My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads was the source for the first part of my mega list of best ads of 2025. Here’s the second and final part. Hope you enjoy it. Five Star chicken: death of a salesman The hallmark of any top-notch advertisement is the right combination of creative strategy and execution. It takes a lot of smarts to figure out what needs to be said and then the ‘how it needs to be said’.…
Every week I attempt to share a compilation of clutter-breaking ads. It’s that time of the year when lists are in vogue as we revisit the best creative ads of 2025. Dreamies: Ad Attack Food advertising has a common proposition for both humans and pets: it is so irresistible that you’ll go to any length to get it or safeguard it from others. DREAMIES™ from Mars set up what looked like a regular vinyl billboard…
A majority of ads are simply ignored – a fate worse than being disliked. Clutter-breaking creative ads are a rarity. My weekly compilation is a small tribute to brand teams who manage to create work that’s noticed. Uber Eats: get almost anything Unlike in India where Swiggy & Zomato seem to dominate the ‘delivery everything’ in the quick-commerce category (through Instamart & Blinkit), Uber Eats is a dominant brand for such a service in the…
The marketing world is abuzz with holiday ads and promotions for Stranger Things. In my weekly compilation this week: ads from Deutsche Telekom, Uber, Apple and more. McDonald’s Taiwan: dreamy breakfast Advertising’s potential to solve a business problem through a creative idea is amply demonstrated in this campaign to promote McDonald’s breakfast in Taiwan. The problem: many consumers wake up late and hence miss the breakfast served at McDonald’s as that service is available only…
Almost every week, I share a curated list of creative ads. The movie Marty Supreme’s Zoom Call, TVC for Bang & Olufsen and other good stuff are part of this week’s compilation. Marty Supreme: marketing Zoom call Marty Supreme is an upcoming sports comedy movie. In a fantastic ad promotion idea, they show Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet ‘pitching’ whacked out ‘marketing’ ideas for the movie. The ad itself is supposedly a recording of the Zoom…
The Christmas ad season is upon us. Several brands in Europe and the US, across categories (especially retail such as John Lewis & Waitrose) create campaigns that have a global fan following. In this week’s compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads, a few Christmas ads which caught my eye, among others. Waitrose: The Perfect Gift The context: the ‘Christmas ad’ is tough brief. While UK’s ‘big retail’ brands have a natural fit and reason to advertise,…
Every week, I attempt to curate a list of clutter-breaking creative ads. Most ads are ignored and only a handful are even noticed or discussed. Ad agency & brand teams which manage to produce ads which stand out deserve our appreciation, given all the chaos during the process. In this week’s edition, ads from Jeep, Ford and more. METT Singapore: attractive In advertising, it is common to dramatise or exaggerate a benefit of the product…
Over the last few days tributes have been pouring for Piyush Pandey. His passing away is a great loss for the world of brands and advertising. His work & legacy touched millions of lives as witnessed by the heartfelt expressions from not just advertising & marketing folks but common people too. While reading the various articles & social media posts about him, I was reflecting on a couple of aspects that he was known for:…
Creative ads that catch our attention are a rarity. Most advertising is eminently forgettable and totally ignored by consumers. Only a fraction get noticed and an even smaller number are liked, remembered or even discussed. My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking ads is a small tribute to brand and ad agency teams everywhere. The Ordinary: The Periodic Fable In the digital world, many D2C brands have gained traction fairly quickly (as compared to the years of…
Every week, I attempt to curate a list of creative ads which break through clutter and information overload. In this week’s edition: ads from the US and Australia for Uber, a TVC for an e-commerce brand in Canada and more. Uber: master class in theme advertising and use of a medium Recently, I came across a campaign for Uber in the US which caught my eye in the context of two things (a) creating theme…