VW has funniest 2013 ad, but not most effective

Bruce Horovitz | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption VW ad with obnoxious laugh named funniest of 2013 A Volkswagen TV commercial featuring a woman whose utterly obnoxious laugh just keeps on going and going has been tapped as 2013's funniest ad.

The commercial features a woman who can%27t stop her honk-like laugh

It%27s ranked by one research firm as 2013%27s funniest ad so far

But in terms of effectiveness%2C the survey says%2C the ad is barely above average

A Volkswagen TV commercial featuring a woman whose utterly obnoxious laugh just keeps going and going has been tapped as 2013's funniest ad.

But the joke may be on VW.

Ace Metrix, the Mountain View, Calif. research firm whose consumer survey has pegged the ad as the year's funniest, says the ad is little better than average in the most critical category of all: effectiveness.

"As many people said that the ad was annoying as said that it was funny," says Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. "That means they're not going to watch it a second time."

Ouch.

In the spot that first aired in February, a guy is at a gas station filling up his car, while chatting with an attractive, female friend-of-a-friend he's just met who's about to ride with him cross-country. She jokes about wanting to listen to polka music on the long drive, and her obnoxious laugh begins — and doesn't stop. The driver gets a look of horror on his face. Even as the car drives off, her laugh can still be heard.

"While someone laughing like that might be pushing the boundaries of the VW voice, we didn't think it was so annoying that it was off-putting," says Michael Kadin, executive creative director at Deutsch LA, which created the spot.

On one hand, the consumer survey ranked the commercial as nine times funnier than an average commercial — making it the funniest commercial so far in 2013. That measure is based on the Ace Metrix "Funny Index" — which tabulates consumer responses collected for every ad. They average ad receives a score of 100. The VW spot received an off-the-chart "Funny Index" score of 963.

But the ad's overall score for effectiveness, which factors-in likability, watchability and persuasiveness, barely ranks above the average non-luxury car television commercial, says Daboll. The index's average effectiveness score of non-luxury automotive ad is 518. The VW spot scored a 530, just 2.2% above that norm.

The staring role — of the laughing woman — wasn't easy to fill. The agency cast more than 50 women before selecting Molly Schreiber, a 28-year-old actress from Los Angeles, who candidly calls it "the worst laugh in my repertoire."

"We wanted a laugh that was funny but not too annoying," says Kadin. "We didn't want a spot where the laugh was so annoying that you'd turn it off the minute it came on again."

But that may be what VW got, says Daboll.

"You're not going to watch it a second time," says Daboll. "You'll throw something at the TV if it comes on again."

Even then, the ad earned a 91% positive rating on YouTube, points out Deutsch LA spokesman Jeff Sweat.

Schreiber, the actress who also works part-time teaching a cycling class, swears her real laugh is actually quite normal. And, she says, she's totally OK with the fact that the commercial drives some people crazy. "At least it's memorable."