System1, The Creative Effectiveness Platform, unveils the ads of the month for January. 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.

Super Bowl Star – Budweiser | BBDO New York 

American Icons 5.6 Star Rating Test Your Ad Report  

Budweiser is one of the first brands out of the gate in Super Bowl LX’s 5-Star line-up, and it’s hard to think of a more fitting opener. The Clydesdales are back, of course. A distinctive brand asset since 1933, they have been delivering beer and long-term effectiveness at the Big Game for decades. This time, they are joined by a new arrival, a baby bald eagle. Two instantly recognisable American symbols come together to mark 150 years of an American-born brand, reinforcing Budweiser’s place not just in advertising history, but in popular culture too.

But this is not simply a story about heritage. At its heart, it is a story about friendship and unlikely partnerships, a powerful emotional narrative that does the real work. The ad contains all the hallmarks of a standout Super Bowl campaign. A melodic soundtrack, an endearing cast, a clear and gently unfolding story, beautiful scenery, and the consistent presence of a distinctive brand asset in the Clydesdales.

These are exactly the right-brained features Orlando Wood talks about. The elements that attract broad attention, create emotional engagement, and drive long-term brand growth and market share. On advertising’s biggest stage, this is the kind of impact brands should be aiming for. Reaching a mass global audience, strengthening memory structures, and re-establishing distinctive assets that compound effectiveness year after year.

Budweiser is not just showing up to the Super Bowl. It is doing what it has always done best. Building the brand, properly. 

Lighting the Long-Game – BBC | Nomint

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games 3.6 Star Rating Test Your Ad Report

The BBC has lit a flame in the world of marketing, and for good reason.

With the Milano Winter Olympics fast approaching, the BBC has kicked off the season with a beautifully crafted stop-motion film that has already sent a ripple of excitement through adland. It is a striking piece of work, visually arresting and genuinely atmospheric, and one that leaves a lasting impression.

There are elegant nods throughout. The Italian scenery of the Dolomites, a clear reference to the Olympic torch, and a quiet celebration of sporting endurance. Crucially, by embracing craft over AI, the BBC reinforces values of authenticity, care and human effort. All of which work together to build excitement, tension and anticipation for the Winter Games.

The emotional journey is particularly strong. Surprise leads the way, followed by moments of fear, anger and sadness that gently raise the pulse. This emotional dynamism is exactly what makes sport so compelling and mirrors the feelings audiences will soon experience during the Games themselves.

What the BBC has created is beautiful, authentic and refreshingly raw. With subtle references to the Olympics and a clear respect for craft, sport and athleticism, this is a well-earned Ad of the Month. More importantly, it is the kind of brand-building work that is set to deliver long-term effects for the BBC.

*Bleeping* Brilliant – I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter | SALT

Not Butter 3.1 Star Rating Test Your Ad Report

In a bleeping brilliant move, Gordon Ramsay teams up with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for a cross-channel campaign that knows exactly what it’s doing. It is packed with pop culture references, unapologetically bleeps itself, and crucially understands how to use a celebrity without killing the magic.

As Orlando Wood enlightens us in Lemon and Look out, celebrities work best when placed in familiar territory. Put them where audiences already recognise and enjoy them, and you unlock both short-term and long-term effectiveness. Move them into stiff testimonial mode, or worse the hostage video school of endorsement, and emotional impact drains fast.

This work gets it right. It takes Ramsay’s most iconic cultural moment, “what are you… an idiot sandwich?” and flips it into something unexpected and positive. Against all odds, he actually likes the product. The payoff is a playful, high-energy twist, “genius panini”. Familiar, funny, and just different enough to feel fresh, it turns borrowed fame into brand-owned flair.

The result is bold, characterful work in a category that usually plays it painfully safe. For a disruptor brand, this is exactly the kind of culturally fluent, confidence-led creativity that helps you stand out from a sea of buttery sameness.