Who won the Mirror?

Have you ever wondered which ads placed in the national newspapers are the most effective at engaging readers? Newsline has partnered with Lumen Research to find out.

With once green and flourishing pines – now lifeless – shunned into skips, fairy lights packed away in boxes for another year and everybody generally feeling a bit sh*t, I think it’s safe to say that the Christmas spirit has finally died – in true, bleak January style.

But while we may be finding getting back into the swing of things a little tough on the soul – especially carrying those extra few pounds around with us – Tesco has launched itself into the year with an advertising bang, as it clearly tries to leave its horse meat and dodgy bookkeeping days behind.

A new creative strategy, reminiscent of a tiled Windows ’98 background, has resulted in Tesco receiving huge levels of standout and engagement from Mirror readers, who, thankfully, understand the importance of brushing their teeth and breaking the fast.

When participants were asked to recall which adverts they had seen in the Mirror they had just read, 78% recalled seeing Tesco in the paper when prompted, while 61% recalled the supermarket in a free recall condition.

Lumen founder Mike Follett says that this high recall rate often occurs when adverts are engaged with for more than two seconds – Lumen’s “two second rule.”

“Tesco’s new campaign demonstrates how it is possible to extenuate content and create a sense of importance by making it the figure,” said Follett.

“Figure and ground organisation is a principle of Gestalt psychology. It describes how one perceives the environment by discriminating between the figure (e.g. a lion) and the ground (e.g. African savannah).”

According to Bernard Weitzman, a psychologist from New York, elements of a picture are more likely to be noted and remembered if they belong to the figure than the ground, which Follett says could suggest why Tesco’s recall rate and standout was so notable.

First offloading poor loss-making Blinkbox, now this. Perhaps Tesco really is a changed brand.

P.S. A little something for all you 9-5ers (aka absolutely no one who works in media).

Twitter: @lumenresearch