Is Emotion The Winning Performance Metric?

Ads that induce emotion are nearly twice as effective at driving sales. Ahead of Cannes, new Zappi data reveals what truly makes creative perform.

The ads that make you feel something, say joy, nostalgia, even a lump in your throat, are doing more than tugging at heartstrings. They’re moving the bottom line. New data shows that emotion-led ads are nearly twice as likely to drive immediate sales compared to their flatter, more rational counterparts. Emotion becomes a performance strategy.

This insight comes from the State of Creative Effectiveness report, released ahead of Cannes Lions by consumer insights platform Zappi, in collaboration with VaynerMedia. Based on 4,000+ ads tested and feedback from over 1.6 million US consumers, the central message is that ‘emotion fuels effectiveness’.

Ads that land in the top quartile for emotional connection achieve a 78th percentile ranking for sales impact versus just a 41st percentile for those that miss the mark. And while humor increases enjoyment, it doesn’t always lead to action.

Top Insights from The Report

• Celebrity ads, while more distinctive (3.5/5), underperform in brand impact compared to non-celebrity ones (55th vs. 63rd percentile).
  
• Humor, though popular, doesn’t always translate into purchase intent.
  
• Category performance reflects both strengths and missed opportunities.
• Food and beverage: Food ads drive the biggest short-term purchase lift, increasing likelihood to consider the brand by 29% followed by alcohol ads, which increases consideration by 27%.
• Pet care: Also has a strong purchase uplift at 29% as well as the highest overall emotion score (68/100), which is driven by its strong love score (39% versus the 28% U.S. average).
• Personal care: Excels in relevance (3.9/5) and emotional response (61/100).
• Financial services: Lags behind industry averages in emotion (47%) and distinctiveness (3.6/5), but show signs of progress through humor (17%) and modest purchase uplift (15%).
• Telecommunications: Also lags behind industry averages in emotion (45%) and distinctiveness (3.4/5), but slightly overperforms industry averages in humor (10%) and purchase uplift (21%).

“Today’s consumers expect more in that they want to be informed, but also expect to be entertained,” said Nataly Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi. “The brands that deliver best are those that bring the consumer into the process, test iteratively and learn over time.”

READ MORE: What Experiential Marketing Teaches Us About Customer Loyalty

PepsiCo, for example, reported a 30% improvement in creative effectiveness after adopting Zappi’s ad testing platform, Amplify. A Forrester study confirmed the approach that brands using Zappi saw a 5%+ lift in ROAS over traditional research methods.

The Fix: How Brands Can Move From Ads That Talk to Ads That Matter

1. Start with emotional intent, not just messaging goals.
   
2. Test early, test often—real consumer feedback can shift strategy before it’s too late.
   
3. Balance creativity with connected insights. Great storytelling is only as good as the reaction it triggers.

“Putting the consumer at the center isn’t just a philosophy, it’s how we build strategies that embed brands directly into culture,” said Wanda Pogue, chief strategy officer at VaynerMedia. “Content at scale, informed by real-time consumer feedback helps us create more opportunities for meaningful connections and significantly mitigates the risk of ineffective creative wasting valuable media dollars.”

Feel Something. Sell Something.

As the industry heads into its biggest celebration of creativity at Cannes Lions, the takeaway is clear: creative that moves people, moves markets. Emotion isn’t soft. It’s strategic. And in a world oversaturated with content, it might just be the most powerful metric you have.

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