AdMiration feature: Magnum's "Nothing Cracks Like Magnum"

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Magnum’s “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum” ad, which promotes the brand’s classic ice cream bar. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a sleepy-eyed cat sitting on a couch as a cozy black and white film plays on the TV in the background. The scene pans out to show the cat's owner sitting next to it, opening Magnum’s classic ice cream bar. 

The cat perks up, staring wide-eyed at the treat. As she bites into it, the bar lets out a loud, resounding crack! which sends the cat flying into the air with a screech.  

The words, “Nothing cracks like Magnum” appear on screen as the woman continues to enjoy the bar in slow motion (with the cat still up in the air).

An image of the bar is then shown overtaking the screen as the voiceover continues, “Big, cracky chocolate. Velvety, vanilla ice cream. Magnum, true to pleasure.” The ad closes with the woman still enjoying her Magnum bar as the cat hops down from the couch, and the words “No adorably fluffy, impossibly precious cat was harmed in the making of this advert” appearing at the bottom of the screen. 

3 facts

• The ad performed exceptionally well, landing in the top 10% of all UK ads for ability to drive sales (Sales impact: 97) and brand equity (Brand impact 94) in the long term.

• This spot sparks a deep emotional connection with consumers with a remarkable Overall Emotion score of 63 (vs. norm of 44) and ‘Love’ registering at 37% – significantly above the norm. This powerful emotional impact, combined with a clear role for Magnum, helps strengthen the brand so it comes to mind more powerfully and positively.

• People love the cat and its role within the story. It is a key driver of likes with 35% spontaneously talking about the cat and the cat meowing and flying in the air, which drives the two peaks of laughter. 

2 learnings

• It’s possible to combine indulgence with humor to create an engaging ad that also delivers key messages around taste and quality.  The sense that the brand meets people's needs is significantly above the norm (4.1 versus 3.8) and, importantly, the ad reinforces Magnum's associations of being delicious (60%), a treat (53%) and high quality (41%).

• Magnum’s ad effectively highlights the sensory experience, especially through the distinct cracking sound of their chocolate. This small detail conveys the premium quality of their ice cream, making the product feel more indulgent. By engaging multiple senses — sound, taste and texture — the ad creates a deeper connection, showing how sensory elements can elevate the consumer’s perception and desire for a product.

1 reflection

Can you create an engaging storyline that successfully brings emotion and drama alongside a product truth and positive brand associations in just 20 seconds? People cannot play back the story without referring to the iconic 'crack' of the Magnum, which leads to  the peak of emotion (laughter at the cat in the air) and then leaves an opening for the brand to deliver key messages around how delicious the product is. This drives love and causes viewers to anticipate eating a Magnum ice cream bar.

Magnum’s “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum” campaign was created by creative agency Lola MullenLowe and celebrates 35 years of the irresistibly delicious and disruptive delight.

The campaign highlights the brand’s iconic “crack” that makes for a one-of-a-kind experience and what makes Magnum, Magnum. The campaign features a series of films that capture the pleasure and satisfaction that comes with indulging in their classic chocolate covered ice cream bars.

But this campaign takes it a step further than most, creating a radio tie-in with out-of-home ads to give listeners a sonic “bite” when they drive past their digital billboards. 

By using Global’s API data feed to sync radio to digital billboards, listeners are able to hear the trademark Magnum "crack" when they're tuned into Heart radio via DAB or Global Player as they pass a digital screen showing the product.

Daniel Lythgo, Brand Manager at Magnum UK, shares, “This campaign is a perfect example of our commitment to innovation in advertising. By integrating audio with OOH in a highly innovative way, we are reinforcing Magnum’s product credentials via multiple senses to maximise the impact of our creative.”

This particular aspect of the campaign was created in partnership with Unilever’s media agency Mindshare, Group M OOH, Global, Ocean Outdoor and DOOH.com and will run across London and Manchester. 

Magnum’s “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum” ad resonated well with consumers, scoring in the top 10% of all UK ads for ability to drive sales and brand equity in the long term (Sales Impact: 97, Brand Impact: 94).

The ad was also seen as distinctive among all viewers, with an ad distinctiveness score of 3.9 (compared to a norm of 3.7), a brand distinctiveness score of 3.9 (compared to a norm of 3.5) and 75% of viewers spontaneously mentioning the brand when they play back the story of the ad. 

Consumers also found “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum” to be highly relevant, with the ad receiving a relevance score of 3.9 (compared to a 3.4 norm). The ad helped audiences see Magnum as delivering what they need from an ice cream or frozen dessert (Brand meets needs: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm) and clearly delivered upon their core message that 

“Magnum is the signature chocolate crack you crave” (Clarity: 4.2 vs. 4.0 norm) and that it was believable (Believability: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm). Importantly this translated into associations of deliciousness, a treat and high quality for Magnum making it desirable.

The ad was also consistent in its advertising, bringing a new story around an established idea of Magnum’s luxurious superiority.

For example, take their “Stick to the Original” ad from last year: This spot had the same use of classical music the brand often uses, the same feeling of decadence and beautiful cinematography — just like this year’s ad. It also featured the same use of cracking chocolate (both visually and audibly). This time, “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum” is solely about that DBA, making the visual and audio aspects the focal point of the ad — resulting in even higher love scores and better brand impact. 

Viewers truly loved this ad, with “love” reactions reaching 37% (compared to a 20% norm)! The cat and classic cracking sound of a Magnum bar drove much of the “likes” and “loves” from viewers.

The ad immediately starts off with a mixture of “love” and “like” reactions as the ad opens to the cat and woman sitting in a living room. The “love” reaction increases with the close up of the cat’s face and the woman biting into the ice cream. Laughter spikes (and some surprise) as the cat is thrown into the air. But it’s “love” that ultimately reigns as we see the ice cream cracking on screen and the voiceover describes Magnum ice cream. 

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "It is a clever idea and magnum does crack when you first bite into it straight from the freezer."

• "I liked the cracking chocolate as the cat lifts up i also liked the actress eating it because the magnum is my summer treat."

• "I’m a cat lover so this appealed. Showed a close up of the cracked chocolate. Was humorous. Advert made me want a magnum."

• "The cat's face and expression and the way it jumps up at the crack sound."

• "Setting, cat staring & leaping up with its grumpy face. Classical music."

• "I liked the look on that cat's face when the ice-cream cracked."

• "It was quite amusing in it’s simplicity."

• "It was easy to watch and gave an interesting and amusing take on the product."

Consumers loved this cat and chocolate-filled spot from Magnum! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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