BackThe Best Ad Campaigns of the Year 2025
Amid another turbulent year for the ad industry, plenty of engaging and compelling work was made. Here’s our ten favourite campaigns of the year.
The ad industry continues to be heavily buffeted by the winds of change. This year has seen acquisitions and layoffs, the ongoing rise of AI, and the demise of legendary agency brands. Meanwhile, brands have caused drama (sometimes intentionally, often not), which has set off storms across both social and traditional media.
Amid this chaos, there has been positivity, in particular the ongoing rise of the independent agency, with new creative shops popping up across the world, no doubt hoping to mirror the success of recent startups such as Mischief in the US and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire in Australia. Could a new creative dawn be rising?
And then there’s the work. There’s been plenty to delight, as brands get playful with new approaches, while remixing traditional ones. It’s been a particularly hard year to choose just ten ads to highlight, but I have risen to the task, and below you can find our picks of the year (in no particular order, they are all number ones).
Apple TV: Severance Pop-Up in Grand Central Terminal
In a year of great brand experiences, this pop-up from Apple TV, which saw characters from Severance, the hit TV show about work-life balance, appear in an office cubicle in Grand Central Terminal in New York, shone. Commuters could see the characters chatting and working, while director Ben Stiller also passed by. Promoting the much anticipated second series of the show, the stunt spread quickly across social media.
Heinz: It Has To Be; Agency: Wieden+Kennedy London
This year has seen brands continue to play with their branding in OOH and print, releasing ads where logos were often barely featured and instead the ads rely on the fame of the companies for the message to make sense. A special shout out goes to the Kellogg’s OG posters, as well as these simple but beautiful posters for Heinz, a brand that continues to deliver wonderfully crafted campaigns.
KFC: Believe Part 2, All Hail Gravy; Agency: Mother
The fried chicken brand doubled down on the weird this year, via an ad that leaned into the KFC Believe cult that was established last year. If you’re going to go strange, lean right in seems to be the approach, and we like it. A special mention also goes to the brand’s gravy-inspired collab with Aires.
Columbia: Engineered for Whatever; Agency: adam&eve
A number of outdoor brands went hard on creative advertising this year, with Kathmandu extolling the peace of the great outdoors in a new campaign, while Yeti proclaimed the opposite. Columbia’s work with adam&eve stood out for showing off the brand in an entirely new way, starting with this wild cartoon-style ad that mixed animation and live action. It all makes for a nice break from the more po-faced approach that brands in this sector have taken in the past.
Gap: Better In Denim; Agency: Invisible Dynamics
After a rough few years, Gap is getting back on track under CEO Mark Breitbard and CMO Fabiola Torres. The brand has released a number of attention-grabbing ads this year, but this film starring girl group Katseye, which taps into the brand’s dance-led marketing roots, showed particular confidence and has ratcheted up over 50 million views on YouTube alone.
Telstra: Villains; Agency: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire
We’ve seen a number of celebrity ad cameos this year, many dull but a few pretty special (particular shout outs go to Pedro Pascal for Apple, Walton Goggins for Walmart and Amelia Dimoldenberg for Peachy Den). The cream of the crop though was this hilarious spot for Australian telecoms brand Telstra which saw Steve Buscemi star as an evil alien overlord who is trying to scam the people of the Earth. Things don’t quite go according to plan, natch. Lovely work from Bear Meets Eagle On Fire which continues to deliver must-see spots for the brand.
Hornbach: No Project Without Drama; Agency: HeimatTBWA\
German DIY store Hornbach’s long-running partnership with HeimatTBWA\ ad agency has produced a series of epic ads that highlight the challenges (and rewards) of home improvements. This year’s ad, directed by Canada, took the theatrics to a whole new level as various DIY disasters are soundtracked by a chorus of singers. The craft here is beautiful, and all created IRL with no AI in sight.
Guinness, Pint of View beermat/Guinnbrella; Agency: Born Social
Guinness continues to pivot its brand towards Gen Z via its clever use of social media. These campaigns from Born Social pushed the fun back into the real world however, via a ‘Pint of View’ frame that could be used to record Guinness antics in the pub, and a mini beer umbrella that protects your pint from the rain. Cute.
The Ordinary, The Periodic Fable; Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio
Beauty brand The Ordinary has created a series of clever campaigns and stunts alongside Uncommon Creative Studio this year to highlight its commitment to transparency and its rejection of beauty myths. Perhaps the cleverest is The Periodic Fable, a witty critique of the pseudo-science that other brands offer to seduce customers.
A24: Marty Supreme Zoom call promo
A24 is continuing to prove its marketing mastery by promoting its films in smart and unexpected ways (including this recent engagement announcement in the Boston Globe to tease forthcoming movie The Drama). In this supposedly leaked Zoom call, Timothée Chalamet, star of new film Marty Supreme, shares his marketing ideas for how to promote the movie. As his suggestions get wilder and wilder (“rain ping pong balls on everyone!”), the producers on the call feign politeness brilliantly. Yes it’s ridiculous, and yes, we’ve all been there.
Source: Creative Review