Which fast-food ads scored with millennials?

Hard to believe it nowadays, but ads matter, even among Millennials. The top ad last year, based on Nielsen's "Branded Memorability Index" measure of viewers' ability to recall an ad and brand 24 hours after exposure, was Wendy's Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger. The "Be With You" ad was also the top spot among Hispanics and Asian-American Millennials.

Wendy’s ad was emblematic of a larger trend, per Nielsen. The media measurement firm said that in general, fast food and quick-service restaurant ads dominated among Millennials for memorability. Among the top 10 ads (based on Nielsen’s TV Brand Effect measure), fast food and quick-service constituted six. Fast food was also the second-highest-ranking product category based on ad spend last year. Automotive, pharmaceutical and motion picture categories were also top spenders.

Food ads represented 8 of the 10 top ads among African-Americans, 9 of 10 top ads among Hispanics, but only 3 of the 10 top ads among Asian-Americans, among whom tech/telecom, insurance and finance were dominant.

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