Every now and then, you see an ad that really grabs you and delivers a feeling or connection or perhaps increases loyalty or interest with the brand.
That’s honestly part of what I love about a brand. They care enough to create something that resonates with their audience and creates a cult following.
It’s hard to do, and there are a lot of misses. A lot of advertising just becomes background noise.
And as a viewer, it’s hard to appreciate how hard it is to make something that is really great and what might have gone on behind the scenes to make that happen.
I’ve saved a bunch that grabbed my attention and stood out in my view, and shared them below and why I like them.
I commend the agencies and companies that created these because the internal approval process alone requires people to be on board with trying something new or different rather than playing it safe.
Here they are in no particular order:
Amica Insurance
This one got me. I was looking for something on YouTube, and this ad popped up.
I watched the entire thing. The storytelling is beautiful, and it creates a unique feeling toward Amica.
Ads and selling can and should be art.
It's meant to move people. To tell stories and to reveal your position and brand uniquely.
We skip so many ads these days, it's nice to come across one that hits.
I don’t know a lot about Amica, but my opinion about the company changed after this ad, and I kid you not, I started looking into using them.
Credits
Honda - Unstoppable Dreams
This commercial came on while I was watching sports on Fubo, and I loved it. I love an underdog story and love anything that inspires. It starts with a negative message and reverses it.
Credits:
AirBNB
AirBNB created a series of these sorts of clay stop-motion animations that do a great job to make a strong use case for AirBNB. This one in particular I saw and loved because it’s so simple but makes a clear and compelling case to rent an AirBNB instead. It’s also visually entertaining to watch.
Credits:
Made in collaboration with BUCK Animation, these films show the many moments that booking an Airbnb makes more sense than booking a hotel.
FedEx
Part of selling is getting and holding the audience’s attention. And to also explain the product or service in a relatable way. This is an entertaining animation that tells a short story that’s fun to watch. Check it out:
Credits:
https://buck.co/work/fedex-tall-tales
Nike - winning isn’t for everyone
Apparently, this one turned some people off, but when I first saw it and heard Willem Dafoe’s voiceover, I loved it because it intentionally agitates and pushes buttons that perhaps many of us need to hear at times. It communicates that winning is hard and can be brutal. But in many cases, that’s what it takes. For Nike, their brand celebrates athletes and the pursuit of greatness, so in my view, it works:
Credits:
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Production Company: Somesuch
One Password
In the B2B world, and especially with things like cybersecurity, things can get pretty dry. This is a fun way to talk about a cybersecurity product that, in my view, made me want to look into the product.
When thinking about software or B2B-related tools or services, it can be good to really look from all angles, including collabs with other products to cross-pollinate, making it fun or funny, entertaining, or educational.
Credits:
Agency / Creative: Maximum Effort
Brand / Client: 1Password
Polestar 5
This is hard not to watch, beginning to end. Admittedly, I’m a Bond fan, making me biased here. This is a fun way to walk through a car’s features and functions.
Credits:
Production: Produced entirely by Polestar’s in-house creative team.
IBM AI
IBM made a series of these ads. They move away from the previous IBM ads and instead use Red Bull-like animation that I think works well. There’s a lot of noise and confusion around AI, and these ads by IBM help to communicate it in simple terms. Animation has a way of softening edges. Making things more digestible, and these ones work well:
Credits:
