Turners Cars takes out Kantar Supreme Ad Impact Award for 2025

Kantar’s 2025 Ad Impact winners span a diverse range of categories, from FMCG and fast food to automotive, insurance and wider service sectors.

A unifying thread across these top performers is their demonstrating of how powerful music can be in shaping impact, memorability and emotional connection.

Across categories, brands have leaned into music not just as a backdrop, but as a strategic storytelling device.

Turns melody and rhyme into a cultural moment

KitKat’s use of the instantly recognisable “I Want to Break Free” injects energy and humour into a simple message; AA Insurance’s “Born Free” brings warmth and emotional uplift through an iconic brand track; and Turners’ original “Tina’s Road Trip” jingle turns melody and rhyme into a cultural moment.

Together, these campaigns show how music has become a defining creative signature for New Zealand’s strongest ads of 2025 – reinforcing humour, elevating storytelling and deepening audience connection.

This compelling use of music, paired with classic Kiwi humour, ultimately contributed to Turners Cars earning the Kantar 2025 Supreme Ad Impact Award Winner for their advert, ‘Tina’s Road Trip’.

Kantar on Tina’s win

‘Tina’s Road Trip’ stands out as an engaging and entertaining advertisement. Bringing vibrant energy, Tina delivers a catchy, cleverly rhymed song that celebrates Kiwi culture in a way that strongly connects with viewers.

The ad humorously references famous New Zealand towns, celebrities and cultural trends, creating instantly recognisable moments. It’s simple yet sharp rhymes make it both easy to relate to and hard to forget. More than just entertainment, the Turners Cars jingle serves as a strategic tool that enhances brand recognition.

By weaving elements of New Zealand identity into the campaign, the ad achieves a high level of personal connection, making it feel both familiar and relevant. Through these shared cultural references, Turners Cars has further embedded itself within New Zealand’s cultural zeitgeist.

Tina’s role as a brand icon is strong and distinctive, and her work in this campaign solidifies her status as a representative of Kiwi culture.

Her talent for blending Turners’ brand character with the spirit of New Zealand, all while communicating a clear message, positions Turners Cars as a truly iconic Kiwi brand. All in all, the advertisement powerfully reinforces brand identity, pride and originality. Congratulations Turners Cars!

A memorable mention goes to Toyota for ‘Is this an ad for Toyota, or just New Zealand?’, a continuation of their ‘Let’s Go Places’ creative platform that uses a clever meta-approach that earned them a very close second place.

This ad cleverly fractures the fourth wall and pokes fun at advertising conventions, “They’d just use famous people” before NZ icons Lisa Carrington and Dave Dobbyn make cameo appearances, injecting a dose of Kiwi humour. Well done to all our monthly winners.

To read more about this award winning ad click here.

This article was published in StopPress news February 2026.