When you grace the cover of The NEWS, you leave an impression. Research proves it. When NEWS subscribers were asked if they remembered seeing Honeywell International's advertisement in the April 18 issue, an amazing 96 percent of invited respondents said they could not help but see the in-your-face cover wrap ad, which touted the company's new thermostat lineup. Just as eye-popping was the fact that more than half of the invited respondents - 58 percent, to be exact - said they found the ad of interest.

"The Honeywell ad was a real eye-catcher," admitted Aaron York, one of The NEWS' Contractor Consultants, whose day job is running Aaron York's Quality A/C of Indianapolis. "It was impossible to miss."

Therefore, when it came time to select the top ads placed in The NEWS for 2005, there was no denying that Honeywell earned a top slot for its colorful page 1 presentation. It was the lone advertiser that caught nearly all of the eyes of The NEWS' beholders - and that is half of what advertising is all about. "The display of the thermostat clearly depicting all the function features was magnetic," is how York put it. In fact, the contractor was so impressed, he said he "paused long enough to review the many features available."

Like Honeywell, York International could say it turned more than a few heads with its two-page advertising spread, which appeared on pages 14 and 15 of the Feb. 7 issue. Ninety-four percent of NEWS respondents remembered seeing that ad, with 41 percent stating they found the printed material interesting. "It certainly caught my attention and was memorable, as well as interesting," commented NEWS Contractor Consultant Roger Grochmal, president of Atlas Air/Climate Care of Mississauga, Ontario. "It made me feel good to be a York dealer."

These two ads were the lone duo to get a better-than-90 percent scoring in the "I saw it" category. To create our top ads list for 2005, The NEWS relied on the results from research companies that conduct thousands of mail survey research projects for publishers, advertisers, and their agencies. (For complete methodology, see the related story "Method Behind The Madness: The NEWS Selects The Top Ads Of 2005" in this issue).

While Honeywell and York ranked high, other manufacturers making the grade with NEWS readers were Lennox, Honeywell Genetron, Carrier Totaline, Rheem and Ruud, Sporlan, Maytag, Bristol, Fieldpiece, Mitsubishi, White-Rodgers/Emerson Climate Technologies, American Standard, and Lux.

The winning ads are highlighted in the following stories in this issue:

"Up Close And Personal"

"History Lesson"

"Big Is Not Always Better"

"Aerial View Draws Attention"

"Vvvvrooommmm!!"

"Catchy, Real Catchy"

"Plenty Of Information"

"Pretty, Blue House"

"Familiar, Very Familiar"

"Clean And Simple"

"Bragging Is OK"

"Boat Gets Hauled By An HVACR Van"

"The Color Is Blue"

"Money And More Money"

"When An Attractive Woman Is Involved"

Publication date: 12/12/2005