If your ad looks good but isn’t felt or remembered, sound is often the reason.

Ads underperform on emotion and brand recall in System1 testing because the sound is disconnected from the story, generic, or bolted on at the end. Fix the sound and both scores tend to move, making it one of the fastest changes you can make once a campaign is already in testing.

More and more brands are testing their ads using tools like System1’s Test Your Ad. It’s a smart move. These platforms look beyond likes and clicks and focus on something more fundamental: how people actually feel when they watch an ad, and whether they remember the brand afterwards.

What we’re seeing increasingly is this: an ad performs reasonably well on paper, but scores low on emotion and brand recall.

That’s a concern. But it’s also a useful signal.

Because emotion and memory sit at the heart of effective advertising, and both are strongly influenced by sound and music.

• Low emotion scores in System1 usually trace back to music that is generic, disconnected from the story, or added as an afterthought.

• Weak brand recall is rarely about logo size or screen time. It usually means nothing distinctive is tying the ad together.

• A tested sonic asset can move recall dramatically. Our Pedigree sonic logo scored 95 percent brand recall on SoundOut.

• Decide the feeling you want first, then build sound that evolves with the story rather than sitting fixed underneath it.

An ad’s job isn’t just to communicate a message. It’s to create a feeling that stays with someone long after the screen goes dark.

System1 measures this in two simple ways:

• Emotional engagement. How strongly people feel while watching the ad.
  
  

• Brand recall. How easily they connect what they’ve seen back to the brand.
  
  

If emotion is low, the ad may feel flat or forgettable. If brand recall is weak, viewers might enjoy the story but struggle to remember who it was for.

Both problems limit long-term effectiveness. And both are areas where sound is often underused.

We process sound instinctively. Music can set a mood in seconds, often before we’ve fully taken in what we’re seeing.

The right sound can:

• Establish emotional tone immediately
  
  

• Make moments feel warmer, bigger, or more human
  
  

• Add weight to key beats in the story
  
  

When emotional scores are low, it’s often because the music is too generic, emotionally disconnected from the story, or treated as an afterthought. Sound is added late, rather than shaping how the ad feels from the start.

Emotion doesn’t come from volume or drama. It comes from alignment. When sound and story move together, people feel it.

If people don’t remember the brand, it’s rarely because the logo wasn’t big enough or on screen long enough.

More often, it’s because there’s nothing distinctive tying the experience together.

Visual identity does a lot of this work, but sound can play just as important a role. A recognisable sonic cue, musical theme, or audio logo gives the brand a presence that works even when people aren’t fully watching.

Sound helps because:

• People remember melodies and sound patterns easily
  
  

• Audio works across formats, from TV to social to audio-only channels
  
  

• Repetition builds familiarity over time
  
  

This is something we’ve seen first-hand. When we created the sonic branding for Pedigree, we tested the sonic logo using SoundOut, a specialist audio testing platform. The result was a 95 percent brand recall score, showing how quickly and effectively a distinctive sonic asset can anchor a brand in memory.

Without a clear sonic identity, each campaign starts from scratch. With one, every ad reinforces the last.

We see the same issues again and again:

• Music chosen because it feels safe rather than meaningful
  
  

• Tracks that don’t quite fit the emotional tone of the story
  
  

• No sound designed specifically to represent the brand
  
  

In these cases, sound is treated as background rather than as part of the brand’s identity. The result is work that looks polished but doesn’t linger in memory.

Improving emotion and brand recall doesn’t always mean changing the idea or the script. Often, it means being more intentional with sound.

A few principles make a big difference:

Start with feeling
Before choosing music, decide how you want people to feel. Sound should be chosen to support that emotional goal, not just fill space.

Create something recognisable
A custom sonic element gives people something to associate with the brand. Over time, that recognition builds faster and sticks longer.

Follow the shape of the story
Emotion rises and falls. Music should do the same. Sound that evolves with the narrative feels more natural and more engaging.

Test and learn
Sound can be explored and refined just like visuals or copy. Small changes can have a big impact on how an ad is felt and remembered.

When an ad underperforms on emotion or brand recall, that’s not just a creative problem. It’s a brand opportunity.

Sound has the ability to strengthen feeling, improve memory, and create consistency across campaigns. When it’s treated as a strategic asset rather than an afterthought, it doesn’t just support the work.

It helps people remember who it was for.

Why do ads score low on emotion in System1 testing?

Usually because the music is generic, does not match the emotional tone of the story, or was added late instead of shaping the ad from the start.

Why is brand recall weak even when the ad looks great?

Because nothing distinctive ties the experience back to the brand. Sound is one of the fastest ways to build that distinctiveness, since people remember melodies more easily than most visual details.

How much difference can a sonic identity make to brand recall?

A significant one. When we tested the Pedigree sonic logo using SoundOut, it scored 95 percent brand recall, showing how quickly a distinctive sonic asset can anchor a brand in memory.

Does fixing the sound mean changing the ad's script or idea?

No. Improving emotion and recall is usually about being more intentional with the sound already in the brief, not rewriting the concept.

Want a second opinion on why your ad is scoring low on emotion or recall? Speak to the team and we'll show you what the sound could be doing differently.