When normal people watch television they either mute the TV, change the channel, or hop over to the kitchen to make popcorn during commercial breaks. I, however, watch the adverts (unless, of course, they are really, really bad.)

The thing is, I love a good advert. I appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating a simple and clever 30-second clip which tells a compelling story and entices you into believing in the product or service they are selling.

And South African adverts are pretty good compared to what is out there in the big bad world.

Millward Brown has released its ranking of the top 20 most liked adverts in South Africa in the first half of 2016. This includes the top ten coming out of the first and second quarter of the year.

Here’s the top five from each quarter…

From the first quarter:

5:Huggies: New Baby, Mom’s Love & Care – Ogilvy Johannesburg

4. Fattis Monis Pasta: The Stuff of Legends – TBWA

3. Toyota Hilux: The All New Era of Tough – FCB Joburg

2. Coca-Cola: Anthem #EnjoyTheFeeling – Mercado-McCann

1. Lays: Distraction – Tiempo BBDO

And on to the second quarter:

5. Nestle Cerelac: Little 1s – Ogilvy Healthworld

4. VW Polo Vivo: School Kids – Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town

3. McCain: Jonathan Thanks his Mom – Joe Public

2. NIVEA: Rich Nourishing Care – FCB 1886

1. Samsung Galaxy S7: Sister – Leo Burnett Chicago

You can check out the rest on Business Tech – still going to put the volume down? Meh.

[source:businesstech]