• by Paul Gough , July 14, 2003

One spot from Kellogg's and two ads from KFC topped the Intermedia Advertising Group's twice monthly survey of brand recall among new TV commercials.

The Kellogg's spot introduced the cereal maker's Fruit Harvest Apple Cinnamon flavor, and garnered a 225 brand recall index. Tied for second place - each with a 212 brand-recall index score - was the Family Feast spots starring Jason Alexander, Pepsi and KFC.

In a separate survey of commercial likeability, three gaming spots hit the top 10, including the top-ranked ad, Namco's Soul Calibur II for the Nintendo GameCube. A Luv's spot placed second.

Brand recall is based on the percentage of TV viewers who can recall within 24 hours the brand of ad they were exposed to during the normal course of TV viewing. The likeability index measures how popular the ads are by monitoring the ads that most frequently scored the highest among IAG panelists.

The top 10 in brand recall as measured by IAG:

1. Kellogg's Fruit Harvest Apple Cinammon, farmer lifts girl, picks boxes from orchard trees, 225.

2. KFC Family Feast, Jason Alexander is game show host, $15.99 special with free half-gallon of Pepsi, 212.

3. KFC Family Feast, Jason Alexander is game show host, $15.99 special with free half-gallon of Pepsi, 212 (:15).

4. Gatorade Athletes, "You lose more than water ... Gatorade is more than water," 206.

5. Pizza Hut Large Pizza with Free Comedy Classics DVD, man delivers pizza and DVDs, 203.

6. Chili's Hawaiian Steak, Esera Tuarolo sings and plays guitar against red background, 184. (:30).

7. Just For Men, Man chats on-line with woman, describes hair as brown, then dyes his hair, 178.

8. Allstate Safe Driver Discount, tortoise and rabbit used to demonstrate driving, 175.

9. Chili's Hawaiian Steak, Esera Tuaolo sings and plays guitar against red background, 172, (:15).

10. Sears Auto Center, Biggest Michelin sale of the year, spinning tires closeup, 169.

The top 10 new TV commercials in terms of likeability:

1. Namco Soul Calibur II, heart rate monitor, screenshots featuring Link, for Nintendo GameCub, 193.

2. Luvs, No leaks or money-back guarantee, mom in bed, kids in bath, dad plays with baby outside, 163.

3. Tylenol Extra Strength, busy office workers, works in 10 minutes, 155.

4. Purina Dog Chow, man and yellow Labrador retriever race on beach, 147.

5. PlayStation 2 Jak II, coming 10/4/03, scenes from game, 143.

6. Applebee's BBQ Fever, Honey BBQ Rib Tips, Mesquite BBQ Sirloin, Suzy Q song, 143.

7. Sharpie Metallic, Man wants to record over wedding video, 143.

8. Nintendo GameCub, WWE Wrestlemania XIX, coming soon, 143.

9. Bounty Bigger Quilts, Man wipes up red juice, big drop hits floor, 138.

10. 7-Eleven Spicy Italian Big Eats Griller Sausage, Woman doing laundry finds sauce-stained shirts, 138.