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‘Emotion sells’: TRA reveals NZ’s favourite ads for June
Long-running storytelling and humour are driving deeper audience connections, according to TRA’s latest New Zealand’s Favourite Ads survey for June 2025, which reveals the top-performing ads across the country.
TRA’s bi-annual representative study of 1000 New Zealanders highlights the continued importance of emotional engagement, brand consistency and creative storytelling in capturing attention and driving recall in a competitive advertising landscape.
A new number one
In the most recent survey, “Tina from Turners” has been crowned the nation’s favourite ad. Turners have a new execution, but with a consistent character, combining familiarity with something new. Tina is closely followed by ASB’s “Ben and Amy” and ANZ’s “Sharma Family”.
This is the first time since December 2023 that there has been someone new at number one, with ASB and ANZ having continuously occupied the top two spots.
Lotto returns to the list after more than a year, and there’s also one new entrant to the top 10 – Skinny. Rounding out the top 10 are consistent favourites from Tux, One NZ, PAK’nSAVE, Genesis and KFC.
NZ Top 10 Favourite Ads – June 2025
- Turners – Tina from Turners
- ASB – Ben and Amy
- ANZ – The Sharma Family
- Tux – Feeding the Kiwi in all our dogs for 70 years!
- One NZ – Let’s Get Connected
- PAK’nSAVE – Stickman
- Genesis – George and family
- Lotto – Powerball ‘Imagine’
- KFC – The Power of KFC
- Skinny – Get the Skinny
Emotion sells
Colleen Ryan, Partner at TRA says: “New Zealanders clearly respond to advertising that entertains and builds on familiar characters or narratives. Humour continues to be a powerful creative shortcut to connection, and when brands combine this with distinctive brand assets and consistency over time, they’re reaping the rewards, seeing strong cut-through.”
“It’s important to acknowledge that we shouldn’t automatically assume humour is the key to success though. Emotions are complex and an ad might make us feel something for many different reasons – a memory triggered, a heartwarming moment, a surprising outcome. The significance is that our favourite ads capture attention and trigger an emotion, and emotion sells,” she adds.
“These results are more than just a popularity contest – they’re a window into what works in a fragmented media environment. For brand marketers, the findings reinforce the long-term value of investing in distinctive brand assets, emotional storytelling, and campaign continuity. When brands strike the right balance between consistency and creativity, they build memory structures that not only drive recall but deepen audience connection over time.”
