The Research Agency’s (TRA) latest Favourite Ads study has been released, showing that Australia’s most loved ads share a common thread – none of them look, or feel, like anything else in their category.

The representative study of more than 1,600 Australians asks respondents to name their favourite ad on TV. This summer’s top five most loved ads span categories and creative approaches:

The entertaining humour of Budget Direct takes out the #1 spot.

The cinematic storytelling of Allianz is #2.

The culturally grounded humour of Toyota is #3).

Youi’s relevance-led work is #4

The recognisable brand world of Telstra is #5.

What unites all five isn’t format or feeling, it’s that each ad stands apart.  Across all five campaigns, a strong majority of Australians said there are “not many ads like this”, making perceived uniqueness a clear signal of a favourite in Q1 2026.

According to Alex Forrester, Business Director at TRA, the findings challenge marketers to rethink the pursuit of a standard approach to creative.

He stated, “What stands out is not how similar these ads are, but how different they are. There’s no single formula for being a favourite ad, but the ads that perform best do three things well: they capture attention, make audiences feel something, and are clearly linked to the brand.”

TRA’s Creative Edge framework measures creative quality across three pillars – Remarkable, Rewarding and Remembered – and while each of the top campaigns delivers these drivers in different ways, all succeed by standing apart from category norms.

Forrester continued, “The key takeaway for brands is to start with a clear, distinctive emotional idea. From there, choose a strong creative route and commit to it fully. Australia’s favourite ads are remarkable in how they capture attention, rewarding in the emotional experience they create for audiences, and remembered because the brand is clearly and unmistakably linked to the creative. Consistency is what strengthens those memory structures over time and ultimately drives real impact.”

Leading the list, Budget Direct’s Insurance Solved platform continues to transform a traditionally low-interest category through entertainment-led storytelling. Its latest execution builds on a consistent brand world, featuring recurring characters (Sarge, Jacs and Chief), using humour and narrative structure to embed the brand into the idea itself. Budget Direct accounted for approximately 25% of all mentions within the top 5, which speaks to how strongly the platform is cutting through.

Jody Elston, CSO at 303, the creative agency behind the Budget Direct ads said this result was a reward for seven years of distinctive storytelling. “From the outset, we set out to build Insurance Solved as an enduring platform, using fresh storytelling to drive attention. We know our brains respond to both familiarity and surprise, and our latest Frozen campaign leans into that. It dramatises ‘bill shock’ by literally freezing the heroine and her world, blending the characters and hyperbolic, fantastical action Budget Direct is known for with the very real current pressure of rising insurance costs.”

Jonathan Kerr, chief growth officer at Auto & General / Budget Direct, added, “Every day we push ourselves back into our customers’ shoes and wonder how we can continue to earn their engagement. Our Marketing team and agency partners work passionately to deliver on our strategy of high-quality, creative consistency powered by outstanding media planning and execution, so to see our ads resonating so well with the public means the world to us all.”

Forrester noted, “The most successful campaigns are those that are unmistakably their own. In a crowded and fragmented market where consumer attention is limited, it’s not about doing the same thing better, it’s about doing something different, and doing it well.”

TRA’s Favourite Ads survey is conducted regularly across Australia and New Zealand, with latest research undertaken February 24 – March 22 2026. Dynata was the panel partner for the Favourite Ads research.