67 Creative Campaigns That Caught Our Eye in the Second Half of 2024
Creative inspiration for the modern marketer from the past six months
Each Friday, Agency SOS puts out a short email newsletter with three things that caught our eye that week — campaigns, PR stunts, art installations, branded entertainment, and other inspiring bits.
Most marketers are so mired in the day-to-day on their own brands, they often miss interesting ideas from other industries. We highlight three each week and, hopefully, inspire people as they think about the next creative activation for their brand.
If you don’t already subscribe…you really should! (Listen to these people.)
Here are the 67 campaigns (in chronological order) that grabbed our attention from July to December.
01. Silly treat
Pop-Tarts reinvigorated their brand last year by getting silly and surreal. (Letting football victors consume your mascot is definitely a bold move.) They have some new 15s out that prove the power a goofy mascot costume and a willingness to just have fun.
Watch “Heaven,” “Bus,” “Swing,” and “Small Munch.” Read about it.
02. Meaty game
If you’re of a certain age, you probably placed a quarter on the BurgerTime video game cabinet, claiming your turn to play next. The classic has received a retro re-do from Chili’s, offering players a chance to smash the competition’s rising burger prices.
03. Meet cute
“Meet cute” is a rom-com staple and more than one dating app has built ads around them. This new campaign from Tinder highlights modern matches and honors the genre, but finds enough unique elements in the couple’s exchange to avoid complete cliché.
Watch “Rescue,” “Taxi,” and “Rain.” Read about it.
04. Bad tours
Viator has two new ads touting the value of their guided tours by showcasing BAD ones — one that features a very angry goat and one that features the worst tour of London, ever.
Watch “Don’t Get Left Hanging” and “Actual Piccadilly Circus.” Read about it.
05. McD birthdays
If you’re a kid of the 1970s or 80s, you will remember attending a birthday party at McDonalds. McD’s (and Leo Burnett) tap into that nostalgia to celebrate the chain’s 50th anniversary in the UK. It features a young fella with some pretty great moves.
06. Bird watchers
Let’s acknowledge the layers of irony — an advertising newsletter praising an ad that’s about protecting you from from ad tracking which is the backbone of modern digital advertising. But if you can look past all that, this new film from Apple is a lovely piece of storytelling craft and a sneaky Hitchcockian metaphor about privacy.
07. Fantasy feels
Did you know that fantasy football was a thing way back in the 1970s? We learned that tidbit from a new campaign by ESPN (and agency BSSP) that gives us a peek into the fantasy sports subculture. Not sure we totally understand eating hot wings to win first pick in a fantasy draft, but the spots are well done.
Watch “Wings,” “That 70s League,” and “Table.” Read about the campaign.
08. Safe flight
Way back in 2007, Virgin America (RIP) reinvented the airline safety video (with help from agency Anomaly) with this animated gem. They replaced it with VXsafetydance in 2013, which is still a bop, and was hailed as “the greatest safety video of all time.”
Since then, lots of airlines have produced their own (watch here or here) and it’s still a good way to show off what makes your brand unique while checking off a piece of mandatory content.
British Airlines has a new one out that’s heavily influenced by Bridgerton-mania. I’m not sure we need a 5-min-plus safety video, but there’s no denying the production value and craft in this “period drama.”
Watch it. Read about it. (Watch the behind-the-scenes.)
09. Receipt craft
Lovely little spot with a visual technique we haven’t seen before — using receipt paper as a stop-motion medium. It’s for the UK’s largest consumer co-op, and the ad is designed to remind the public of their origin and values. Form meets function.
10. Koala wipes
A smooth-talking koala that encourages you to use a “selfishly soft” toilet paper? We’re in! Really like this new campaign (and refreshed take on their spokes-koala) from Cushelle and Publicis London.
11. Cute kid
Sometimes you see an ad and think, “Hey, they sold the pitch video” (which means “that manifesto thing that they showed the client to get them excited about the strategy and win the business.”)
That probably isn’t really the case for Carter’s new “More than just cute” campaign (Mischief doesn’t pitch, for one thing.) Plus, the “pitch video” slur sounds pejorative and this is pretty good (the VO is 👌🏻.) But it IS a nice anthem-y roll out of the new strategy. The :30 is strong and the :06s are a smart way to do hard-working short-form creative.
Watch the 30. See the 06s: Dinner, Wine, Dog, and Bike. Read about it (including a Q&A with the CMO.)
12. Period points
Bodyform is talking about menstruation. Their “It’s never just a period” short film and campaign (from AMV BBDO) is striking, stylized, and powerful. It seeks to spark a conversation with a clear demand from women: “It’s time for a world that actually understands our bodies.”
13. 🍑 stuff
Well, we lost a few subscribers over this one, but this might be the best ad ever made for…butt sex toys. EasyToys, Europe’s biggest adult retailer is inviting people to join their “Asstronaut Training Program.” (Now that’s a pun we can get behind!) The cheeky ad from agency Officer & Gentleman is mostly SFW (the product notwithstanding) and is made with a lot of style.
14. 🤖 dance
Does London’s most gigantic indoor music venue (15,000 person capacity!?) need its own ad to promote its new season of concerts? When they make something this weird, yes please. Drumsheds (with help from Stink Films) promises “big just got BIGGER.”
15. 💻 rage
Fun new series of spots from Currys (the UK’s largest tech retailer) on how to solve “laptop rage.” Classic problem-solution spots (from AMV BBDO) with good performances that elevate them. The “Beyond techspectations” tagline is a bit eye-rolly, even for us dedicated punsters, but we do like a spot that starts with a rage-filled scream.
Watch Chromebook, HP, and Lenovo. Read about it.
16. Sizzling pitch
Have to admit, it’s been a long time since we’ve thought about Sizzler restaurant. This new campaign from the steak house chain (and the folks at Mischief) sees former MLB pitcher Randy Johnson come out of retirement to help a winless kid’s team. It feels like a documentary (but suspect it’s just great writing and performances.) And, yes, there are short-form ads, but we watched the whole, long 5-minute-and-47-second film and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not many ads you can say that about.
Watch the long version. Or this funny POV spot from the pitcher himself. Watch the :15s here. Read about it.
17. Sub jingle
Big Mac has a jingle. Whopper has a jingle. So the folks at Firehouse Subs (and their agency Orchard) thought, “Why can’t we?” Turns out, the answer is “because the Hook & Ladder has too much stuff in it.” Dig the smart way to tell the story in a series of 15s.
Watch Take #1, Take #2, Take #30, Take #94. Watch the :30. Read about it.
18. Butcher smarts
“You can ask your butcher anything,” is a good hook for this campaign to promote Canadian beef. Simple set ups, solid performances, and each spot makes the same point in a fun way. Nice little campaign.
Watch Penguins, Hiccups, and Shirt. Read about it.
19. Morning jingles
The over-explain-sing gimmick has been done before, but we love a goofy jingle. These fun new :15s for Totino’s (from Dentsu) are a throwback to a simpler, sunnier TV approach.
Watch “Wakey, Wakey” and “Momstache.” Read about it.
20. ⚽️ sponsorship
To celebrate its new partnership with the Premier League, Guinness just launched (what the press release calls) “their biggest-ever global campaign.” It includes four films (from agency AMV BBDO); the first two are out now and two more are coming in the weeks ahead. “Eriskay” is set on an island where 10% of the population plays on the only football team and “Brothers” captures the fraternal passion of two Nigerian siblings. (“Rooftop” and “Replay” will be out soon.) The “Debut” film highlights 20 customized beer-tankers that represent all the Premier League clubs. And we stan a good, simple print ad.
Watch “Brothers,” “Eriskay Island,” and “Debut.” See the print ad. Read about the campaign.
21. Monday blues
We don’t speak Norwegian, but we still appreciate these spots from Norway about the Monday blues. Finn (a job app) personifies “Monday” as an annoying colleague that shows up at the worst times — child birth, your death bed — to suggest that it may be time for a new job.
Watch “Push Push” and “Final Email.” Read about it.
22. Finance fakes
CFOs are people too…except, maybe they’re not? That’s the case in this new NerdWallet commercial where the “hero” admits, “I’m not even human…I’m cake!” The spot (from Deutsch LA) is well done and the right kind of weird.
23. Fentanyl facts
Public health campaigns are tricky: you have to get important facts across, but nobody wants a lecture. This new campaign from the California Department of Health (and agency Duncan Channon) finds a smart, light way in to make a point about the hidden dangers of fentanyl.
Watch “Party’s Over” and “The Light.” “Grains of Salt” and “Real vs. Fake” are more straightforward, but hard-hitting. Read about the campaign.
24. Real weird
This is just so dumb, we can’t decide if we love it or hate it (and that’s a compliment.) Direct TV got SF 49er George Kittle to “go bald” to explain that you don’t need a satellite dish (“nothing on your roof”) to watch football on DirectTV. As Kittle helpfully explains, “it’s a metaphor.” Oh, and you can enter to win a special footBALD helmet. Good lord, that’s terrible. Or wonderful. Or both.
25. Nicole is everywhere
Gametime, the ticketing app, introduced a new spokes-character named Nicole and she’s, well…everywhere. (Including your couch, to let you know how much you can save on concert tickets.)
Watch “Surprisingly Big Savings,” and “What Time Is It?” Read about the campaign.
26. Hinge is everywhere
Hinge, the dating app, gets a shout-out because every time we scanned the trades this week, we saw a different campaign from them — video, outdoor, even a new book of love stories. At a time when brands agonize over making one “perfect” ad, Hinge knows that lots of “at bats” is the way to get noticed. We also dig a campaign designed around deleting their product; when you’re taken, you’re taken!
See the outdoor. Read about their book. Watch their latest ads: cold plunge, follow me, grumpy cat, and art class. Read about the campaign. Read this interview with the CMO.
27. Tubi is for everyone
These new Tubi ads (from Mischief) are a delight because they tweak the eye-rolly “we honor the heroes” ad genre, where brands pat themselves on the back for helping a particular group. Tubi’s brand promise is simple: we’re free for everyone, whether you’re a good person or an a-hole. Good, funny, effective stuff.
Watch “Proud to Be Free” and “Small Business Owners.” Read about it.
28. Brand right, not wrong
Holy smokes, this is great and if you manage a brand you should download it, immediately. “The Wrong Brand Book” from The Wrong Agency and Kevin Lynch (formerly of Oatly) and designer Alexander Knutagård. It is chock-full of no b.s. wisdom about brand building. Plus it’s a visual feast.
See and download it.
29. Tools of the trade
Love the simplicity of this one. How does B&Q Tradepoint let tradespeople know they have everything for the job? But letting real tradespeople list all the things needed for the job. Charming work from agency Uncommon/London.
Watch Bathroom, Floor, and Stud Wall. Read about the campaign.
30. Apple demo masterclass
Apple really has no equal when it comes to events and product launches. Earlier this week, they hosted a 1-hour-and-40-minute event (you can watch the whole thing here) that included TEN product videos, each made with their signature craft. Most brands would kill themselves to produce one.
Watch all 10 Apple videos. (Interesting to note the differences between this iPhone Pro explainer and the “vibes” approach of this iPhone hype film. Different purposes, both great in their own way.)
31. Train flips
These days, Liquid Death gets a lot of attention for its put-out-a-lot-of-content approach to marketing. But in a lot of ways, they’re following the playbook established by Red Bull. The energy drink company invests heavily in the strategy (spending 30% of sales on marketing compared to 10% for most competitors) and their adventure sports stunts attract millions of eyeballs. Their latest: bike flips on a moving train.
Watch it. Read about it. Read the interview.
32. Mountain mirrors
“The anthem spot” is a cliché in ad land, but it doesn’t mean that they’re not effective. (And clients LOVE ’em, so they ain’t going away any time soon.) North Face has a new one called “We Play Different.” The words are what you’d expect, but the mirror-image visual technique makes it all a bit more interesting.
33. Window in time
It’s not quite holiday spot season yet (the U.K.’s “Super Bowl” in terms of big splashy ads) but John Lewis (and Saatchi & Saatchi) has big one out this week, celebrating 100 years of window displays. Wish the VO was a little less wall-to-wall, but it’s a nice look back at an iconic part of the retailer.
34. Get saucy
Dig this new campaign from Firehouse Subs (and agency Orchard) re-introducing their hot sauce bar. A simple premise (everything great should have a hot sauce bar) finds the funny in three different spots.
Watch “Settle Down” “Wedding” and “Restaurant.” Read this interview with David Kolbusz and Tim Godsall on the behind-the-scenes.
35. Zombie pants
Would love to have been in the room when they pitched, “the best way to sell more wool clothing is with a big-budget zombie apocalypse ad.” Eye-catching and provocative.
Watch it. Read about it. (Their 2022 ad was pretty provocative, too.)
36. VW whimsy
Volkswagen (and Ogilvy South Africa) have a playful new spot with a lightheaded take on safety. “Whimsical car spots” probably hit their high-water mark with the Audi Clowns spot back in 2017, but this one is sweet — similarly circus-like, but less chaotic.
37. Scream team
Not sure how these are going to age (it may be a campaign that makes you laugh on first view and run-and-hide on the twentieth) but there’s no denying that these spots command attention. The shout-y ads from Roku (and new agency Fellow Kids) land with a delightful line: “Less screaming. More streaming.”
Watch “Remote,” “Couple,” and “Parents” Read about it.
38. Queen jeans
When Beyoncé’s latest album featured a song called “Levii’s Jeans,” you had to expect some sort of brand collab was on the horizon. It dropped this week: a re-imagined version of “Launderette,” an iconic Levi’s ad from 1985. (Our favorite upgrade: Queen Bey swapping plain old stones for diamonds.) It’s labeled as “Chapter 1,” so presumably there are more to come. And the campaign will include out-of-home, digital, social media, print, brand activations and exclusive products.
Watch it. Read about it. Read the history of the original spot.
39. Screen dreams
Squarespace has three new entries in its “a website makes it real” campaign. These well-crafted, splashy spots employ visual effects to show how a simple website can make any small business dream come to life.
Watch “Scuba,” “Muscles,” and “Bakery.” Read about campaign and/or the visual FX.
40. Burberry weather
Burberry dropped a big, expansive campaign this week. Seven spots, seven celebs, and seven products. All based on a line that doubles as a brand and product truth: “It’s Always Burberry Weather.”
Watch The Quilt with Olivia Colman, The Trench with Zhang Jingyi, The Puffer with Barry Keoghan, The Aviator with Cara Delevingne, The Harrington with Eberechi Eze, and The Duffle with Cole Palmer. Read about it.
41. Lemon power
This came out a few weeks ago, but we just saw it. This quirky spot from Suntory (and Johannes Leonardo) launches Japan’s #1 vodka seltzer in the U.S. with the zaniness and aesthetic of Japanese commercials.
Watch the hero spot, work song, wrong text, you too, bath time, and how it’s made. Read about it.
42. Lo-fi dookie
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album, Dookie, the band Green Day put out truly-terrible-but-sort-of-awesome versions of every song on the album. “Dookie Demastered” is a nostalgic performance art piece, where songs are “played” via such objects as the 80s animatronic bear Teddy Ruxpin, a singing toothbrush, GameBoy cartridge, and more. It’s weird and (shall we say it?) a little punk rock.
See the site and listen to them all. Read about it.
43. Packaging perfection
We’re sharing a fourth this week, because this is absolutely one of our favorite design and identity systems that we’ve EVER seen. And it’s for…seeds. Piccolo Seeds’ The Botanical Alphabet showcases the impact of thoughtful branding and the art of storytelling. Just gorgeous work.
See it.
44. Tender battle
In their new campaign, KFC (and agency Highdive) declare an end to the chicken sandwich wars…and the beginning of the chicken tender battle. It’s sort of a QSR Braveheart and it includes TV, print, digital, and even tender-themed merch.
Watch it. Read about it. See the print.
45. Nutty texts
This is just such a silly, playful, smart idea. There are 1,300 peanuts in every jar of Jif peanut butter. To honor that fact, they are sending out free jars of Jif if you text them the word “peanut”…1,300 times. Fun work from Leo Burnett Toronto.
46. McD mural
This is the best thing we saw this week. It’s long — 19-minutes — but it’s a story well told and well worth your time. It touches on craft and legacy and the homogenization of culture and it all starts at a McDonalds.
Watch it. (If you want to skip past the intro and just start where the story begins, click here.)
47. Tile tales
“Storytelling” is one of the most overused words in advertising and, usually, it’s just a label slathered on top of a hard-sell pitch to make us ad-makers feel less crummy about ourselves. But this new campaign from Life360 (the Tile app folks) and agency Alto are legit mini-stories with a delightful product payoff at the end. Dark and funny, all three are worth a watch.
Watch Funeral, Curfew, and Coat. Read about the campaign.
48. Hamm hams
If you’re going to use a celebrity in your campaign, make good use of that celebrity. Jon Hamm hams it up for Canadian delivery service SkipTheDishes. Agency Courage find the funny in repeating the same joke over and over again, but in a completely charming way. Great performances throughout (as you would expect from director David Shane.)
49. Nobody cares (the musical)
Fiverr has a provocative pitch for this new campaign: “Tired of hearing about AI? Us too. So we wrote a musical about it.” It uses AI to throw AI under the bus but also celebrates AI and encourages you to use its service to hire people to help you with AI…strategically, it’s all over the map (and has been sharply criticized.) But if you live in marketing-land you’re probably sick of all the AI slobber; this definitely taps into those feelings of frustration.
50. Mattress-cide
This new campaign from IKEA (and Mother London) has a good insight (social media scrolling is keeping us up at night) and a surprising, satisfying, slapstick turn that made us LOL. Definitely not your average mattress ad.
Watch TikToker, Thirst Trap, and Hustle Bro. Read about it.
51. College Cox
When actor Brian Cox wrapped up Succession, he must have told his agent “I’ll do any commercial they offer me,” because he’s in a million of ’em. His latest is for Uber Eats and, yes, he plays a version of curmudgeon Brian Cox, but making him a college freshman is pretty funny. (Plus, great performances from director David Shane.)
52. Apple’s strength
One of the reasons that ad folks constantly refer to Apple isn’t just because they have unlimited production budgets and craft impeccable work. It’s because they are masters at simplifying. They know that nobody really cares about “speeds and feeds” and they focus on a singular benefit. Since most of us in ad land spend our lives begging clients not to cram a fourth RTB into a 15-second ad, it’s little wonder we constantly point to Apple and say, “Can we be more like them?”
Which is a long way of saying that their new ad for their new microchip doesn’t spend any time talking about the tech specs of their new microchip and instead leans into a metaphor: power equals freedom.
P.S. Apple also released new spots this week highlighting the real-world benefits of its AI features.
53. Waldo feels seen
There will be a million holiday ads in the next few weeks. It’s a trickier brief than you would think — tickle the nostalgia receptors but don’t tip over into eye-rolly schmaltz (looking at you Amazon janitor ad.) This new one for Etsy (from Orchard) strikes the right balance. We like the clever insight at the core of the creative idea: “It’s not just where’s Waldo, but WHO’s Waldo.”
54. Teriyaki heals
“Sing the funny story” is a tried and true ad trope, but it still has its charms. Teriyaki Madness (and agency Party Land) do it in their latest ad. Apparently, “teriyaki fixes everything,” even nude sleepwalking.
55. Brighter future?
Not gonna lie…it’s been a tough week, post election. The kind of week where you question your taste and judgement because the things you think are “good” and “effective” prove to be neither. Because we really liked this final ad from Kamala Harris. Thought it was compelling and made a strong closing argument. Apparently, we were wrong. Sharing it anyway.
Watch “Brighter Future.”
56. Donkey song
So…many…holiday…ads. (Disney dropped this epic, Olipop released a charmer, Gap sings, Target released two including an anthem and “hot Santa.”) But one of our favorites from the season so far is this one from Telstra (and agency Bear Meets Eagle on Fire) about a donkey that swallows a phone.
57. Mousy influencer
“Let’s create a mouse influencer to sell our mouse killer” is one of those ideas that, when the creative team first brings it in you think, “Well THAT is interesting.” Tomcat (and The Martin Agency) do a lovely job with concept with a stop-motion unboxing-gone-bad. “Not recommended by mice…because they’re dead” is a good tagline.
58. Porky rain
“Sizzling bacon and rain sound the same” is one of those insights-hiding-in-plain-sight that may or may not be enough of a nugget on which to base a campaign. Greenfield Natural Meat Co (and No Fixed Address) make a go of it. The “sound effects library” execution feels a little niche, but the “rain as soundtrack for bacon billboard” is a simple and effective idea that has legs.
See and hear the billboard. Watch and read about the sound effects library.
P.S. Sound-producing outdoor FTW.
59. Reindeer games
Some lovely new holiday ads out this week (French teens want a smartphone, the origins of “Silent Night”) but one of our favorites is from Norway’s postal service. A mockumentary about a hard-partying reindeer isn’t the most obvious way to sell stamps, but they pull this one off with a lot of style and every celebrity-gone-bad cliché you can think of.
60. Large luggage
“Faux out-of-home” has become a thing in the last few years. Videos of slightly surreal “outdoor activations” that feel too fantastic to be real. And they’re not…they’re digitally created fakes, but shot in such a way so that you ask, “Did bus-sized purses really drive down that street?” “Did a giant bottle of hot sauce really emerge from that cruise ship?”
But now Louis Vuitton created something that, at first blush, feels like it’s probably Faux OOH, but it’s actually real — they turned their flagship store into a 16-story tall stack of high-end trunks. Instead of covering their building in scaffolding for its remodel, they invested in something that that will generate millions in earned media attention. And the up-close craft showcased in the IRL execution is something special.
See it. Read about it. More here.
61. Outrage FTW!
It’s been a great week to be part of the ad land outrage posse! Think A.I. is a crime against creativity? This new Coke ad is a perfect vehicle for your white-hot rage. Do you have STRONG options about what makes a good corporate logo? Jaguar’s new logo invites you to lose your mind in a 2,000-word LinkedIn post.
Hell hath no fury like a marketer with a need for thought-leadership content.
All the froth is a little hot and ridiculous and a sign that many have too much time on their hands. Coke has used animation for years (hate to break it to you, but the polar bears weren’t real, either.) A car brand with declining sales is rolling the dice on a new identity to try and stay relevant. We’re not in love with either of these campaigns, but they’re hardly war crimes.
62. Apple tugs heartstrings
“Emotional storytelling” is a tough needle to thread in advertising. Done well, it can create a real connection with the audience. But veer too much into cheesy schmaltz, and you risk becoming a meme (not in a good way.) Apple does a nice job walking the line with this new spot promoting AirPods’ hearing aid functionality. When you call your ad “Heartstrings,” you’re clear-eyed about the brief.
63. Pee in the pit
Liquid Death’s mantra is “make entertainment, not marketing” and that’s what makes them one of the most successful marketers today. They create stuff that garners eyeballs because people want to watch it, not because they were forced to sit through a paid placement. It gives them enormous freedom to try lots and lots of stuff, as long as they keep their product as the “core character” at the center. Their latest: an adult diaper so you don’t have to leave the mosh pit to pee.
Watch it. Buy it. Read about it.
64. Dodge balls
In Canada, gym teachers are responsible for teaching sex ed. But it seems that some are not getting the job done. THIS gem of a campaign seeks to remedy the situation: a direct mail approach that sends gym teachers dodge balls to make sure they don’t dodge talking about, well…balls.
65. Pixelated outdoor
OK, this is a little heady and technical, but it’s super cool for us ad nerds. To promote their innovations in video resolution, Vimeo (and Uncommon Studio) have a campaign where the outdoor advertising gets more “high-def” the closer you get to the event. The case study explains it better than we will here, but worth checking out.
Watch and read about it.
66. Motion WOW
This motion graphics piece from Clim studio might be one of the best “here’s our new brand identity” videos we’ve ever seen.
Watch it.
67. Dancing Dick
National treasure Dick Van Dyke turned 99 this week. And here he is, dancing barefoot in a Spike Jonze-directed Coldplay video, reminiscing about his life. We think that’s a fine final pick to wrap up 2024.
303 Bonus Bits
Yeah, we include bonus links in each issue. Here are all 303. Some gems in here, so click away!
🦅 The cream cheese country song you didn’t know you needed.
🤯 This drone tour of Best Buy’s new in-house studio is pretty amazing.
🟦 Absolut rediscovers Warhol’s blue.
🍟 McDonalds hides their logo, Where’s Waldo style.
🖐🏼 Etsy keeps commerce human.
👷🏻♀️ Rosie the Riveter as gig worker.
🥣 Mac n’ cheese pre-stained dinnerware.
😱 Small business nightmares from Quickbooks.
🎾 Federer vs. Zendaya for for On footwear.
🥔 Kyle is excited about potato cakes.
🤫 YETI snuck their new flask into their logo.
☕️ Coffee-mate celebrates the world’s biggest coffee lover.
🏃🏿♂️➡️ Channel 4 just released their annual film promoting the 2024 Paralympic Games.
👴🏻 Grandpa’s decapitated head has a charcoal reco!
🍎 The Apple Underdogs are back.
🌭 Nathan’s Famous brand refresh.
🧸 The theatre of selling stuffed animals.
🛏️ IKEA 3-D billboard.
🎨 Alice Pasquini’s murals.
☕️ Dunkin’ deploys boy band alums for new single.
😺 Coinbase uses cat memes to explain blockchain benefits.
☀️ A dystopian ad campaign to promote the horrors of climate change.
🥾 A crappy way to lay people off, IMHO.
🧨 Gap’s latest dance spot has kids channel their inner Napoleon Dynamite.
⚾️ Topps gets nostalgic for its new card collecting spot.
📺 A.I.-generated TV ads are here.
🤑 Cannes Lions just sold itself for $1.6 billion (with a “b.”)
🧱 Nokia is bringing back the brick phone.
💡 Where the creative industry is heading and how to survive.
🌈 World of color: toys and paper craft.
🏅 The Olympics start this week and there are lots of new campaigns: Figs | Nike | Uber | Molson | Apple | BBC | Pampers | Hyundai | Air Canada | Visa | Puma | Coca-Cola (not to be confused with the Coke-branded official “song of the Olympics”)
🚘 IKEA Canada just ran the 20-year-old “Start the car!” spot during the Olympics and got a bunch of press for it. (How many of us are making ads that will be run in 20 years?)
🥜 Wish we’d written “duo the nuts…and duo the flavor.”
🍟 “Draw me like one of your french fries” oil paintings.
💻 Does screen time help or hinder creativity?
🗽 Apparently, Vitaminwater is from New York.
🐦⬛ New campaign for Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Watch it.
🩲 New Speedo identity.
✍🏻 Can you draw a brand logo from memory?
📈 Mojo Supermarket July 2024 trend report.
😢 Lots of creative people are out of work. It’s taking a toll.
💸 What causes the biggest waste of money in advertising? Swirl.
🧻 Don’t know whether to applaud or condemn the folks that sold “We Quilt This City.”
🤔 John asks: Are we still going to have IRL commercial shoots? and What if I don’t WANT to teach classes?
🧊 Sometimes, the brief is “just list all the things we do” but if you find the right scenario and context, you can make it funny. This new Carstar ad is a good example.
🐻 Kraft Mac & Cheese is like a warm bear hug.
💀 How Liquid death cuts through without big media buys.
😡 According to this survey, full-time creatives are unhappy.
🐬 Did your inflatable kill a dolphin? This campaign says it might.
🧀 Velveeta jumps on the giant cheese wheel trend.
🇬🇷 Lovely slice-of-life spot for this Greek beer brand.
📦 Free not-so-boring mockup templates.
🤠 Surreal spots say “Sling lets you do that.”
🍔 Peak nostalgia? McDonals offers the Collector’s Meal collection.
🦁 Sigh. Cannes Lions gobbles up The Effies.
🍗 This spot for a chicken restaurant in Thailand brings epic movie moments to life.
🛑 Illustrator Christoph Niemann says “you don’t have to share all your crummy work.”
🙄 You know your ad sales business is going great when you sue your customers to make them come back.
🩻 A pitch story that reminds us that the ad business will take as much from us as we are willing to give.
🍫 Liquid Death introduces hot fudge sundae-flavored water in a very Liquid Death way.
🐖 Tiny pig steals DoorDash spot.
🎾 This whisper-quiet tennis spot.
🤣 Comedy festival brand identity.
🏞️ Zoe Scaman releases The New Landscape of Loyalty.
🏠 AirBNB’s life-size Polly Pocket pop-up.
🍺 Heineken celebrates forgotten beers.
🎧 Beats pits Kim Kardashian against Jimmy Fallon.
🔈 Rebranding Marshall, the legendary speaker manufacturer.
💡 Do you want to have a job in advertising three years from now?
🖼️ This film to promote an art museum is a year old, but we just saw it and like it. (This interview with the director is new.)
💺 There’s a new “raw dog” trend where you fly without any devices or distractions. This demented site takes it to the next level.
👎 Why we declined to participate in a big brand RFP.
💯 How many lines should you write when your CD asks you for headlines?
🧫 A logo created by live bacteria.
👵🏻 Lively new spot from Dove: beauty never gets old.
🚕 Zoox robotaxi takes 104-year-old for a ride.
🗣️ Favor app deploys an auctioneer for new campaign.
👓 Nice Specsavers billboard.
✋🏻 Pop-Tarts goes super-sized.
📢 10 most effective ad slogans of all time.
📱 “I am not a typo” wants auto-correct to be a little less racist.
🚽 When you sell the client, “How about a branded toilet?”
🔥 Snoop is back with Solo Stove, gettin’ blunt.
👖 Gap’s latest dance.
🗽 Steve Madden gets very NYC for fall collection.
🩺 Doctor office posters (well, screens.)
👨🏻🎤 This Coachella animated film never aired.
🎞️ 1001 Movie Posters.
⚰️ Liquid Dead and YETI are teaming up to create a casket cooler.
🎒 We liked JanSport’s work earlier this summer and the new batch is equally charming.
🧃 Speaking of backpacks, Plezi made one out of sugar.
😷 “Creative directing my cancer.”
☕️ This cute coffee robot.
🔡 Jessica Walsh opened a type foundry.
🚤 See the speedboating walrus in this Virgin Media spot.
🎧 Headphone batteries that “last longer than yours.”
📉 CMO’s are spending less.
😑 In advertising, “wrong” can be right.
🐸 Why is this knitted frog so relaxing?
🥫 Why is it so fun to browse these CPG package designs? And these beverage designs?
🥬 Lettuce sings a song of savings (and AI ads made it possible.)
🤨 Do we really need those “drop your portfolio in the comments” LinkedIn posts?
⚙️ Our founder got himself interviewed by Little Black Book about the “work that made him.”
🍽️ Great outdoor from Tesco in this “fashion now does homeware” campaign.
👽 Olipop embraces aliens and dinosaurs in new ads.
🎨 Is it Payton or paintin’?
🎾 Dove says “nothing smells better than fresh balls.”
⌚️ Thank you, Rolex, for making more than one ad.
💄 E.l.f. cosmetics drops an album.
🚀 Pharrell makes space-themed LEGOs.
📋 Canva’s new “love your work” campaign.
🥑 Cheeky guac billboards.
⛽️ Starbucks gas pump ad.
🤦🏻♂️ Cringe: Not all brands should try and be “relevant.”
🛍️ Harvard Business Review explains how retailers became ad platforms.
🏈 There are SO MANY football-themed ads to start the NFL season: Tostitos | Corona | Gatorade | Hellman’s | Pepsi | BetMGM | Applebee’s | Progressive | Buffalo Wild Wings | The Farmer’s Dog
💨 Will Ferrell channels Fleetwood Mac for PayPal. (It does make us want a chime porch.)
👖 Ear worm alert! Wrangler revives classic jeans jingle.
💡 The art of Liquid Death’s unconventional marketing.
🏎️ Liquid Death has their own spin on NASCAR sponsorship.
🐻 Brisk brings back 90s claymation with Doja Cat.
✍🏻 How animation is used to tackle the trickiest subjects.
🎨 All the winners from the 2024 World Illustration Awards.
🍕 Pepsi “chases” pizza in “prank.”
🧢 The power and perils of “the mockup.”
🏀 ICYMI, this article about our new Gametime campaign.
🥣 A new Mikey likes it. Life cereal updates its classic commercial.
👰🏻 F-AORs? Maybe brands and agencies shouldn’t get married.
🎃 These Chipotle Halloween costumes are pretty good.
🛏️ Kids crawl into your bed? You’ll like this IKEA spot.
🍕 Pizza Hut puts your resume on a pizza box.
📼 The Blockbuster sign lives on.
💲 Paypal’s rebrand.
☕️ Dunkin’ taps Kristen Wiig.
👊 A simple guide on how to portray disability.
🏡 Lovely new spot for President’s Choice.
🤳🏻 Samsung station takeover trolls Apple.
🍅 Ketchup wedding. (People invite brands to their wedding?)
🛠️ Angi reminds folks that not all is what it seems on the Internet.
✍🏻 This autobiographical comic might be the best junior designer “resume” we’ve seen.
🎥 This A.I. edit tool suggests that the days of “reshoots” may be a coming to an end.
📦 You can’t accuse Amazon of not spending money on their B2B campaigns.
🔢 “We don’t treat you like a number” has been done lots of times, but Meridian Bank goes big in this new spot.
🤔 John wonders: is the new freelance/fractional revolution a good thing for everybody?
🏷️ This brand put their prices right on their packaging. Read why.
🎶 Really nice spot for Bloomberg Media: there’s music in the markets.
👂🏼 This amazing compilation of Zimoun’s sonic installations.
🏟️ Doritos is bringing back “Crash the Super Bowl.”
👟 Your desk is killing you.
🏫 Dove goes back to school.
📰 The Onion returns to print.
🕰️ The best time to post on social media.
👻 Super charming new Tesltra campaign: spot | outdoor
🗄️ Picsart campaign shows how they can help “no matter how you preneur.”
🍔 This smells like award show bait, but Burger King wants to buy new moms a meal.
🤞 This guy went the extra mile to try and get his dream job. (Shoot your shot, player.)
🍗 The KFC “bucket POV” thing feels like it’s been done a million times, but it still works pretty great in this new campaign.
🔥 Flashback: Yes, it’s from 7 years ago and it spawned that “I don’t wanna do the work today” meme, but have you ever watched the musical Firebringer? It’s pretty great.
🥞 Syrup meets Loverboy in “Working for the Weekend” for IHOP.
🎶 James Blunt is giving us all a chance to ruin his life.
👽 This alien ate a lot of pizza rolls.
🦝 Emotional support opossums.
💄 Make up optical illusions.
🇫🇷 A French TV commercial for a new song.
📝 Monster to-do list from Progressive.
👵🏻 “Geezology” from new agency Geezer.
📖 Updated iconic design book: Graphic Classics.
💸 How long would you be willing to work for free in advertising?
🧞♀️ Sydney Sweeney becomes ‘Body Wash Genie’ for Dr. Squatch.
🎃 Confession: horror scares us, so didn’t watch, but this Six Flags campaign is supposed to be legit scary.
🤖 Those AI robot podcasters said very nice things about Agency SOS.
🐿️ Did you know they hand out awards for comedy wildlife photography?
☀️ Dopamine design has invaded the grocery store.
📺 The first TV ad ever.
🖼️ There is a museum of bad art.
👵🏻 Skittles’ grandma swap.
🦅 Apple goes slo-mo.
⚓️ Levi’s is ditching Dockers. (John has a story.)
📸 Shutterfly goes after meaningless stuff.
🍁 Marks & Spencer has big autumn energy.
🍔 Shake Shack focuses on ingredients.
🎨 100 comics from Tara Booth.
🐵 Mailchimp uses its name many, many times in its new ad.
😂 This Twillory social ad where the model reveals WAY too much truth.
🤦🏻♂️ The Hawk Tuah girl opened her own agency. (Praying this is parody.)
😬 A rather frightening take on the future of our information environment.
☕️ Coffee mate does an extreme makeover on the teacher’s lounge.
🚨 The Motherload: The Truth About Motherhood In Adland
📻 Ben Marshall is Kim Kardashian’s pill boy.
🤪 The rise of DGAF brands.
🌊 The Navy hid soldiers in other brand’s ads.
🤦🏻♀️ A.I. photo edit puts conference speaker in her bra.
🧀 Rice-a-roni introduces macaroni.
🏃➡️ Nike honors post-marathon pain for us normals.
🏗️ Visuals in this new Rec Room spot “a real grabber.”
🔡 Fifty fonts that will be big in 2025. (Style yourself like classic fonts.)
👌🏻 When perfectionism makes you a better creative (and when it doesn’t.)
⏱️ Save time by clarifying if your creative brief is a WHAT or HOW brief.
🍕 Pizza Hut (and Mischief) open a restaurant for one.
💺 Malcom is not in the middle (seat.)
🚘 Hasselhoff riffs for Rivian.
🍑 Mr. Tight Ass discovers art.
🚂 A Fisher Price print ad from 1983.
🍊 JACQUEMUS cafes.
🤳🏻 Un-snatchable phone cases.
🐜 DoorDash gets antsy and embraces speed metal.
🥔 The genealogy of McDonald’s mini-hashbrowns.
🗳️ I-couldn’t-vote stickers.
🧟♂️ Snickers’ twerking zombie.
🛩️ New WestJet identity and campaign.
🤧 New Kleenex identity and campaign.
🌿 New Wild Thingz identify and campaign.
🚀 Huge library of product launch videos.
🥕 Tesco uses food as logo in fun new outdoor.
😱 Short film explores the horrors of crunchy snacks.
🍗 Not fried chicken ice cream (and other treats.)
📊 Beautiful data-vis on where people moved in 2023.
🏟️ Behind-the-scenes on our recent campaign for Gametime.
🔤 This amazing looking pop-up book puts the alphabet in motion.
🏆 Do we still believe in quality over quantity in ad land? (Did we ever?)
🐟 Goldfish crackers changes name to “Chilean Sea Bass Crackers.”
🛜 An epic spot for a home wi-fi router (with a pun from the Pet Shop Boys.)
👓 How to avoid strategy myopia. (“If you’re going in the wrong direction, it doesn’t matter how fast you’re going.” )
💀 New spooky spots from Beavertown brewery.
🏝️ A reminder to use your vacation days or lose them.
🦶🏻 Trick or treat, smell my feet.
🕷️ Dunkin spider donuts got spicy.
🖼️ Amsterdam museum campaign is a portal to another dimension.
🚗 Scout Motors is back with this nice nostalgic spot.
👎 Perfection is out.
💍 Tiffany’s holiday campaign.
🐵 Urban Outfitters says “Happy LOLidays.”
🤓 Etsy’s new holiday campaign featuring Where’s Waldo.
💋 Sephora says “don’t overthink it” this holiday season.
⚫️ Ogilvy put a giant melanoma sculpture on a beach.
🩺 Our recent LinkedIn campaign shows B2B doesn’t have to be boring.
⚔️ This might be our favorite (checks notes) SWORD CAMPAIGN we’ve ever seen.
😌 Calm ran this ad on election night.
🚢 A captain and chef cannot resist Aussie beef.
🆙 Why the “pop-up activation” bubble has burst.
👑 Clever gaming promotion from Burger King.
🏡 This local realtor has a pretty great social media approach.
💵 Barclays ad uses the “kids as adults” ad trope to nice effect.
🥛 Oreo’s updated DTC platform.
👀 World of wearable art.
🦜 This week in AI inspiration-slash-nightmare: bird fashion.
🛬 This documentary short about a couple who are the only occupants of their town.
🥥 &Walsh crafts new identity for Coconut Cult. See more.
🙅🏻♂️ Ad agencies, stop giving away work for free.
🧅 The Onion buys InfoWars. Really.
👵🏻 An AI granny to fight scammers.
🎄 John Lewis’ 2024 Christmas advert.
🧁 Cupcake admits it has an unserious name.
💺 La-Z-Boy wants to ban reclining airline seats.
🧹 Xfinity’s Wicked spot shows that dreams can come true.
📒 Two-page sketchbooks will restore your faith in creativity.
🏉 The perils of faking a love of rugby to impress your boss.
🤖 ADP pokes fun at the machines (before they take over and kill us all.)
🤔 How do you think advertising actually works? (Four schools of thought.)
🏋️♀️ Tonal goes big-budget black-and-white to break with archaic workouts.
💥 Community and unpredictability are the key to shaping modern brands.
🦃 Ocean Spray adds cran to your party and your friends-giving.
👀 Two very different lingerie approaches: Victoria’s Secret & Agent Provacateur.
💪 Ready to get fired?
✋ 5 themes from Stocksy’s 2025 Visual Insights Report.
⭐️ Amazon gets Adam Driver for dramatic readings of 5-star reviews.
🙋🏻♂️ Who gets credit for “brand design” when multiple players are involved?
🛝 PlayStation shows that play is everywhere.
💃🏽 Vogue magazine turned into an art journal.
👩🏻💻 Want to take baby steps and learn how to code?
🥤 Pepsi unleashes “undercover cups” to take on Coke.
👗 Staff Only show at Shanghai fashion week.
🎄 McDonalds lights it up.
🌴 Meta experiential.
🎼 The “Music by John Williams ” documentary is pretty great.
😬 Tough Love Tuesday: maybe it’s time for ad people to find another line of work.
🐺 Beats by Dre hangs with wolves.
🎾 Nike says goodbye to Nadal.
(Apparently, it took more than a year to make the Nadal spot. One of the creatives posted about the number of decks, revisions, weekends, and late nights. His post caught more than a few eyeballs and sparked a discussion about whether that level of investment in a single ad is really, um…healthy. We’re all for taking pride in your work, but we agree with this take: some people take making ads WAY too seriously.)
🤎 Mocha Mousse is Pantone’s color of the year.
🔮 Pinterest Predicts 2025: see next year’s trends now.
👛 After the teaser kicked up so much attention, Jaguar unveiled the actual car. Was the “weaponization of PR” strategy smart?
🥤 Zevia makes fun of a certain soda’s A.I.-created holiday spot to sell their alternative.
🧹 Wicked had 400 (!) brand partnerships to promote the film.
👨🏻🎤 The reaction to Spotify Wrapped this year was: meh.
🍫 Outdoor that makes light of the fact that people mispronounce their brand.
🍪 Cookie lotion? Dove collabs with Crumbl.
🎲 Design-led board games.
💦 Car wash as tourism pitch.
🏀 The WNBA was the fastest growing brand in 2024.
🌮 Taco Bell drive-thru may land you in a Super Bowl spot.
🎄 The best (worst?) Christmas sweaters this year.
☃️ Ryan Reynolds’ take on “hot Frosty.”
😱 Fear and creativity are incompatible.
🏀 The NBA updated their classic “Jingle Hoops” spot with this animation version, which is a little less magical IMHO, but a fun slice of ad nostalgia. (Also, the fact that the original spot was not called “Jingle Balls” still bugs us, but maybe these guys stole that thunder.)
🇰🇷 The “Korean or Get Eaten” Duolingo X Squid Game music video you didn’t know you needed.
🎩 Canva released a charming demo spot about a magician finding her mojo.
🐷 Oscar Mayer is bringing back its iconic jingle for its 50th (!) anniversary.
🐺 Lobos 1707 wants you to release your inner wolf and un-domesticate.
🧫 These 66 brands aren’t just contributing to culture, they’re creating it.
🏎️ Mercedes thanks Lewis Hamilton.
🌈 5 colors that are going to be big in 2025.
🏢 Big advertising doesn’t listen.
😱 Lots written this week about Omnicom acquiring IPG. If you’re looking for another take, here’s John’s.
🔥 More than 200 “What to Expect in 2025” Trend Reports in one folder!
FROM EARLIER:
89 Things That Caught Our Eye in the First Half of 2024
15 Favorite Ad Campaigns of 2023
78 Things That Caught Our Eye in the Second Half of 2023
98 Things That Caught Our Eye in the First Half of 2023
85 Things That Caught Our Eye in the Second Half of 2022
79 Things That Caught Our Eye in the First Half of 2022
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kovacevich is a creative director and the founder of Agency SOS. He writes a weekly email highlighting three bits of creative inspiration for modern marketers. You can subscribe, if you’d like.
