These Direct-Response Commercials Drove the Most Sales Last Year

Here are the top DRTV campaigns, marketers & producers of 2023

Every year since 2010, I’ve used viewership data from a third-party monitoring service to identify the best direct-response television (DRTV) advertising campaigns of the year. Since 2016, I have been working with DRMetrix and its AdSphere tool, which quickly became the gold standard for such measurements (and was eventually acquired by iSpot.tv for this reason).

Besides providing much-deserved bragging rights to those whose work appears on the list, this annual chart offers a treasure trove of knowledge. Want to understand the latest creative approaches, selling techniques and offers that are resonating with consumers? What better way than to study the 50 top-performing commercials of 2023?

There’s a reason advertising legend David Ogilvy said: “Every copywriter should start his career by spending two years in direct response.” He recognized that, as he put it, “direct-response advertisers…know to a dollar how much each advertisement sells.”

The campaigns below are the ones DR advertisers spent the most on last year, which means they are the advertisements that sold the most.

A list of links to the archived videos of these 50 commercials is now available in The Library of DRTV. If you don’t yet have access to The Library, there has never been a better time to get your ‘library card.’ Simply become a paying subscriber and supporter my work. It’s just $5.99 per month or $59 for the year.

And now…🥁

🏆EMSON is your True Top Marketer for 2023. No other marketer even came close. They have an astounding 22 campaigns in the True Top 50. This is Emson’s sixth year at the top of the list of the nation’s most successful DRTV marketers.

BulbHead also had a strong showing with 11 campaigns in the True Top 50. That’s up from six the year before and more than enough to move from third into a strong second place. They also launched the most campaigns for new brands (Eye Candy, Slim Mint and Red Dog). Congratulations to that ever-productive and always innovative team.👏

🏆HUTTON MILLER is the True Top Producer for 2023. This is their fourth year in a row on top. This time around, they put up 12 hits for three different marketers. Of these, Piezano and Bullseye Pro were notable for being new brands in the Top 20 and also being really excellent examples of the peerless marketing skills this team brings to every project.

Cole Media Group also put up some great numbers with nine commercials in the Top 50. That’s a solid second-place showing and another impressive step toward the #1 spot considering that in 2021, this team only had four hits in the Top 50.💪

Finally, Kerrmercials deserves an honorable mention for another great year with five winners in the True Top 50, including the Top 10 hit Pocket Hose Copper Bullet — which I liked so much I wrote an entire article about it.

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Speaking of honors, DRMetrix has announced the winners of its 8th Annual AdSphere Awards. Each year, the monitoring service recognizes the top direct-to-consumer TV advertisers in several categories (brand, lead-gen, short form and long form).

Unsurprisingly, EMSON is the short-form Advertiser of the Year once again. This is also their sixth year in a row claiming that title.🤩

One thing that is different this year: Copper Fit did not take short-form Brand of the Year. This year, it was Great HealthWorks’ Omega XL.

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