It was the campaign that sent Twitter into a frenzy, captured admiring glances from industry peers and even picked up ±±¾©Èü³µpk10's 2011 ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 of the Year award. And now Adam & Eve's "the long wait" ad for John Lewis has been given the seal of approval from the very demanding public taking part in our Punter Appeal survey.
As always, ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 asked 2,000 members of the public to rate ten agency campaigns, and the shop in the hot seat this week - Adam & Eve - can be pleased with its assessment.
John Lewis' "the long wait" was well out in front - the overall score of 6.49 actually made it one of the best-performing ads since the Punter Appeal was introduced last year.
In fact, Adam & Eve's John Lewis work has been consistently well-received since the agency won the account in 2008, and another of its ads for the brand - "through the ages" - also scored highly, particularly with those over the age of 45.
Foster's is another brand to define Adam & Eve's recent creative output, and the agency had two of the brand's ads among the top five. The first, featuring Dean from Cyprus, was enjoyed by men and women alike, but the second, starring Holly Valance, was a far bigger hit with men. Can't think why.
Rounding off Adam & Eve's top five was a powerful spot for Save the Children. The ad particularly resonated with the older generation, with those aged 55 and over awarding it a strong 7.02 for how impressed they were with the spot.
It won't be a surprise to some to see the agency's Halifax work languishing towards the foot of the table. The bank's advertising has frequently drawn attention for the wrong reasons in recent years, and Adam & Eve's first campaign for it shows that there's still a way to go to improve that reputation.
Perhaps more surprising to find lower down the ladder was the horror-themed "little girl" ad for Phones4u. The spot received some plaudits within the industry for its brave positioning, but the public clearly disagreed, handing it an overall score of just 4.98. Maybe it goes to show that, at heart, we're just a nation of scaredy-cats.
How Adam & Eve's Ads scored
John Lewis - The long wait - 6.49
Foster's - Suncream - 6.15
Save the Children - Born to live - 6.05
John Lewis - Through the ages- 5.92
Foster's - Gold Repay - 5.91
Cadbury Fingers - World party - 5.72
Silver Spoon - Barber - 5.24
Silver Spoon - Farmer - 5.24
Halifax - Surprise - 5.22
Phones4u - Little girl - 4.98
Source: OnePoll Research. Sample: 2,000 people (1,041 female, 959 male).
All ratings scored out of 10.