If you pause for a moment and take in your environment, chances are you’ll notice the ocean of logos, slogans, and visuals all battling for your attention. In all the clutter, many people might feel like they are becoming ad-blind, but every once in a while, a very clever marketing team will put together something creative enough to cut through the noise.
We’ve collected a series of interesting, cool, and downright brilliant advertisements from around the world, so scroll through and upvote your personal favorites. Be sure to write your thoughts below and share your favorite marketing strategies in the comments section.
#1 Very Direct Ads From The City Of Toronto Against Littering
Image credits: the_ravenant
#2 Really Great Minimalist Billboard Ad
Image credits: ibmwatsonson
Despite the internet being around for decades, 2017 was the first year that online advertising surpassed non-digital ads. While this might seem surprising, given the absolute dominance of online content, marketing, and shopping, it’s more a reflection of just how cheap digital ads are, compared to physical advertisements.
After all, once you have the design and copy, you can copy-paste images until your hard drive gives out. A physical ad, for example, a billboard, has to be printed, installed, and then you generally pay a monthly rent on it. A lot more costly and not guaranteed to get as many eyes on it as a banner on the side of a well-trafficked site.
#3 Effective Advertising
Image credits: Sugarkrill
#4 Best Pet Adoption Ad Ever
Image credits: adultstilllearning
#5 This “Seatbelts Save Lives” Campaign
Image credits: harschil
Since the targets of a digital ad tend to be at their computers or on other, interactive devices, clever marketers can do a lot more than just showing an image and some text. While the worst examples include flashing lights, scammy texts, or, God forbid, playing sounds, good marketing teams use the versatility of the internet to sell and raise awareness.
#6 Italian Pasta Brand Advertisement In Honor Of Simpsons’ 30th Season
Image credits: Zioropa
#7 An Advertisement For Keloptic.com – A French Website That Sells Glasses
Image credits: Gaget
#8 Organ Donation Ad
Image credits: recoveringgayfish
For example, Volkswagen’s “The New Golf” ad was basically a puzzle game that could be played directly from your browser. In it, the “player” would be given a random assortment of tiles with roads on them, which they needed to rearrange. Not only would it draw someone’s attention, it represented the car’s ability to navigate through anything.
#9 Advertisement, You Are Doing It Right
Image credits: reddit.com
#10 Great Advertising For A Bar
Image credits: meekoiscool
#11 This Coffee Advertisement
Image credits: likelyculprit
Unfortunately, many banner ads are cheap, annoying, and often quite useless. As any functional site doesn’t want to scare away users, these ads will be positioned at the margins of the screen so the main content is more visible. Think about it this way, an ad on the side might be a bit irritating, but it doesn’t stop you from reading this article, a cookie recipe, or a watch-review. Compare that to how an unskippable ad on YouTube makes you feel.
#12 This Ad Is Just Beautiful
Image credits: csiramokus
#13 Bus Stop Bench Ad. These People Know How To Advertise
Image credits: Henryrollinsjr
#14 LEGO Advertisement
Image credits: squid50s
Researchers have found that regular internet users have developed what they called “banner blindness.” Because digital ads are often in the same places, people’s brains start to shut out these images and just ignore them automatically. While this phenomenon was first observed in 1998, we’ve gotten even better at limiting “unnecessary” information, a vital skill when nearly all the knowledge in the universe is available at the tip of our fingers.
#15 The Best Tampon Ad I’ve Ever Seen
Image credits: SplatterFrogs
#16 The Picture Of The Japanese Movie Advertisement Is Printed On Two Sides Of The Newspaper, So The Full Picture Could Be Seen Under Light
Image credits: TCLP
#17 Alzheimer Awareness Ad
Image credits: Brone9
A 2015 study even found that perhaps 93% of all internet ads go unviewed. People skip banners, do something else while unskippable video ads play, and just do their best to not notice a marketing team’s work. However, advertisers have gotten better at targeting, as the click ratio has been on the rise since the early 2000s, although 1998 was one of the “best” years, with a 2% click-through rate (CTR).
#18 Child Safety Awareness Ad
Image credits: Brone9
#19 Los Tacos Ad In Norway
Image credits: broseph_johnson
#20 Surfrider Foundation Sushi Ad
Image credits: MultiFunctionBot
Of course, bigger brands understand that their image is enough to sell a product, not a description of the product itself. There are many, many energy drinks on the market, but only one is closely associated with extreme actions and literal wings. Without even saying the name, there is a solid chance you already thought about Red Bull, even if you don’t ever drink their products.
#21 Utah Ski Resort Gets A 1-Star Review From A Guy In Los Angeles Because The Mountain Was Too Difficult. They Used The Review To Advertise
Image credits: rightcoastguy
#22 Sugar-Free Chupa Chup Lollipop Ad
Image credits: DrDreidel82
#23 About Autism
Image credits: AdWorldMasters
While Red Bull commonly sponsors all sorts of extreme sports, that doesn’t necessarily make them special, as they are one of the many logos that snowboarders, rally drivers, and paragliders adorn themselves with. But what sets them apart from the rest is the willingness to sponsor truly extreme events, like Felix Baumgartner’s jump from space, which they organized, and then live-streamed for the world.
#24 New Marmite Billboard Ad, UK
Image credits: Ellis_Pulsar
#25 I Would Hesitate Before Jumping On Board
Image credits: PaperkutRob
#26 Creative Advertising For Copenhagen Zoo
Image credits: bertie4prez
The result is that almost no one else can even try to claim “extreme” credentials, as they inevitably have to now compete with a company that helped a guy fall from the stratosphere. Clothing and shoe brand Nike (as if I needed to clarify that) is also hard at work building a reputation as the company for athletes and people interested in fitness. Their Nike+ app and devices, while not at all connected to clothing, are a good example of using a product to sell the brand.
#27 You Know The Weather Is Bad Where You Live, When Advertisers Have To Be This Clever
Image credits: benjaminmin
#28 Points If You Can Relate?
Image credits: darnoux13
#29 Local Advertising Done Right
Image credits: DrossRottenzank
So while marketing might be getting a bit of a dirty name, with bombastic slogans, intrusive, targeted ads, and just overwhelming sensory attacks, this list shows that clever ideas will still actually win in the fight over our attention. If this list wasn’t enough, fear not, Bored Panda has got you covered. Check out our other list that gathers posts from the “Best Ads Of All Time” Twitter account.
#30 This Beer Ad
Image credits: boredpanda.com
#31 Erdal Shoe Polish Ad
Image credits: hi7en
#32 IKEA Reminding Us The Importance Of Sleep
Image credits: RED_WHITE_BLUE_1776
#33 This Ad For The British Shoe Maker Clarks
Image credits: ViddyDoodah
#34 The Kind Of Advertisement Which Works For Me
Image credits: mighelo
#35 My Wife Asked Me To Make Some Ads For Our Garage Sale On Facebook. I Think I Found The Perfect Hook
Image credits: tweak06
#36 How Mercedes Benz Advertised Their Strong Headlights
Image credits: Bomber_Sam
#37 Creative Baggage Carousel Advertisement
Image credits: The_Master_of_LOLZ
#38 The Photoshop Artist For This Digital Ad For Toothpaste Needs A Raise
Image credits: LetsFindSomeTalent
#39 To Advertise Beer From A Van
Image credits: Duck_has_no_beaks
#40 If He Can’t Fix It, No Juan Can
Image credits: deall008
#41 Great Ad Placement
Image credits: nthensome
#42 These Ads By IKEA Recreating Living Rooms From “The Simpsons”, “Stranger Things” And “Friends”
Image credits: wetthing
#43 This Inflatable Lock Advertisement On A Storage Building
Image credits: camilleb22601
#44 An Advertisement On The Back Of A Bus
Image credits: cheeki_hamiltrash
#45 Gods Of Marketing
Image credits: lilitbroyan
#46 McDonald’s Valentine’s Day Ad
Image credits: HackerTyper_
#47 Forensic Science Ad
Image credits: jvilanova99
#48 Advertisement For Light Dog Food
Image credits: HRH_Maddie
#49 A+ Advertisement
Image credits: trancedellic
#50 Found This Ad For Pressure Washing
Image credits: raspberryrae410
#51 Czech Advertisement For Budweiser
Image credits: FHayek
#52 This Alzheimer’s Awareness Ad
Image credits: hiimcoleman
#53 Haha, Good Advertising KFC
Image credits: cantosp
#54 Honest Advertising
Image credits: SharkRancher
#55 This Stranger Things Ad In Warsaw, Poland
Image credits: noaxreal
#56 A Neat Ad For A Ski Company
Image credits: America810
#57 This Reddit Billboard Advertisement For Their Voting Initiative
Image credits: DJO_1988
#58 One Of The Best Ads I’ve Ever Seen
Image credits: Jorster
#59 Noodle Restaurant Ads. Ingenious
Image credits: FluffyPandaMan
#60 This Ad Popped Up In Oslo, Norway, Where Over 4.000 American Sailors From The USS Gerald R. Ford Are Set To Enjoy Their Shore Leave This Weekend
Image credits: Viking-
#61 Ad On London Underground
Image credits: reddit.com
#62 Ad For Bubble Tea In Sydney
Image credits: readerbynight
#63 This LinkedIn Ad
Image credits: brooklondon
#64 LEGO Campaign Developed By Asawin Tejasakulsin, Senior Art Director At Ogilvy & Mather, Bangkok
Image credits: earthmoonsun
#65 A Court Mop That Advertises Cup Noodles
Image credits: jav_city
#66 This Ad
Image credits: Lutix_Tachyon
#67 Nescafe Wakes You Up
Image credits: CashIsFlowing
#68 Interesting Ad For Jeep
Image credits: GlutenAttack02
#69 Best Ad I’ve Ever Seen On Campus
Image credits: Bugsy403
#70 Very Creative Idea For Advertisement
Image credits: MoOsT1cK
#71 Nature + Advertising = This Gem
Image credits: TommieTheTurd
#72 This Billboard Ad For Pond’s Anti-Bacterial Facial Scrub
Image credits: morganmonroe81
#73 “Carry Heavy Attachments” Yahoo Mail, 2012
Image credits: Rivalry
#74 Well, That’s One Way To Market To Millennials
Image credits: BookerDeWittsCarbine
#75 This IKEA Crib Ad That Is Also A Pregnancy Test. A Positive Test Also Reveals A Discounted Price
Image credits: kmap1221
#76 Next Level Advertising
Image credits: tacticaglobal
#77 This McDonald’s Ad I Came Across
Image credits: KrewpoleioTakhs69
#78 Advertising Done Right
Image credits: mperez4855
#79 I Love Clever Advertising. This One Is For Wide-Angle Lenses
Image credits: Bukinnear
#80 This Ad For The New Dodge Demon Is Simply The Letter From The NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Telling Them It’s Too Fast To Be Allowed
Image credits: Sepulvadorc