Advertising is undergoing a transition, according to findings from PhaseOne, a Beverly Hills, Calif., research firm. Advertisers are having increased difficulty achieving superior performance on the recall and persuasion measures. At the same time, there is a growing regard for creativity as the way to break through and differentiate parity brands.

PhaseOne suspected that likability played an important role in this transition. Therefore, the firm undertook a study to determine what makes an ad likable, and what impact likability has on persuasion and recall. The findings were very different from what the industry currently believes drives likability. The study included 70 commercials that covered 21 brands, seven product categories, and scores from four testing services. Trained analysts coded the commercials against the 297 PhaseOne Communication Variables without knowledge of scores. Then the results were compared to standardized consumer test scores utilizing an independent statistician to provide multivariate analysis.

The even distribution of the results, as shown in the scatter plot, gave PhaseOne a high level of confidence that its variables did indeed help explain Ilkability.

What drives likability?

PhaseOne found five communication elements that are key to developing likable ads:

  • Entertainment - Entertainment is the foundation of likable ads. Yet, entertainment is not enough on its own.
  • Brand integration - Entertainment must then be integrated with the brand and the brand message like the fibers of a rope.
  • Meaningful differentiation - It is also important to differentiate the brand in a way that is relevant and meaningful to consumers.
  • Freedom from turn-offs - What makes ads unlikable are turn-offs that offend viewers such as insulting language, elements that trigger disgust, or appeals to negative emotions such as fear and resentment.
  • Freedom from communication issues - Communication issues (such as trying to do too much, jumping around, or asking viewers to supply important strategic information) lead to unlikable ads.

Relationship among key measures

The next step was to determine if there is any relationship between the three key measures provided by consumer testing services today - persuasion, recall, and likability. From a 3x3-correlation matrix PhaseOne found an extremely strong relationship between persuasion and likability (at the .011 significance level). However, no correlation was found between either persuasion or likability with recall.



Further analysis found significant overlap between many of the variables that drive performance in both likability and persuasion. These overlapping variables are those essential to communicating a strong brand message.

Being likable or garnering high likability scores means a lot more than just being warm and fuzzy. This study has revealed just how complex the road to achieving likability is.