Spread the love

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 Effective Advertising

Image credits: Sugarkrill

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 Really Great Minimalist Billboard Ad

Image credits: ibmwatsonson

#4 Best Pet Adoption Ad Ever

Image credits: adultstilllearning

#5 Italian Pasta Brand Advertisement In Honor Of Simpsons’ 30th Season

Image credits: Zioropa

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 Organ Donation Ad

Image credits: recoveringgayfish

#7 This “Seatbelts Save Lives” Campaign

Image credits: harschil

#8 Advertisement, You Are Doing It Right

Image credits: reddit.com

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 An Advertisement For Keloptic.com – A French Website That Sells Glasses

Image credits: Gaget

#10 Bus Stop Bench Ad. These People Know How To Advertise

Image credits: Henryrollinsjr

#11 The Best Tampon Ad I’ve Ever Seen

Image credits: SplatterFrogs

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 Great Advertising For A Bar

Image credits: meekoiscool

#13 LEGO Advertisement

Image credits: squid50s

#14 Child Safety Awareness Ad

Image credits: Brone9

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 This Coffee Advertisement

Image credits: likelyculprit

#16 This Ad Is Just Beautiful

Image credits: csiramokus

#17 Creative Advertising For Copenhagen Zoo

Image credits: bertie4prez

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 This Beer Ad

Image credits: boredpanda.com

#19 Alzheimer Awareness Ad

Image credits: Brone9

#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 About Autism

Image credits: AdWorldMasters

#22 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

#23 The Kind Of Advertisement Which Works For Me

Image credits: mighelo

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 Local Advertising Done Right

Image credits: DrossRottenzank

#25 Los Tacos Ad In Norway

Image credits: broseph_johnson

#26 If He Can’t Fix It, No Juan Can

Image credits: deall008

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 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

#28 I Would Hesitate Before Jumping On Board

Image credits: PaperkutRob

#29 Points If You Can Relate?

Image credits: darnoux13

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.