KIA'S HAMSTERS OVERRUN THE AD AWARDS

For the second year in a row, Kia’s hip hamsters helped the automaker roll home with The Nielsen Company’s 5th Annual Nielsen Automotive Ad of the Year award. For the second year in a row, Kia’s hip hamsters helped the automaker roll home with The Nielsen Company’s 5th Annual Nielsen Automotive Ad of the Year award. The winning TV ad, “This or That,” features the hamsters cruising around in a Kia Soul playing a popular 90s hip hop track, “The Choice is Yours.” The spot compares Soul’s unique comforts to other boxy rides – represented by toasters, washing machines and cardboard boxes – while the hamsters rap along to the song’s lyrics, “You can get with this, or you can get with that.” The winning TV ad, “This or That,” features the hamsters cruising around in a Kia Soul playing a popular 90’s hip hop track, “The Choice is Yours.” The spot cleverly compares Soul’s unique comforts to other boxy rides – represented by toasters, washing machines and cardboard boxes – while the hamsters rap along to the song’s lyrics, “You can get with this, or you can get with that.” Last year, Kia took home the top award when with the debut of their music-loving hamsters in the commercial “A New Way to Roll.” “Despite another challenging economic year for the auto industry, it is great to see the industry has not lost its focus on producing engaging and highly effective advertising,” said Lois Miller, President of Nielsen’s global automotive unit. The Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards, which were presented at the 2011 New York International Auto Show, is the only awards program measuring effectiveness of automobile TV ads. Other big winners included: * Best Green Ad: Ford Fiesta * Best Sales Event Ad: Ford ‘Swap Your Ride’ * Luxury Campaign of the Year: Mercedes-Benz SLS ‘Triumphant’ * Spanish TV Advertiser of the Year: Toyota The awards are based on response data from 2.5 million viewers of national television advertising collected by Nielsen. Nielsen measures the effectiveness of every ad and product placement on 24 measured networks. All national auto ads that began airing in 2010 were eligible for the award.