Cadbury named best Christmas radio advert

Using System1’s Test Your Ad platform, which rates adverts from one star to 5.9 stars, Cadbury rated at 4.2.

Asda came second with 3.9 stars, while adverts from Terry’s Chocolate Orange ( 3.8 ), M&S ( 3.6 ), Costa ( 3.5 ), Baileys ( 3.2 ) and John Lewis ( 3.1 ) also performing well.

System1 has also released some best practice for radio advertising tips based on a decade of data from Radiocentre.

The best practice includes using music, being consistent with television counterparts, including branding early and often, tell a story and use ‘dramatic intimacy’ including pause, silence and sotto voce to drive stronger emotional reaction.

Andrew Tindall, global partnerships director at System1, said: “Christmas is a powerful time for radio; these are some of the most effective audio ads we’ve ever researched.

“They are full of references to wider culture, character, story and emotion. They also are creatively consistent with their TV counterparts – key to extending reach and boosting effectiveness.”