The 25 Best Ads of 2019

Powerful storytelling. Razor-sharp satire. Dark twists and tear-jerking roller coasters. This year's best advertising had it all and more. [kickout id="48"] Now it's time to look back on 2019's best ad campaigns and rank them, even though you'd be hard pressed to find any two that feel easily comparable to each other. The resulting list, curated by Adweek's creative editors, shows how marketers pushed themselves and their industry out of their collective comfort zones, occasionally even accomplishing that most coveted of goals: becoming the centerpiece of cultural conversation. Here's a look back at this year's best work: 25. Sipsmith Gin | "Mr. Swan" Agency: Ogilvy U.K. [kickout id="1"] Through a combination of lovingly detailed craft and martini-dry humor, this spot was an understated delight of 2019. As you can likely tell from the vibe, it was created with the involvement of several animators who worked on Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs. The resulting ad is a testament to the value of crisp copywriting, conversational delivery, audio production and meticulous design. 24. Jif | "Bunker" Agency: Publicis New York [kickout id="2"] Will you be prepared when the alien apocalypse strikes? As part of Publicis New York's wide-ranging rebooted marketing for J.M. Smucker Company brands like Folgers and Smucker's, the agency rolled out the unexpectedly cinematic "Bunker" this August, showing what happens when your last hope for shelter is missing the only thing that truly matters. The campaign, "That Jif'ing Good," also featured the unnerving "Squirrel" spot, and together the ads showed that Jif was done playing it safe. [kickout id="3"] 23. Apple | "Bounce" Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab [kickout id="4"] Given that the past year saw Apple's AirPods go from early adopter status symbol to ubiquitous earbud of choice, it's not surprising that the wireless gadget would be a centerpiece of the brand's 2019 advertising. While lovers of outdoor craft likely preferred the dramatic and boundary-busting out-of-home campaign TBWA\Media Arts Lab created to launch the new AirPods Pro in October, we still hold a special place in our hearts for "Bounce." The spot, which debuted in June, created a cityscape of hidden trampolines, balancing the joyous fun of the idea with black-and-white artistry. Plus, the ad's soundtrack, “I Learnt Some Jazz Today” from 21-year-old artist Tessellated, was arguably 2019 advertising's most addictive song. 22. Lacoste | "Crocodile Inside" Agency: BETC [kickout id="5" label="Lacoste Crocodile Inside"] If you're a fan of French advertising, then you're probably keenly aware of apparel brand Lacoste's track record of epic visual metaphors, crafted by Paris agency BETC (Adweek's 2019 International Agency of the Year). Previous spots like 2014's "The Big Leap" and 2017's "Timeless" set a high bar for the advertising to come, but this year's "Crocodile Inside" lives up to those expectations with its dizzying and kinetic comparison of a fractured relationship as a collapsing building. 21. WOW Tech Group and PinkCherry | "Scream Your Own Name" Agency: The Garden (Canada) [kickout id="6" label="Scream Your Own Name"] In March, we asked if this would be the best written billboard of 2019. Nine months later, we still haven't seen one better. "Scream Your Own Name" is copywriting perfection, but the ad also marks the hard-fought but increasingly successful push to celebrate women's pleasure in mainstream advertising, an industry whose media outlets have notoriously been fine running ads for male enhancement but have balked at messages of sexual wellness and satisfaction for women. "You can use sex to sell anything," WOW Tech Group marketing manager Stephanie Keating told Adweek in March, "except if it’s women’s pleasure." 20. Reebok | "Storm the Court" Venables Bell & Partners [kickout id="7" label="Storm the Court"] A swan song of sorts for Venables Bell, this campaign marked the agency's last work with five-year client Reebok, which it declined to pitch in a review that sent the account to Deutsch this year. But "Storm the Court" is a wonderfully eerie and artsy note on which to end the relationship. Vaguely reminiscent of Asian horror films like The Ring and The Eye, the spot brings the unexpected onto a basketball court, then keeps things interesting through the end. 19. McDonald's McDelivery | "Rain" Agency: TBWA\Paris [kickout id="8" label="McDelivery Rain 1"] When it comes to McDonald's agencies, Wieden + Kennedy might have gotten most of the attention this year when it won the burger giant's U.S. creative account. But in terms of work, it was the year of TBWA\Paris. The office has been a hub of innovative McDonald's creative for years, and in 2019 we saw a litany of great campaigns, from the hypnotically satisfying Egg McMuffin social video campaign to the use of fries as directional guides. But the best of the lot was this McDelivery print and outdoor campaign, which used a dead-simple visual motif to remind you when you'd rather go with delivery rather than leave your apartment and face the elements. [kickout id="9" label="McDelivery 2"] [kickout id="10" label="McDelivery 3"] 18. Apple | "The Underdogs" Production agency: Smuggler [kickout id="11" label="The Underdogs"] Advertising folks love to talk about "storytelling," but relatively few ads legitimately tell a story. This fun, frenetic and perfectly cast spot from Apple, however, bundles a perfect little narrative into a video that still manages to cram lots of product benefits from the brand's workplace software suite. Apple has declined to credit a creative agency for the spot, but it was produced by Smuggler and directed by Mark Molloy, who also helmed this year's Apple holiday spot, "The Surprise." 17. March For Our Lives | "Generation Lockdown" Agency: McCann New York [kickout id="12"] How do you respond when tragedy becomes such an everyday aspect of American life that our children prepare for it with the methodical precision of a fire drill? For McCann New York and advocacy group March For Our Lives, the answer was to surprise a workplace by bringing in young student as an expert on how to deal with an active shooter. The resulting video captures the heartbreaking experience many parents will find familiar: seeing a child describe a nightmare scenario not as the unthinkable, but as the inevitable. 16. Coca-Cola | "Try Not to Hear This" Agency: David Miami [kickout id="13" label="Try not to hear this 1"] "Synesthesia" isn't a term you hear thrown around a lot in consumer advertising, but Coca-Cola and agency David centered an entire print and outdoor campaign on the phenomenon of using one sense to activate another. In this case, images of Cokes being opened or poured trigger the viewer to imagine the associated sounds, keyed by the mildly swaggering tagline, "Try not to hear this." In an era where audio branding is one of the marketing industry's hottest trends, Coke showed that the best of such branding doesn't even need to make a sound. [kickout id="14" label="Try not to hear this 2"] [kickout id="15" label="Try not to hear this 3"] 15. Splenda | "Stevia: The Sweetest Thing You Could Grow" Agency: Humanaut [kickout id="16"] That's right. A Splenda ad. In our annual list of the year's best work. Why? Because it's unexpectedly hilarious, perfectly delivered and just an all-around joy of a surprise. Created by agency Humanaut out of Chattanooga, Tenn., the spot turns a relatively pedestrian product, sugar alternative stevia, into a black market of underground grow operations. Next time someone tells you a client or category is too boring for an idea with real spark, show them this ad. 14. Renault Clio | "30 Years in the Making" Agency: Publicis.Poke [kickout id="44"] While LGBTQ representation in advertising has certainly blossomed in recent years, marketers have rarely embraced romance and passion when it comes to how they include gay or trans characters in ads. Renault Clio set the bar for storytelling on that front this year with its spot centered on a relationship between two women that began as a childhood friendship, evolved into love and endured decades of complexity. Some commenters on social media, where the video was widely shared, felt it was too overwrought and emotional for a consumer ad, perhaps bordering on being emotionally exploitative. But many others were simply happy to see a powerful, unpredictable love story well told by a brand that was willing to keep itself from getting in the way. 13. SickKids Foundation | SickKids Vs. This Is Why Agency: Cossette (Canada) [kickout id="42"] Canada's SickKids hospital and agency Cossette have earned global acclaim for their empowering ads in recent years, but as the institution's foundation continues the massive task of raising $1.3 billion to build a modern replacement for the aging hospital, the marketing team decided to get more direct about the urgency of the need. In "SickKids Vs. This Is Why," a child sings a slightly modified rendition of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" as the viewer tours the cramped hospital to see the wide range of (real) patients being treated. The result is one of the year's most emotionally potent spots. 12. Disneyland Paris | "The Little Duck" Agency: BETC Paris [kickout id="43"] Imagine an ad for a Disney theme park, and you'd likely picture happy families wearing Mickey Mouse ears, exploring the attractions and hugging the occasional princess or Pluto. Agency BETC Paris left that tired template in the dust with "The Little Duck," a phenomenal piece of animated storytelling worthy of the Disney name. 11. Apple | "What Happens on Your iPhone Stays on Your iPhone" Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab [kickout id="41"] In the world of consumer data infosec, this is what tenured academics call a "baller move." Apple, which had no official presence at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, still had an unofficial presence that cast shade over all its competitors. At a time when private data is often breached, snooped or sold, Apple positioned itself as a safe haven for privacy by running a massive outdoor ad that said, "What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone." Sure, it's a bit of a well-trod trope as far as copywriting goes, but it was also one of 2019 advertising's biggest PR plays, generating massive global coverage for Apple without the brand even setting foot in the convention hall. 10. Ikea | "Ikea Real Life Series" Agency: Publicis Spain [kickout id="38" label="ikea real life simpsons"] Typically, a retailer like Ikea would use its ads to encourage you to embrace your space and make it your own. But Publicis Spain went in a decidedly different direction with its "Ikea Real Life Series," which leveraged the brand's extensive catalog to recreate—in truly impressive detail—famous living rooms from iconic TV shows. Using 3D computer modeling, the agency designed Ikea-furnished homages to The Simpsons, Friends and Stranger Things. The campaign's instant viral success reportedly generated a 50% uptick in views of the featured items (most of which, admittedly, probably weren't already hot bangers on the traffic front), and the agency quickly began brainstorming how to extend the concept with more rooms and more classic TV sets. [kickout id="39" label="ikea real life friends"] [kickout id="40" label="ikea real life stranger"] 9. Sandy Hook Promise | "Back-to-School Essentials" Agency: BBDO New York [kickout id="37"] Dedicated to finding nonpartisan solutions to gun violence in schools, the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise hit the scene in a captivating way with its 2016 spot "Evan" from agency BBDO New York. In the years since, the organization has released several more PSAs but hasn't quite been able to recapture its early success. This year, though, Sandy Hook Promise regained the spotlight by creating a spot that seems to begin as another happy ad for school supplies, then quickly pivots into a much darker place. Such a premise could easily tilt into the realm of poor taste, but BBDO's capable creatives walked a delicate balance in crafting a spot that blends satire with the brutal gravity of an era in which horrific violence could erupt at any moment. 8. Microsoft | "Changing the Game" Agency: McCann New York [kickout id="35"] Of all McCann's accomplishments in 2019, which concluded with the network being named Adweek's Global Agency of the Year, the most impressive on the creative front was its ability to bridge cause marketing (traditionally the realm of nonprofit ads and pro-bono budgets) with corporate client work. And of its many campaigns aimed at helping marginalized communities, none was more celebrated than Microsoft's "Changing the Game." The campaign highlighted the extensive input from gamers of all ages and physical conditions that went into the brand's Adaptive Controller for the Xbox One. Tossing aside the condescending sympathy that often shapes ads about disability, "Changing the Game" celebrated its stars as insightful advisors and joyous gamers who are finally getting the even interactive playing field they deserve. [kickout id="36"] 7. Halo Top | "Ice Cream for Adults" Agency: 72andSunny [kickout id="34"] It's hard to think of a 2019 campaign with better comedic copywriting, delivery and defining aesthetics than this charmingly bleak series of spots from low-calorie ice cream Halo Top. "Ice Cream for Adults" is the kind of campaign that could run for years without wearing out its welcome. It's also yet another reminder of why Adweek 2019 Creative 100 honoree Justine Armour is one of today's most celebrated creative directors, a reputation that, unfortunately for 72andSunny, resulted in her being recruited this month as the new chief creative officer for Grey New York. [kickout id="31" label="Halo Top Mortgage"] [kickout id="32"] [kickout id="33"] 6. MedMen | "The New Normal" Agency: Mekanism [kickout id="30" label="New Normal"] Last year, director Spike Jonze blew down the walls literally and figuratively with his phenomenal Apple spot "Welcome Home," which we ranked second only to Nike's "Dream Crazy" on the roster of 2018's best ads. This year, however, he showed his more contemplative side with "The New Normal," starring and c0-written with Jonze by actor Jesse Williams. Reminiscent of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" in its seamless panning from one disparate scene to another, "The New Normal" vividly revisits America's history with marijuana, a drug whose overzealous criminalization has had devastating effects on countless lives. While it might be argued the spot is preaching to the choir in the sense of appealing to those who already support de-stigmatizing cannabis, "The New Normal" should be seen not as a PSA but as part of retailer MedMen's mission to establish itself as the category's first mainstream megabrand. 5. Argos | "The Book of Dreams" Agency: The&Partnership London [kickout id="29" label="Argos Book of Dreams"] This wasn't the strongest year for holiday ads, as you might notice from the atypical lack of John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and other U.K. seasonal marketing masters from our Top 25 Ads of the Year. But one brand surprised and delighted by outshining them all. British catalog retailer Argos turned a dad's dream of drumming alongside his daughter into a brilliant revival of Simple Minds' 1980s classic "Don't You (Forget About Me)." With deceptively complex set design and audio engineering (it was no small feat to match the ad's custom drumming to the studio sounds of the original recording), the spot is a masterpiece of craft and a singular source of pure joy. 4. Aviation Gin | "Gift Responsibly" Agency: Maximum Effort [kickout id="47" label="Aviation Try 2"] Will this ad make sense in five years? Will it be regaled into the future by creative professionals as an artfully crafted brand narrative? The answer... doesn't matter, because this is an ad that just plain worked. Turned around dizzyingly fast by Aviation Gin's celebrity owner, Ryan Reynolds, and his creative partner, George Dewey, "Gift Responsibly" from the duo's Maximum Effort marketing content studio bypassed the low-hanging fruit of parodying a virally mocked Peloton ad in favor of a more smart and subtle satire. The ad appears to pick up where viewers left off with Peloton's holiday ad—about a husband giving his wife a Peloton bike, which she uncomfortably chronicles in a video diary that feels more like a hostage video. In Aviation Gin's sparsely scripted spot, the same actress (Monica Ruiz) is seen downing martinis in the supportive company of her friends, with the implication being that she's rethinking her relationship. Shared online by Reynolds with the message "Exercise bike not included," the spot quickly garnered 10 million views and set off waves of laughter (and applause) throughout social media. [kickout id="28" label="Peloton Holiday"] 3. (Tie) Nike | "Dream Further" Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland [kickout id="26"] How far can you make it? Where are the limits of your potential? With "Dream Further," created for the opening of the Women's World Cup, Nike shows instead of tells, leaving the copy-heavy anthem to spots like "Dream Crazier" (more on that in a moment) and instead creating an inexhaustible sprint through a young girl's possible career paths in soccer. Thinking she's just taking the field for a ceremonial wave, the young protagonist is instead told to stay on the pitch and prove her mettle against and alongside pioneering stars like Lieke Martens, Crystal Dunn and Sam Kerr. Maybe she'll score the winning goal on a world stage, or maybe she'll coach the next generation of greatness. It's an ad that refuses to slow down, perfectly celebrating women who cannot be stopped. 3. (Tie) Nike | "Dream Crazier" Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland [kickout id="25" label="Nike Dream Crazier"] There was perhaps no greater challenge in advertising this year than that faced by Nike in following up its culture-rattling "Dream Crazy" work starring Colin Kaepernick. Named by Adweek as 2018's Ad of the Year and honored with just about every award the ad industry has to offer, "Dream Crazy" was unquestionably an iconic moment for the brand. This year's "Dream Crazier," which debuted during the Oscars, might not have had the same incendiary effect, but it's a more than worthy continuation of the conversation. This time, Serena Williams narrates a message on a topic close to her heart: the double standard of how female athletes are treated when they expose their emotions and ambitions to the world. When men lose their temper, it's often embraced as a sign of passion for the game. But for women in sports, the innately human experience of showing emotion frequently leads to condescension and reprimand. Unlike the Kaepernick work, whose polarizing message was largely implied rather than overt, this is an ad with a direct message—one that needed to be said, and one that needs to be heard. 2. The New York Times | "The Truth Is Worth It" Agency: Droga5 [kickout id="23" label="NYT Separation"] At a time when journalists around the world increasingly face threats of violence, imprisonment and even state-sanctioned murder, no campaign better advocated for the free press than Droga5's "The Truth Is Worth It" for The New York Times. Each spot tells the granular, complicated origin story behind a real NYT investigation, culminating in the reveal of the final headline. Layered with real audio and images collected during the news gathering process, the ads craft nail-biting narratives with all the drama of a Hollywood feature, somehow compressed into the length of an ad. While it might not come to mind first for mainstream consumers when they think back to the ads of 2019, the campaign has had a powerful, emboldening and lasting impact on the creative world, illustrated by its avalanche of awards throughout the year. [kickout id="24" label="NYT Fearlessness"] [kickout id="21" label="NYT Resolve"] [kickout id="22" label="NYT Courage"] 1. HBO and Bud Light | "Joust" Agencies: Droga5 and Wieden + Kennedy New York [kickout id="19" label="Bud Light GoT"] Nothing prepared us for this. Super Bowl ads are many things, but a jaw-dropping surprise is never one of them. Two quarters into this year's Big Game, after we'd already seen Bud Light's "Dilly Dilly" royals cavorting about the kingdom to mock competitors for—allegedly, he says, under the lawyer's icy glare—using corn syrup, we suddenly see they're back and preparing for a jousting tournament. There's the Bud Knight, of course, ready to "tap this keg." But soon he's prone, and an ominous shadow passes over him. The keen-eared will have already have recognized the sounds of "Rains of Castamere," which can only mean one thing: Game of Thrones had arrived to bring the murder. The shocking mashup from HBO and Bud Light set a new bar for brand collaborations—and somehow brought together two of the world's top agencies, Droga5 and Wieden + Kennedy. It brought parties across the country to a screaming halt and showed how both brands had interwoven themselves into mainstream culture. It's not awards bait, it's not arthouse cinema, and it's not trying to save the world. It's just a flat-out incredible ad that made better use of the world's biggest marketing stage than anyone since Tide's takeover in 2018. Add the fact that it's actually better than the final season of Game of Thrones turned out to be, and it's clear why this was our favorite ad of the year. [kickout id="20"] So what were your favorites this year? Let us know on Twitter at @Adweek, or hit me at @Griner or by email.

Ads of the Year

The 25 Best Ads of 2019

It was a year of craft, biting humor and visceral surprises

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