System, the Creative Effectiveness Platform, unveils October’s Ads of the Month. Using System1’s Test Your Ad platform, we measure consumers’ emotional responses to predict each ad’s commercial potential. Every creative is scored from 1.0 to 5.9 Stars based on its long-term brand-building power.

Ads that spark strong, positive emotions like happiness and surprise typically land at the top of the scale, but only about 1% of ads achieve a 5-Star score. The real threat to effectiveness isn’t negativity, it’s neutrality. Any emotion is better than none. Feelings like sadness, contempt, fear, and disgust can all drive short-term sales and fuel powerful storytelling.

On System1’s Test Your Ad Competitive Edge database, “neutrality” accounts for around half of all emotional responses to advertising. Each month, we spotlight the ads that break that pattern, the ones that stand out, move people, and prove that distinctive creativity still wins.

Short-Term Shocktober – Jeep | High Dive

“Wild Thoughts” Exceptional Spike Rating Test Your Ad Report  

In a category often defined by neutrality, with car ads typically showing modest short- and long-term sales potential, Jeep and Highdive have rewritten the playbook. Their bold three-minute comedy spot, unapologetically cheeky and far from safe, earned exceptional short-term sales potential and high emotional intensity.

Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. Our data shows men responded far more positively than women, but this ad achieves what so many in the category fail to do: it makes people feel something. Love it or hate it, it’s distinctive, daring, and refreshingly human. Jeep cuts through a category crowded with glossy product shots, endless open roads, and lifeless characters behind the wheel. In this case, Jeep proves that the cost of being dull is far higher than the cost of being provocative.

Soup Season Sensation – Heinz Tomato Soup | Wieden+Kennedy London

“Fancy a Dip?” 4.4 Star Rating Test Your Ad Report

Imagine a simple image capturing the warmth of coming home and making a bowl of soup on a crisp autumn day, a warmth that feels like a hug, a comforting embrace. Now imagine discovering that this is not just any soup, it is tinned soup.

Heinz and Wieden+Kennedy London have masterfully achieved this, conveying the comforting feeling of their classic tomato soup in a single image. The ad uses a distinctive colour palette and an expressive character to tap into our right-brain, broad-beam attention and drive emotional appeal. With minimal copy to avoid cognitive overload and the familiar slogan “It Has to Be Heinz,” it is a masterclass in outdoor effectiveness.

Earning a strong Star Rating, more than two Stars above the outdoor average, and 86% brand recognition in just two seconds, Heinz proves that simplicity, consistency, and strong creative positioning can deliver real impact. The campaign brings to life many of the findings from Double Take, System1’s research with JCDecaux, showing how great outdoor creative can land emotion and meaning in a fleeting moment.

Spookily Similar – Haribo (Market: France)

“Halloween” 96% Fluency Rating Test Your Ad Report

When a campaign idea is so robust, so universally human and appealing that it can transcend borders, that is something worth celebrating. Haribo have done it again, returning to screens in France with their much-loved “adult babies.” The best part is, you do not need to be French to get the joke. It is a familiar concept, reinforced by the instantly recognisable jingle at the end.

It is a fantastic example of compound creativity, a strong and reliable strategy for brands. Think of McDonald’s “Raise Your Arches,” where a simple eyebrow lift became a global nod to the golden arches. That is not luck, it is consistency. Similarly, Haribo have stuck to a brilliant concept, scaled it globally, and made it local. The result is a simple, charming, and funny idea that continues to deliver strong results across the board.