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Ads From Mutual of Omaha, Chevrolet and The Farmer’s Dog Top Ranking Of December’s Most Effective New U.S. TV Campaigns

Spots from the NBA, Toyota and Walmart also make top 10 in new report compiled by DAIVID and Kinetiq

Barney Worfolk-Smith

Barney Worfolk-Smith

8 Jan 2026

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON – January 8, 2026 – Ads from Mutual of Omaha, Chevrolet and The Farmer’s Dog top a ranking of the most effective new spots to air on U.S. television during December. 

The new findings feature in the latest monthly report (click to read) by creative data provider DAIVID and global media intelligence platform Kinetiq, which analyzes the creative impact of newly launched TV ads.

The ‘Breaking TV Ads Report’ each month combines Kinetiq’s real-time TV ad tracking with DAIVID’s AI-driven creative analytics to uncover the newly launched TV ads that broke through, including analysis of why they were so successful and what brands can do to achieve similar results.

The report includes a ranking of the month’s top-performing new U.S. TV ads, alongside insights into key creative trends. Insights from December’s report include:

>>> Mutual of Omaha’s TV spot, “Experience Wildlife Adventures with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”, delivered the strongest combined levels of positive emotion, attention and correct brand recall of any new ad broadcast last month. The campaign was 12% more likely to generate intense positive emotions than the average U.S. TV ad and 8% more likely to capture audience attention. It also managed to translate emotional impact into action, with all of its next-step intent metrics outperforming industry norms.

>>> Chevrolet’s festive campaign “Memory Lane”, which celebrates family road trips during the holiday season, finished second in the list of the top 10 most effective new ads. The ad was 8% more likely to attract intense positive emotions than the industry average, narrowly edging out The Farmer’s Dog spot, “Clinically Proven Nutrition for Aging Well”, in third place. Other brands to feature in the top 10 include the National Basketball Association (NBA), Toyota and Walmart.

>>> Ads that performed particularly well during December tapped into brand legacy and human perseverance, especially those that evoked intense feelings of nostalgia and admiration. Warmth was also a key performance driver. Seventy percent of the top 50 ads saw warmth as the highest scoring emotion by percentage.

Ian Forrester, CEO and founder of DAIVID, said: “The holiday season is an emotional time of year, so it’s not surprising to see ads that successfully capture those festive feels topping our charts. Brands that evoked nostalgia, inspiration, warmth, gratitude and joy resonated most strongly with audiences. Our AI-powered analysis shows not only which ads captured attention, but which truly resonated and were likely to drive action. From wildlife adventures to holiday road trips, these campaigns demonstrate that brands combining strong positive emotions with clear messaging can transform a simple ad into a memorable experience.”

Kevin Kohn, CEO of Kinetiq, said: “In November and December, we saw brands embracing themes and emotions that align with the holiday season. Nostalgia, warmth, family and purpose-driven messaging perform particularly well at this time of year. Working with DAIVID to create these reports has been enlightening – tracking creative and messaging shifts month over month and understanding the emotional drivers that truly resonate with customers is incredibly valuable for our advertising partners.”

Click here to view December’s report of the top 10 most effective ads. For the full top 100 or custom insights by sector or competitor, email videoadtrends@kinetiq.tv

Conclusion

Methodology

Using proprietary ad detection technologies, Kinetiq identified all U.S. ads that first aired in December 2025. The analysis is based on more than 1 million real-time daily detections across all major national networks, 210 U.S. DMAs and 15 streaming apps.

The ads were then ranked for their creative effectiveness using DAIVID’s AI-powered technology, which enables brands, agencies and influencers to benchmark the emotional responses, attention levels and brand impact of their ads against their rivals’ campaigns in real-time. Trained using tens of millions of human responses to ads, DAIVID’s AI models use a predictive algorithm that lets advertisers know within seconds the emotional and business impact of a video or image – enabling marketers to measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns at scale.

Ads featured on the Breaking Ads Chart are ranked using DAIVID’s Creative Effectiveness Score (CES) – a composite metric that combines the three main drivers of effectiveness – attention, emotions and correct brand recall.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Megan Saunders – Chief Marketing Officer, Kinetiq

msaunders@kinetiq.tv

David Waterhouse – DAIVID – PR and Communications

Email: DW@daivid.co

About Kinetiq

Kinetiq is the leading AI-powered platform for global media and marketing intelligence, capturing and monitoring video, audio, and digital content across 30,000 channels in over 120 countries. We transform unstructured data into actionable insights, giving our customers the real-time intelligence they need to optimize investments, outpace competitors, and maximize impact. For more information visit: kinetiq.tv.

 

About DAIVID

DAIVID is a global AI company powering the ad ecosystem with #CreativeData – the untapped signal of ad effectiveness – at unprecedented scale and depth. Its human-trained, AI-powered technology analyzes video and image content to predict creative attention, 39 emotions and impact on brand metrics, giving ad platforms and marketers access to fast, actionable insights to dramatically improve performance and strategy.  With simple API integrations, DAIVID’s Creative Data Feed supercharges ad performance and media strategy across the ad tech ecosystem. Partners include ad platforms such as Kinetiq, CreativeX and Mass Analytics, as well as global brands and agencies including Nike, Snapchat, and WPP. Visit daivid.co.

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