According to the Ads that Make News Survey, carried out by Propeller Communications and Durrants Media Monitoring, coverage of David Beckham's latest outing for Pepsi, in which he appears dressed in gladiatorial armour, made it the most written about ad in February.
In second position was the British Heart Foundation spot, created by Euro RSCG London. It was widely reported that the ad, which shows smokers' cigarettes dripping with fat, drove traffic to the charity's website by more than 73% during the month it was shown.
Martin Loat, director at Propeller Communications, said: "It is refreshing to see an ad campaign seize the public imagination purely on the strength of its visual imagery. BHF did not need a celebrity to create an ad that makes news but it has created an original and attention-grabbing campaign. This is in contrast to many of the other advertisements in the survey, which make the news mainly by featuring well-known faces."
David Beckham reappeared at number three in the list, this time in the new Adidas advertising campaign, in which he is shown jogging with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Unusually for the survey, a Help Wanted ad made it into fourth position -- although it was a job ad with a difference because it called for applicants for the position of director-general at the BBC following Greg Dyke's resignation.
Other celebrity-led campaigns in the list were McDonald's with Lawrence Dallaglio, criticised for having a sportsman promote fast food; Trinny and Susannah's appearance in a Nescafe spot; and the appointment of Rod Stewart's ex Rachel Hunter to take over from his current girlfriend Penny Lancaster as the face of lingerie brand Ultimo.
Ads that Make News February 2004
1 Pepsi
2 British Heart Foundation
3 Adidas
4 BBC
5 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚
5 Nescafe
7 Government, Department of Health
8 118 118
9 Ultimo
10 Les Miserables
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