Magazines are an advertising channel in long-term decline, so brands looking to stand out must “earn attention” with a creative hook.

According to the Advertising Association and WARC’s most recent forecasts, UK ad spend on magazine brands was down –9.1% in April.

However, a magazine ad by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) calling on people to contact the charity for heart-health-related questions landed in the top 4% of all UK ads for “credibility”, making it the most effective ad in the latest edition of Kantar’s ‘The Works’ study.

The study, which is produced in association with Marketing Week and the Advertising Association’s Trust Working Group, asks 750 consumers to give their thoughts on the top ads over the period. It also tracks the facial expressions and eye movements of those viewing the ad.

The BHF print ad asks, “Are long walks off-limits after heart surgery?” in white text on a red background. Below the question, a pair of walking boots is displayed, while prompts to call its cardiac nurses for health questions “big or small” are positioned at the bottom.

Lynne Deason, Kantar’s head of creative excellence, describes the ad as “bold in its simplicity”, explaining that it “arouses curiosity.” It places in the top 20% of UK ads for “making people want to stop and look”.

The ad strikes the perfect balance of being simple without being simplistic.

Lynne Deason, Kantar

According to Kantar’s eye tracking analysis, people first looked at the boots, followed by the question.

“We can see that the walking boots shouting out on the deep red background provide the prominent creative hook that draws readers in,” Deason explains.

By tracking eye movements, Kantar discovered that the ad guides people from the question to the phone number at the bottom and the BHF logo at the top.

“The simple, clever design of the ad ensures it successfully conveys the intended messages that BHF helps answer all questions relating to the health of your heart,” says Deason.

People find the ad “interesting” (top 25% of ads in the UK) and “highly distinctive” (top 23%).

Deason suggests another strength of the ad is its branding, which lands it in the top 10% of ads across the UK for this metric.

One participant said the ad made its point in a “clear way” and had “genuinely useful information”.

In terms of affinity, which measures how positive people feel about the brand, the British Health Foundation ad landed in the top 3%, while three-quarters agree the ad gives the impression that BHF “makes a positive difference to society”.

The ad lands in the top 15% of UK ads for the “active role brand cues play in supporting branding”.

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“The image of the boots goes to the ‘heart’ of the subject”, one participant said. Another noted the power of red representing a heart.

“I feel like it makes the brand feel more approachable so that if you had a question that felt insignificant, it is still considered valid to the British Heart Foundation,” they said.

Deason says that, unlike many charity ads, this one “avoids scaremongering or fear”.

“The ad strikes the perfect balance of being simple without being simplistic,” she says.

The ad lands in the top 24% of ads that “met people’s needs” and places well in terms of “motivation to use the BHF”, landing in the top 2%.

“It provides the necessary fuel to motivate that change in behaviour as well as overcoming some of the frictions that might get in the way – such as a lack of confidence in the service, not knowing the kind of questions you can ask and worrying that your question might not be appropriate or might make you look silly,” Deason adds.