See the Most Effective Magazine Ads of 2010

Which magazine ads best inspired readers to buy or consider buying last year? To find out, GfK MRI Starch Communications, a specialist in print-advertising research, looked at reader responses for nearly 90,000 one- and two-page ads that appeared in 187 consumer titles we measured last year. We wanted to find the ads in a selection of advertising categories that did the best job of moving consumers, as a result of seeing the ad, toward purchase. Of course it's easier to inspire consideration or actual purchase when the stakes for consumers are relatively low. None of the top-scoring ads promoted expensive products, such as automobiles, vacations or home appliances -- purchases that typically require much thought. Most top-scoring ads were for mass-marketed products such as food, toiletries and household items. An exception to this general rule was an Apple iPad ad that appeared in the August issue of Macworld, just a few months after the iPad's launch. Despite the device's relatively high cost, 60% of Macworld readers who viewed the ad said it inspired them to buy or consider buying the iPad -- the best result in the computer category last year. Here, then, is a selection of 2010 magazine ads, by advertising category, that inspired readers to purchase or consider purchasing the product or service advertised.

See the Most Effective Magazine Ads of 2010

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