For comparison's sake, the system also generates a category segment average -- the average ACE score for all automotive or beer and wine advertisers, for example. Clients can then log on, usually within 24 hours of their ad airing, to see how well it was received and by whom. This instant feedback feature is one of ACE Metrix's selling points.
"If you know what the response is early you can do something about it," Goldman says. If in the data-mining advertisers realize their ad is working with a non-targeted demographic -- say, a fast-food commercial that resonates with older females as opposed to young males -- the advertiser can reallocate ad dollars, chasing the more receptive audience. This is how ACE Metrix helps clients know which half of advertising is working. It's also a handy way to keep tabs on your competition's advertising, the ratings for which you can follow on the ACE Analyzer. Goldman notes the through-the-roof response that the Hyundai buyers' assurance ad received in January: "If you were a competitor, you could have taken action."
Ad agencies can also pretest ads against those of market rivals (Coke vs. Pepsi, Honda vs. Toyota) while in the editing stage. ACE Metric's database currently contains about 1,800 commercials.
At a minimum, the ACE scoring could provide some ad agency with much-needed cover in the event an ad goes horribly wrong.
"Our customers love being able to compare ads," says Goldman, "because advertising is ultimately about competition."
Personally, I couldn't care less whether Hyundai sells more Genesis Coupes. However, I am kind of in love with the idea of juridical and God-like ACE scores, a seemingly objective measure of something that is inherently subjective. Is that even possible? Could we run Shakespeare and Marlowe through the same statistical cotton gin to find out who was better?
"There are a lot of metrics that measure what was once thought to be immeasurable," staff scientist Lee says. "IQ, for instance, and SAT scores and credit risk."
To gauge the elusiveness of all this, consider two relatively well-known ads for import beers. One is the Heineken ad called "Men Scream in Cooler" (Wieden & Kennedy), in which a group of friends visit a couple's home to see their recent renovations. While their women are oohing and aahing over the wife's shoe closet, the men are in another part of the house, screaming, crying and hugging each other with delight over the man's walk-in "beer" closet, stocked with ice-cold Heineken.
The other ad is a Dos Equis spot called "A Man's Reputation Expands Quickly" (Euro RSCG Worldwide), featuring the "most interesting man in the world" character.
Both slick, both perfectly produced, both with a deft, daft sense of humor. From inside the fishbowls of their ad agencies, they probably both looked good. Which one is "better"?
According to the ACE scores, the Heineken ad absolutely trounces the Dos Equis ad, 565 to 310; meanwhile, in the key demographic, males ages 21 to 35, the Heineken ad scores a stunning 703, compared with Dos Equis at 583.
That sounds about right.
What does it all mean? "It means the folks working for Dos Equis have got some work to do," says Goldman.
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dan.neil@latimes.com
