Emotional storytelling and humor continue to capture hearts and attention in Australia’s favorite ads, but brand attribution remains a key challenge, according to new national research from insights agency TRA.
The June 2025 edition of TRA’s bi-annual representative study surveyed more than 1,000 Australians, asking them to name their favorite ad from the past year. Allianz’s “Care You Can Count On” topped the list—an emotional narrative centered on care, resilience, and protection.
Notably, while nearly half of the respondents could clearly recall the ad, they did not mention the brand behind it.
“This disconnect between emotional engagement and brand recognition presents an important and nuanced takeaway for brand marketers,” said Alex Forrester, Business Director at TRA.
“It takes time to build connection and recall, but this campaign has overcome the biggest hurdle – it has captured attention.
“And we can already see the makings of distinctive assets with the eagle being cast as the ‘hero’ and bringing the logo to life. Providing Allianz commit to the creative idea, we can see this campaign only getting stronger with the benefit of time.”
Australia’s Top 10 Favourite Ads – June 2025
- Allianz: Care you can count on
- Telstra: Wherever we go
- Budget Direct: Sarge, Jacs and Chief
- Youi: Shop around
- RACQ: You with RACQ?
- Aldi: Good Different
- KFC: FLG
- HBF: Quokkas
- AAMI: Lucky You’re with AAMI
- Specsavers: Should have gone to Specsavers
“The challenge of attribution wasn’t unique to Allianz. Despite having distinctive platforms, brands such as AAMI, Youi and Budget Direct were frequently misattributed – often to one another,” added Forrester.
“The storytelling format of accidents, errors and insurance-type scenarios, featuring across the brands appears to confuse audiences. Allianz’s strategy to diverge from category norms may well work in their favour while building something unique over time.”
The top 10 list reflects a strong preference for humor, character-driven storytelling, and long-running brand platforms. This is particularly apparent for the insurance category (Allianz, Budget Direct, Youi, RACQ, HBF, and AAMI), despite only ranking 7th in Nielsen’s 2024 Advertising Spend Report.
“Media spend isn’t everything,” Forrester said.
“Creating a favourite ad means tapping into emotion, while sustaining brand impact over time requires consistency and strategic use of brand assets. Brand marketers who balance these elements will drive long-term effectiveness.”
Youi – Shop Around
Unlisted
RACQ – You with RACQ? (VML)
Aldi – Good Different (BMF)
KFC – FLG (Ogilvy)
HBF – Quokkas (Leo)
AAMI – Lucky You’re with AAMI (Ogilvy)
Specsavers – Should Have Gone to Specsavers (TBWA\Melbourne, directed by Conor Mercury)
Access the full report here.
