Favourite Ads of 2011!

Growing up, my family used to love to watch “funniest commercials of the year” on TBS around the holiday season. We would always have a good time laughing at some of these spots and a lot of them stick with me to this day. Commercials can be more than just white noise that you sit through waiting for the rest of your show to air. A good commercial can evoke a real connection between consumer and brand. 

Well with 2011 now drawing to a close it’s a great time to reminisce about the year gone by, and what that means for many blogs is... time for “best of” lists! So let me roll out my eight favorite advertisements from 2011.
These are mostly television ads with one or two youtube spots sprinkled in for good measure and I really think they highlight the creative thinking that goes into the industry. Let’s take a look (in no particular order) after the jump:

Heineken: The Entrance

When I first saw this spot by Heineken I found myself smiling the whole way through and that’s got to be a good sign. It’s got laughs, it’s silly, it’s cool and most importantly it’s fun, which is what a beer brand should aim to be. Great song choice too.

Nissan Leaf: Gas Powered Everything

It can be hard for companies trying to sell an environmentally friendly product. How do you get the consumers to wake up from their apathy and care? Sure you could try to guilt them, but confrontational advertising doesn’t work the way empowerment advertisements do. It’s far better for a brand to show it shares the same values and point of view of the consumer, and in this spot, Nissan reminds us of what we knew all along: we really hate gas. 

Ray-Ban: Tomatina

I think I’d almost call this a short film but either way it’s great. It’s really well directed and shot in a beautiful exotic location during a very famous annual event that I think most of us would love to be a part of. Ray Ban successfully summons up themes of reckless youth, style, and seizing the moment.

Action for Austrailia: It’s Time

This is a very powerful ad. In just under 2 minutes it takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions and manages to capture such a wide breadth of experience and feeling, and then of course plays against your expectations to make their message even stronger.

Carlton Draft: Slo Mo

Carlton Draft pokes fun at themselves, at men, at beer ads in general here in a clever spot. Men drinking beer and acting goofy is enough for most advertisers but the funny singer/narrator makes the difference here. My only complaint is the ad feels a little overlong (although the singer pokes fun at that too so does that make it okay?).

Skittles: Touch the Rainbow/ Cat

While advertisers have definitely jumped on the weirdness/bizarro humor train that old spice seems to have popularized with their recent campaigns, you can’t help but admire the genius in these recent youtube spots for Skittles. They force the viewer to participate and thus create very engaging, memorable and hilarious situations. This is my favourite of the bunch.

Google Chrome: Dear Sophie

Here’s another very moving ad from Google in the spirit of their previous stuff like “Parisian Love”. It certainly aims at the heartstrings and some may find it a little manipulative, but for me, and I’m sure I’m not alone; it really succeeded in evoking some strong emotions. At the same time it showcases how big a part of our lives Google as become.

Chipotle: Back to the Start

Like the Nissan ad, this spot takes an important issue and instead of trying to make us care, it helps us realize how much we care already. I loved the style and the poignant cover of Coldplay by Willie Nelson.

So that’s it folks. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments!