The most emotionally engaging coronavirus ads in the world

M&C Saatch's With Love From Aus, created for Tourism Australia, has been named one of the most emotionally engaging coronavirus campaigns in the world.

The April campaign was inspired by the tourism body’s previous Matesong campaign that was paused during the Australian bushfire crisis.

The ad is designed to stay in the minds of the consumers, to set Australia up as a desitable destination for a travel revival. It provoked "strong feelings of happiness, warmth and inspiration". 

Video marketplace Unruly created a global ranking of the most emotionally engaging pandemic campaigns by measuring the response of viewers around the globe while watching ads.

Google Japan’s Thank You campaign topped the chart with the most intense emotions. The ad is three times more emotional than the average Japanese ad.

Next was an ad from the Singapore government, Together, We Can, followed by Tourism Australia’s With Love From Aus.

Ads from Air Asia, Prudential and Colgate also made it to the top 10. 

A second Australian ad made it into the top 20, the Coles in-house Thank You which ranked 13th in the world. 

To account for differences in how people express themselves emotionally around the world, ads were ranked using Unruly’s EMO Index, which measures the intensity of emotions an ad generated compared to the territory average.

Unruly analysed the emotional responses of 18,499 global consumers to 52 coronavirus campaign ads around the world using its content measurement tool, UnrulyEQ.

The top 20 as measured by Unruly:

Sam Ho, insight & solutions manager at Unruly Singapore, says the intensity of emotional responses by Japanese consumers to ads is typically 50% lower than the global average, so it’s surprising to see Google Japan’s Thank You stand out as the strongest. 

"However, when you watch the ad, it’s easy to see why it performed so strongly," he says. 

"The whole ad is comprised of footage shot on mobile phones and captured from video calls, which creates an aura of authenticity and amplifies the sense of empowerment generated by the video's structure and content. 

"Google was also able to ensure its branding was present during the peak emotional moments, without interrupting the flow of the ad, via the inclusion of a distinctive search bar overlay. 

"This allowed Google to show how its services are being used to help others during the crisis without appearing exploitative. This all came together in a video which drove benchmark-beating levels of amazement, warmth and pride.” 

Sinagpore's gov.sg ad, which showcases people from all walks of life stepping up to support each other, warmed the hearts of Singaporeans.

"This ties in with our findings that Singaporeans want ads to show how brands are supporting stakeholders during this difficult time," says Ho.

"Meanwhile, the Tourism Australia campaign’s heartfelt message, along with beautiful images of Australia, evoked strong feelings of happiness, warmth and inspiration among viewers.

“There’s no pushy, salesy message, just promises of ‘repainted views and lighter horizon’ for travellers to enjoy once again, amplifying positive brand favourability and post-viewing intentions for Tourism AU.

"So, by staying in the minds of the consumers during this period, Tourism AU can immediately flip their switch from survival to revival once travel restrictions are lifted.”

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