Whilst we love working with brands on inbound marketing, we still excel at creating innovative video for traditional TV media. In the US the average person spends more than four and a half hours a day watching TV, and all but 1% of households own a television.
A great TV advert has the power to make a brand, and can work wonders when a part of an integrated marketing campaign – just consider what the ‘Compare the Meerkat’ campaign has done for comparethemarket.com.
These are our favorite innovative and fun creative TV ads of recent years:
Compare the Market – Compare the Meerkat
No list of great TV advertising campaigns would be complete without mention of ‘Compare the Meerkat’. This animated meerkat with a questionable Russian accent managed to boost the TV advertising industry when its phenomenal success forced rival brands to compete with campaigns of their own.
Southern Comfort – Whatever’s Comfortable
This latest ad for Southern Comfort by Wieden + Kennedy follows on from the company’s recent award winning commercial, and shows a macho looking man getting his hair shampooed at a women’s hairdressers.
This is a clever way to celebrate individuality and non-conformity, suggesting the brand may not be a ‘cool’ one to drink but is an enjoyable drink none the less.
Cadbury’s – Eyebrow Advert
This simple yet quirky ad proved to be a viral hit when it was launched four years ago, viewed four million times on Youtube in just three weeks. The bizarre subject matter and fun soundtrack really worked for the company, keeping it relevant and young.
Three – The Pony
This quirky ad from Three achieves exactly what it aims to demonstrate – that the silly and funny things we share are important in that they connect us and bring us together. The sweet advert went viral online and was shared via social media platforms.
Evian – Baby and Me
Continuing their successful baby-based ad campaigns, which have been running for the last 15 years, the most recent offering from Evian shows a group of people dancing with baby versions of themselves in shop windows. We like how Evian manages to be creative and constantly develop and find new avenues to take their tagline ‘live young’.
PETA– 98% Human
PETA is notorious for its controversial and thought-provoking campaigns and this one is no different. The hard-hitting ad is aiming to show that we don’t need to use real animals for film and TV with its sophisticated CGI animation, whilst also letting us see how being used for this can affect the animals involved.
Thinkbox – The Dog and the rabbit
This sweet ad from Thinkbox continues on from the company’s previous campaign, featuring Harvey the dog, and is a great example of emotional storytelling. This is yet another advert that uses cute animals to appeal to viewers, a formula that seems to be a big hit in recent years.
Cathedral City – Come home
This is the company’s first ad since 2009, and effectively portrays Cathedral City as a comforting food, reminiscent of home and family. It shows children running home to the ‘Homeward Bound’ soundtrack, originally by Paul Simon and covered by Ed Proseck.
Oreo – Wonderfilled Anthem
We love this beautifully illustrated animation; part of a year-long celebration of the biscuit’s 100th birthday. This special ad celebrates the ‘inner child’ and also incorporates print and social media in their massive integrated marketing campaign.
O2 – Be More Dog
This ad encourages play and a passion for life, suggesting instead of mimicking a cat’s apathetic attitude we should adopt the enthusiasm of a dog and have a better time as a result.
This is a clever move ahead of the brand’s 4G network launch, aiming to show customers that there is no reason to fear or get bored of constant technological advances, and that instead they should be embraced and enjoyed.
These are just some of our favorite commercials. As you know, the landscape of video advertising has been “up in the air” recently. Companies like Dish Network and Direct Tv are competing with the Netflix and Hulu’s of the world. It has yet to be determined who will end up the victor, but one thing will remain. Creative marketing companies will continue to produce innovative commercials. We expect to hear about your favorite ad in the comments below. Thanks for reading this article.