Business Insider's 10 Best Ads Of 2011

Jim Edwards

2011-12-01T13:57:00Z

2011 was a great year for creativity in advertising. (Better than last year, frankly.) The best ads ran the gamut -- from animated epics to simple, dramatic performances that will make you cry. Comedy was big, too, as long as it was smart.

Here are the worst ads of 2011.

This ranking is entirely subjective: I looked at originality, entertainment value, and success stories. These were the brands and the campaigns that stood out. Congratulations to everyone who made the list.

Some of the winners will be familiar to you, but others you'll see for the first time because they ran in foreign countries. (Following the Top 10 list is a compilation of ads that were considered but ultimately rejected.)

The surprise twist at the end? Volkswagen's beloved "Darth Vader" Super Bowl spot -- the one with the little kid who starts his dad's car with the power of the Force -- is not No. 1. Tomorrow, I'll bring you B.I.'s 10 Worst Ads of 2011.

In the meantime, the envelope, please ...

10. Canal+ - "The Bear"

Promotional work for the French TV and movie studio Canal+ is always interesting, but this spot -- in which a bear rug decides that it's seen so many movies it's now qualified to direct them -- is super special. It's not just the funny script, either. Look at the attention to detail. A lot of hard work went into this. Got 461,000 views on YouTube.

Agency: BETC Euro RSCG

9. Taman - "Smoothness"

The first 30 seconds of this commercial seem to be just another run-of-the-mill whisky commercial, albeit for a Swedish audience. But then ... it got 180,000 views on YouTube.

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors

8. New Zealand Transport Agency - "Legend"

It's difficult to make an anti-drink-driving advert that isn't either overly shocking or preachy, but the Kiwis have done it. "Legend" captures the "all about me" inanity of a drunk teen's internal monologue in a way that's both hilarious and touching. Got 1.4 million views on YouTube.

Agency: Clemenger BBDO

7. Cravendale - "Cats With Thumbs"

There was only one ad in 2011 that featured a cat reading a book on military strategy, and this milk ad was it. Got 4.3 million views on YouTube.

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

6. Dead Island - "Official Trailer"

The trailer for the video game Dead Island has a rare quality for an ad: It bears repeat viewing. The spot shows a zombie attack on a vacationing family entirely in reverse, but the plot has an appalling twist that initially leaves viewers puzzled as to what, exactly, just happened. Deeply disturbing and yet so wonderfully clever. (If you can't figure it out, a chronologically ordered version of the ad can be seen here.) Got 7.8 million views on YouTube.

Agency: Deep Silver Planegg

5. Chipotle - "Back to the Start"

This was a perfect marriage of music (Willie Nelson singing Coldplay's "The Scientist") and visuals which told a complex tale of moral imperatives in the food industry through children's animation. Bravo. Got 2.2 million views on YouTube.

Agency: CAA

4. NTT Docomo - "Touch Wood SH-08C"

The ad allegedly uses no artificial sound effects and that forest-based xylophone is real. Utterly charming. Whether it sold wood-case cellphones is another matter. (The tune is Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," BTW.) Got 7.4 million views on YouTube.

Agency: Drill Inc.

3. Nokia - "Splitscreen: A Love Story"

J.W. Griffiths entered Nokia's short film competition and won with this splitscreen tale of a lovers' meeting filmed entirely on a Nokia cellphone. A clever idea beautifully executed. Got 140,000 views on Vimeo.

By: James W. Griffiths

2. Volkswagen - "The Force"

Surely this little charmer needs no introduction? From the moment it first aired during the Super Bowl it won the nation's hearts. Got a staggering 44.5 million views on YouTube.

Agency: Deutsch

1. ISPCC - "I can't wait to grow up"

This is perhaps the most effective anti-child abuse ad ever made. You will not be able to watch it more than once. The ad was so viscerally upsetting -- even though, artfully, it doesn't directly show any violence -- that it was banned from TV in Ireland, the country for which it was made. It's unforgettable, and thus is officially The Best Ad of 2011. Congratulations to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and its ad agency, Dublin-based Ogilvy. It got 616,000 views on YouTube.

Agency: Ogilvy

It was an honor just to be nominated: Continue this slideshow to see some of the ads that were considered for B.I.'s Top 10 but didn't quite make the cut»

HBO/Boardwalk Empire - "Subway Car"

If you're a train geek, then this was one of the most wonderful ads of the year: A real, 1920s era subway train was commissioned for a limited run on New York's subway system and HBO decked it out with period-style ads for Boardwalk Empire, its epic drama about life in Atlantic City during Prohibition.

State Farm - "Weezer"

"Like a good neighbor/State Farm is there" isn't just a jingle, it's an entire song. The insurance company persuaded indie-rock band Weezer to record a version, which they did with several unnecessary levels of earnestness. It totally rocks ... and makes you wonder why State Farm didn't publicize it more or use the music in a full-fledged campaign.

Currys PCWorld - "Vader's Visit"

This would have been a contender for the Top 10 had not the Vader thunder already been stolen by Volkswagen's Super Bowl spot earlier in the year.

Agency: M&C Saatchi

British Airways - "To Fly, to Serve"

Another shot in the epic ad war between BA and Virgin. (The latter's lavishly comical ad in 2010 made my Top 10 for that year.) This one collapses the history of British civil aviation into just a few seconds.

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Google - "Our First Google Wallet Customer"

Google has emerged as an entertaining maker of old-media advertising in the last year and this was no exception, especially for those of you of a certain age who remember the original run of Seinfeld fondly.

Agency: R/GA

Coca-Cola - "The Great Happyfication"

Coke is better-known as an effective marketer than a "you just blew my mind!" marketer. This spot -- a complex, trippy animated fantasy -- was an edgy move for the soda seller.

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Newcastle Brown Ale - "Trapped in a Schooner"

Another non-video entry: Newcastle brought this three-piece plexiglass installation to the Del Mar Race Track. Consumers who stood in the right spot appeared to be drowning in a big glass of beer.

Agency: Vitro

Ford - "Focus Doug"

To get the full "Focus Doug" experience, you need to go to Doug's YouTube channel and watch a bunch of them. The premise is that Doug, a louche orange handpuppet, became a viral video sensation saving innocent people from dime-store robberies and was then tapped by Ford as a spokesperson for the 2012 Focus. The video series was by far the funniest and most adventurous advertising project that Ford has commissioned in a long time, although it never blew up as big as it deserved to be.