Rao’s Homemade, a fast-rising pasta sauce brand born from one of New York’s most renowned restaurants, is turning heads with its latest ad campaign.
Partnering with creative agency BSSP, the awareness-focused campaign highlights what makes Rao’s special—quality ingredients, rich heritage, and good craftsmanship.
The campaign spans multiple channels, including broadcast, connected TV, online video, social media, and digital out-of-home platforms.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual American viewer response to the campaign.
The Details:
- Both “Most Important Ingredient” and “Italian” conveyed the Authentic sense Rao’s was intending, with Yummy response also seen in emotional profiling of viewer comments on each ad:
- Both ads also sparked purchase intent rates of 62% (+8 pts over staples one-year norms). While “Most Important Ingredient” appeared to build stronger unaided brand recall, this ad also saw more misspellings of Rao’s.
- Viewer response to the creatives themselves was most positive to “Most Important Ingredient,” which placed in the category’s 85th percentile in Relevance/relatability and 80th in Likeability:
- “Most Important Ingredient” also enjoyed stronger appeal across age/gender, suggesting media plans favor this :15 where possible by the brand. However, “Italian” could also be rotated into schedules to broaden brand messaging while supporting awareness and sales goals.
- iSpot media measurement reports linear Impression delivery only on “Most Important Ingredient” over the two weeks ending 11/14/24:
- However, on streaming, the new campaign has seen limited support vs overall brand Impressions.
- 61% of all viewer sentiment on “Most Important Ingredient” was positive:
- Viewer comments reflect the appeal of the fresh, natural ingredient focus, with the ad overall sparking interest and hunger.
- Many also mentioned interest in learning the correct pronunciation for the brand name, which could add to awareness/memorability.
- Viewer comments reflect the appeal of the fresh, natural ingredient focus, with the ad overall sparking interest and hunger.
Sample comments on “Most Important Ingredient” :15
“I like that it takes you back to the root of how tomato sauce is made. Going all the way back to the tomato itself and stating that it takes time to make something great, referring to the whole process of the growth of the tomato as well as making their sauce in general.”
Female 21-35
“I like the way it starts out, focused on the product and then shows the beautiful nature where the ingredients are grown. Showing the workers makes it more personal. Then ending on the product makes it more memorable.”
Male 50+
“I thought the ad was paced beautifully. The message was clear and concise, and the slogan was memorable. The visuals really drove home the message I think the advertiser is trying to convey.”
Female 21-35
“I liked that it showed the product in the beginning and pronounced the name! I had it wrong, now I know. Also the homemade fresh ingredients going into making their product.”
Female 50+
“Love the bright clear visual scenes with the voice-over. Could improve with getting the product’s name on the screen more so consumers will remember the name.”
Male 36-49
“Interesting. I’ve seen the product on the shelves but have never tried it. Have a friend who swears by it.”
Male 50+
- Second-by-second trace results reveal that the scene of the tomato in “Most Important Ingredient” spiked engagement across all ages most successfully:
- In the :15 “Italian,” the farmer sparked stronger engagement than the basil alone.
- Ragu’s :15 “Nonna’s” spots outpaced Rao’s new ads a bit in consumer response but consideration rates were quite similar:
- While 15% – 16% of each ad’s audience described themselves as previously unfamiliar with Rao’s, about one in three were familiar but haven’t yet tried (although willing to):
- Nearly 30% described themselves as prior, but lapsed buyers.
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: BSSP