launches his own Muller Rice flavour, something the player takes as seriously as the product does. We see Declan preparing ‘Dec’s Cafe’, take delivery of fresh raspberries and white chocolate, cook up the dessert and finally serve it up to a happy customer.

It’s a little tongue in cheek but it still gets the message across well. Rice has been properly involved in making this flavour; it’s not a gimmick, and it’s launching soon. It’s also the next step in the several years of work Muller Rice have put in to cement their association with Declan Rice, a level of creative consistency which is working well for them. The ad scores 3.4-Stars on our Test Your Ad platform, significantly above the 2.8-Star average for Yoghurt.

Dark Horse of the Month – Switzerland Tourism

The travel and holidays sector produces some lovely, appealing ads but original ideas are a bit harder to come by. So sound your alpenhorns for Switzerland Tourism’s “Bees & Friends Hotels” campaign, which puts a fresh spin on the usual tourist tropes. The gorgeous Swiss countryside takes a starring role, but we’re seeing it closer up than usual, thanks to a focus on the bees, butterflies and other insects who live there and play a crucial role in keeping it beautiful.

The ad, from agency Stefanie Huber and Peter Bronnimann, landed in the highest 5-Star tier on Test Your Ad, which is testament to the originality and creative craft at work here. Not only have Switzerland Tourism built a range of tiny but wonderfully detailed insect hotels, they introduce them with a witty script drawing parallels between the insects and human holidaymakers. From idea through to execution, it’s a genuinely different travel ad which deserves all of the - sorry - buzz.

Cross-media Ad of the Month – San Pellegrino

San Pellegrino brings a spot of Italian romance to the streets of Britain with the launch of its “Life Is Juicier” platform. The campaign spans TV, social, outdoor and experiential media including a Kings Cross station takeover, all centred around the idea that Italians know how to squeeze every drop of pleasure out of the summer. We tested a shortform digital execution, which tells a miniature love story involving a boy, a girl, a can of San Pellegrino and a balloon.

Where this sunny, seasonal ad excels is in emotional impact - it scores 4.2-Stars on Test Your Ad Social, far above the average UK Digital video score of 2.8-Stars. In turn, the emotional hooks in the story make it an attention grabber - on average viewers stick around for 95% of the ad before skipping. It’s a great example of how a tight, short digital ad works in the wider context of a creative idea. Bellissima!