We’re all the way into April now, so lists from 2017 seem outdated, but we’ll make an exception for a quick trip down advertising memory lane.

Today’s advertising environment is fraught with danger, because one misstep and the social media warriors will pounce, but let’s leave the fails for another time and celebrate ads that were met with approval.

According to research by the international market research firm Kantar Millward Brown, “who every year surveys a representative sample of the SA urban population to see how they respond to new TV ads”, some stand out from the rest.

Business Insider SA has picked 10, but we’re just going to focus on four so that you actually get a little work done today.

Before we get to those, here’s something on the methodology:

Head of Marketing Communication at Kantar Millward Brown’s Johannesburg office, Ilse Dinner, tells Business Insider South Africa that responses to about 2,000 brand new ads are tracked every week. The sample of viewers is recruited from the major metropolitan areas based on strict demographic quotas to  ensure a representative TV viewing population.

According to that survey, these are some of the standouts:

Oh dang, that’s right in the feels.

Sorry, I will refrain from using that term for the rest of the week. Next up is the old kiddies favourite:

KFC and poetry don’t usually go well together, but this one hit the mark:

Last on our list is Vodacom talking about free data.

Never mind free data – I would be happy with reasonably priced data.

Anyway, here’s Meg:

You can find six more favourites from 2017 here.

[source:businsidersa]