Best Ads and Ad Campaigns of All Time

We are exposed to countless amounts of ads in our lifetime. Most we don't remember, but there are some that we will never forget — and more likely than not, we are universally remembering the same ones. So, why do these ads remain in our heads years and years later? It certainly isn't on accident. The truth is, the best ads follow a very specific and thought-out formula created and designed by some of the most talented advertising wizards. They are the masterminds behind what makes these advertisements truly legendary. If making famous ads was easy, we'd probably remember most of the ads we've consumed throughout our lives, but we don't. Legendary ads aren't created overnight — it takes careful planning and a lot of wizardry. What wizardry do you ask? Well, you're in the right place. We've got the spellbook on the greatest ads of all time and how you can join the roster of legends.

4 Basic Types of Advertising

Advertising has come a long way over the years. The digital age has certainly transformed how we advertise in the modern world. However, we've also remained to keep using the same traditional mediums as they are still highly effective. Let's go over the four most basic types of advertising used today.

Internet Advertising

Starting with our most modern advertising platform, the internet. Internet advertising is a form of advertising that uses the internet and the World Wide Web to deliver marketing messages to consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, many types of display advertising (including web banner advertising) and mobile advertising. Internet advertising evolved rapidly in the early years of the 21st century with the emergence of web banner advertising, text ads and then rich media ads. In 2022, global spending on internet advertising is expected to exceed $250 billion.

TV Advertising

TV advertising is a form of advertising that uses television commercials to deliver messages to consumers. TV advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising, and it is used to promote a wide variety of products and services. One of the benefits of TV ads is that they can reach a large number of people at once. Additionally, TV advertising can create an emotional response in viewers, which can make them more likely to remember the advertisement and what it was for. TV advertising is also effective at building brand awareness. When viewers see an advertisement multiple times, they are more likely to remember the product or service being advertised and to consider purchasing it in the future. Want to enhance your TV advertising? At Wizard of Ads®, we help businesses become advertising masters. With our acclaimed expertise, you’ll soon be generating ads that attract more customers and boost sales.

Radio Advertising

Radio advertising is a form of marketing communication that uses radio stations to deliver advertising messages to the listening public. Radio advertising may be local, regional or national in scope. It may be targeted to specific demographic groups, or it may be broad-based. Radio advertising has been around since the early 1920s, and it continues to be a popular marketing medium today. Several things make radio advertising an attractive marketing option. For one thing, radio reaches a large audience. In the United States, there are more than 234 million radio listeners. That’s a lot of potential customers! Radio advertising is also very affordable. It’s usually less expensive to advertise on the radio than it is to advertise on television. And, because radio commercials are brief, they don’t require a big investment in time or money.

Print Advertising

Print advertising is a form of advertising that uses printed materials to promote a product or service. Some of the most common forms of print advertising include newspapers, magazines and direct mail. Print advertising can be a very effective way to reach out to potential customers and generate leads because it allows businesses to target a specific audience based on their interests (i.e. advertising a make-up line in a women's magazine). However, it is important to make sure that your print advertisements are well-designed and engaging to achieve the best results.

8 Best Ads and Ad Campaigns of All Time and Why They are Successful

Now that you know the four basic types of advertising and how they are effective, let's go over the best ads and ad campaigns we’ve seen throughout the years.

Google - Year in Search

Let's start with Google's "Year in Search" ad. This popular ad campaigned on the internet as a Youtube video back in 2010. It was ranked as one of the best ads of that year. The video is a montage of the most popular Google searches from 2009 to 2010. The ad is interesting because it doesn't focus on selling a product or service. Instead, it focuses on showing the viewer what has interested people over the past year. This makes it a great way to connect with potential customers. It also gives them a glimpse into what Google is all about: providing information to their users. This type of advertising is called "brand marketing." It's a way to build awareness and create an emotional connection with potential customers. When done well, it can be very effective in getting people to remember your company or product.

Procter & Gamble - Proud sponsors of Moms

Next on the list is Procter & Gamble's "Thank You, Mom" tv commercial ad. This ad came out in 2012 and was one of the best ads of the year because it showed the power of a mother's love. It was very emotional and tugged on people's heartstrings. The ad also provided a feeling of nostalgia. It showed different mothers from all over the world helping their children with various activities. Nostalgia marketing is a powerful tactic that can be very effective in getting people to make buying choices. In the commercial, different Olympians thanked their mothers for everything they had done for them. The ad was very effective in showing how much mothers mean to their children. This made it very memorable and truly resonated with viewers.

Coca-Cola - Share a Coke

This ingenious ad campaign started in 2011 in Australia. Coca-Cola took its famous logo and replaced the text with 150 common first names. For example, “Share a Coke with John” or “Share a Coke with Sarah.” This was a fun and unique way to motivate consumers to buy a Coke and share it with friends and family. The campaign was an instant success and was eventually rolled out to other countries. So what made this ad campaign so successful? There are several reasons. First of all, it was very creative and unique. Most people had never seen an ad like this before. Secondly, the campaign was very interactive. Consumers could go online and find out what name was on their Coke bottle. And lastly, the campaign was very social media-friendly. Consumers could post photos of themselves with their “Share a Coke” bottles on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, which boosted Coca-Cola's brand awareness.

Absolut Vodka - The Absolut Bottle

In 1986, the famous Andy Warhol created Absolut Vodka's famous print ad campaign, "The Absolut Bottle." This campaign was one of the best ads of its time because it took the generic shape of the Absolute bottle and made it the most recognizable bottle at the time. The print ads were designed to make the bottle look like it was part of the environment, i.e. yellow cabs arranged in the shape of a bottle. This campaign was so successful that it ran 25 years and is still recognized today as one of the best ads of all time. When you can take a generic product and made it a work of art that grabs people's attention, that is where true print ads thrive.

Volkswagen - Think Small

Let's go back in time to an even older print ad campaign, Volkswagon's "Think Small" ads. This campaign challenged its viewers with the idea that driving a smaller German car instead of the bigger, more popular American car was the cool new thing. Mind you, the ad came out 15 years after World War II when everyone was driving American cars that were HUGE by comparison. The "Think Small" campaign was a hit and helped Volkswagon become one of the most successful car companies in America. It played off of Americans' pride in their country and their desire to be seen as cutting-edge and fashionable.

California Milk Processor Board - Got Milk? (feat: Wolverine)

One of America's most famous ad campaigns, "Got Milk" really hit it home when it featured Wolverine. The California Milk Processor Board's print ad came out in 1993 and featured the X-Men character with a milk mustache and the slogan, "I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do is drink milk." The ad was so popular that it was even turned into a TV commercial. The California Milk Processor Board did a great job of playing to Wolverine's persona as a badass superhero. The ad's clever slogan and visual punch helped it stand out from other milk ads at the time. It's no wonder that it became one of the best-known milk ads in America.

Apple - Get a Mac

Apple's "Get a Mac" commercial ad was one of the best commercials of all time because it was funny, relatable and memorable. The ad campaign ran from 2006 to 2009 and featured Mac (played by Justin Long) and PC (played by John Hodgman) competing with each other in a series of tongue-in-cheek ads. The ads were so popular that they spawned several parodies, and even today, people still reference the "Get a Mac" ads when talking about Apple and PC rivalry. The ads were successful in highlighting the differences between Macs and PCs and made Macs seem cooler and more user-friendly than PCs. They also provided a 42 percent increase in Apple's market share growth.

KFC - "FCK" Apology Ad

KFC's "FCK" Apology Ad was one of the best ads in recent memory. The ad was in response to when the business ran out of chicken in the U. K. in 2018. In the print ad, it shows an empty KFC bucket with the letters jumbled around to read "FCK." The ad was praised for its humor and honesty. It was a refreshing change from the usual corporate apologies, which are often dry and formulaic. The ad also helped to increase KFC's sales in the U. K. after the chicken shortage. The jumbled letters created a visual pun that was amusing and memorable, and rather than trying to gloss over the problem, KFC owned up to their mistake and apologized publicly. This showed that the company was willing to be transparent and accountable for its actions, which promoted positive feelings about the brand.

Bonus - An Ad that Went Terribly Wrong

While it’s always important to share the good ads, it's just as important to share the bad ads as well. Bad ads are a standing example of what you shouldn’t do when creating your ads, so let’s get into it.

Facebook - Introducing Meta Video Ad

Facebook is no stranger to creating interesting and innovative ad campaigns. However, their latest attempt, "Introducing Meta," was anything but a success. The ad features Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg giving a walk-through on how he is changing his company name to "Meta" and introducing his new project, "The Metaverse." This ad was a huge flop because first, they have Zuckerberg, one of the most awkward and controversial figures in recent years, presenting the commercial. The ad also gives off an unsettling "Black Mirror" vibe if you also mix it with the longest and most boring infomercial you can think of. In the end, this campaign was nothing more than a mess — and a costly one at that, dipping their trustworthy score by 6.2 percent. If you want to create legendary ads that are remembered for years to come, contact Wizard of Ads® today. Our team of advertising wizards will help you create engaging, entertaining and profitable ads that stand out from the competition. With our help, you can boost your sales and take your business to the next level. Contact us today to get started!