Tesco’s latest ad for its Clubcard has topped the Interesting Index Top 10 ads for the first quarter of 2025, writes Sarah Walsh, head of strategy, The Public House.
A new year and many new ads to deal with. We are back with the first Interesting Index of 2025, once again trying to understand what advertising people in Ireland remember and why. The most remembered ads from the first quarter of 2025 are:
- Tesco Clubcard, The Power To More
- SuperValu Real Savings
- Guinness 0.0
- The National Lottery
- Lidl x LGFA Get Behind The Fight
- Sky Mobile Expect More
- Virgin Media Walrus Whizzer
- Aviva The Trip
- Phonewatch Burglar Bootcamp
- Fairy x Vogue Williams
This quarter’s top 10 list was quite diverse with categories ranging from grocery to utilities to FMCG. Humour was used eectively by most of the brands on the list, once again proving how powerful this tactic is. In fact, ‘amused’ was one of the most common emotions selected to describe how respondents felt about the ads they remembered.
Tesco benefited from a powerful mix of a memorable visual device paired with catchy music in their Clubcard campaign, helping them take the number one spot.
“Tesco. A man using foodstu to pay for items in dierent scenarios. I remember as it was funny and has a catchy tune (boney m daddy cool).”
SuperValu and Aviva both eectively used humour to drive recall, with strong young actors leading the charge in both spots.
“SuperValu with the little girl pretending to be on the checkout in the supermarket she is funny and says exactly what a person in the supermarket would say.”
Guinness were particularly visible during this Six Nations period, with their 0.0 advertising breaking through the cracks. Some people mentioned seeing a new version of their ‘holding out for a zero’ ad but using Ireland’s Call instead.
“Guinness zero ads where the pints are singing. It’s a very simple but clever add.”
The National Lottery proved it’s more about wear in than wear out with their iconic ‘slide’ creative sticking in people’s minds.
“The national Lotto where the guy is talking about what he would do if he won the lotto and says he would share it around and then at the end of the ad you can see the building and and there are loads of slides all around the building and all the neighbours are playing in the slides. I remember it because it was a really fun ad.”
Lidl’s long-term sponsorship of the LGFA has paid dividends for the brand when it comes to attention. Many people admired the brand for its genuine support of the sport.
“Lidl women’s soccer ad “get behind the fight” it’s a very catchy ad and really well done. It highlights women’s soccer whilst also giving clubs the chance to win 50k. The music is so catchy and I find it’s just a feel good ad.”
Sky Mobile and Fairy made good use of celebrity ambassadors with Roy Keane and Vogue Williams helping boost recall. This marks the third time for Fairy in the top 10.
“Roy Keane Sky Mobile ad. Roy used all his normal phrases in Fairness etc and it is the humour and personality that makes it memorable.”
Virgin’s eye-catching Walrus ad turned heads this quarter, albeit with some not knowing their walruses from their seals and some misattribution to Vodafone.
“Strange ad for Virgin with a seal taking a boat.”
Finally, Phonewatch’s burglar bootcamp managed to stick in people’s minds, once again eectively using humour to secure spot number ten.
“Phone watch- burglar boot camp. It was for homeowners, to show them how eective it is at deterring crime. I remember it because it’s over the top outlandish.”
When it comes to the public’s opinion on advertising over the past quarter, while we unsurprisingly saw a decline from the Christmas period highs, current levels have not fallen back to those experienced at this same time last year. Most people (38%) described the advertising they’d seen as good with decent ideas. Perhaps this is an encouraging sign that the beginning of this year has got o to a more memorable start than last year…long may it continue!
The Interesting Index is a collaboration between The Public House, Bounce Insights and Adworld.ie and is published on a quarterly basis.
The Interesting Index – a joint initiative from The Public House, Bounce Insights and adworld.ie – is a quarterly survey conducted amongst 1,000 nationally representative respondents in Ireland. This survey was conducted in March 2025.
