Creative Levers That Turn Good Ads Into Unforgettable Brand Builders

AI Can Scale Ads, But Great Creatives Drive Brand Impact

If you want your ads to be remembered and acted on, focusing on creative quality is essential. Strong creatives boost distinctiveness, emotional impact, and profitability—elements that automated scaling alone can’t deliver.

Marketers often focus on campaign data and performance metrics, but creative quality frequently takes a backseat. That’s a missed opportunity. According to The State of Creative Effectiveness report from Zappi and VaynerMedia, ads with strong creative generate about 30% higher ROI than average.

Yet, unaided brand recall averages only 68%. That means roughly a third of impressions—and budgets—are wasted because viewers don’t remember the brand behind the ad. The recall gap is even wider among younger audiences, who struggle more to retain brand names. To close this gap, creatives must work harder to turn impressions into lasting brand impact.

6 Creative Levers and When to Use Them

Not all creative elements affect performance equally. Some add polish but don’t move the needle, while others significantly improve recall and ROI. Here’s what matters:

• Humor: Increases distinctiveness modestly but rarely boosts sales. It draws attention but doesn’t always convert.
• Celebrities: Make ads easier to spot but can distract from long-term brand impact by hogging attention.
• Music: A reliable emotional accelerator when integrated early in the creative idea, leading to stronger audience connection.
• AI Production: Viewer opinions split evenly among fans, foes, and indifferent. AI works best for versioning and edits—not for core ideas.
• Ad Length: Less critical than storytelling quality. Great stories win whether ads run 15, 30, or 60 seconds.
• Distinctive Brand Assets: Logos, colors, characters, and other unique elements outperform all other levers in boosting brand recall.

Applying These Insights Across Categories

The report links creative performance to four consumer response stages:

• Distinctiveness: How unique and noticeable the creative is.
• Emotion: The empathetic connection built with the audience.
• Brand Recall: Whether viewers remember the brand behind the ad.
• Purchase Uplift: If brand recall and emotion lead to action or conversion.

Different categories show unique opportunities:

• Salty Snacks: Humor boosts recall, but emotional connection needs work.
• Alcohol Brands: Deliver strong purchase lift but often lack clear brand identity.
• Personal Care: Strong emotional connection, less use of humor, which could help stand out more.
• Financial Services: Use mascots and quirky characters for recall but often miss emotional resonance.
• Pet Care: Great affection in ads but weak brand asset recall. Brands must make logos and colors as memorable as the sentiment.

Brands should invest in distinctive assets that clearly identify them, then use humor, music, or celebrities to amplify that foundation.

What CMOs Should Do

Building awareness and capitalizing on recall requires a step-by-step approach over three years:

• Months 1-12: Audit all creative for distinctive brand assets—colors, characters, sonic stingers. Document existing assets and mandate their consistent use. Where assets are missing, develop a minimum viable set.
• Months 12-24: Shift focus to audience breadth. Older viewers (46+) find ads less unique and emotional but remember brands better. Test cohort-specific content for older segments without reducing youth engagement. Use paid social for testing and amplify what works.
• Months 24-36: Scale with AI-assisted ads cautiously. About a third of consumers welcome AI in ads, a third don’t care, and a third dislike it. Use AI primarily for versioning and dynamic formats, not core creative ideas.

Conclusion

Great creative isn’t optional—it multiplies the impact of your brand’s foundation. Humor, celebrities, and music can enhance recall and emotional connection, but only when they support your distinctive brand assets.

Consistency is key. Identify what makes your brand instantly recognizable, then build creativity on that foundation. In a crowded media landscape, clear, cohesive creative makes your advertising budget work harder.