Most video ads come and go, but those that feature humour that makes us laugh, puns that make us think or content that tugs right at our heartstrings are here to last and definitely for a few years more.
In today’s digital age, ads no longer merely promote businesses or the cause behind them, they now actually make a point, creating a meaningful impact among viewers. But, before we list down the most impressive, hard-hitting, humorous, creative and downright genius video advertisements we could find this year, let’s explore further the power of today’s video ads.
Video Ads: The Future of Digital Marketing
You’ve heard the saying, a picture paints a thousand words. But, did you know a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words? It only means that with its immense power to get a message across the Internet – 60,000 times faster than text to be exact – you’ll not find any better way to beat the annual decline of the average human attention span than a video content.
In recent years, video marketing has paved the way for marketers to better influence and engage their target audience. While using video content in your marketing strategy used to be an option, it’s now an essential part of your efforts that could either make or break your brand’s success.
The Best Video Ads of 2018
In the past year, several brands have skyrocketed in the digital marketing segment, with their online successes credited to their respective powerful video commercials – and with no further ado, here are some of the best video ads that went viral in 2018.
It’s a Tide Ad
Aired in the 2018 Super Bowl, It’s a Tide Ad recreates typical Super Bowl commercials – such as beer ads and jewellery ads, to name a few – before revealing that it’s actually a Tide ad. It stars Stranger Things actor David Harbour and is the most-tweeted commercial during the league championship.
Its humorous approach and the montage of scenes make the ad relatable, leaving viewers sceptical whether the ad they see every day is a Tide ad. It’s no wonder the Procter & Gamble commercial won the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix award in June.
Giant Skip Ad
Intuit made its Super Bowl debut with this 15-second commercial which features a giant Intuit robot that creates a Skip Ad button.
There are a few things that make this ad great: it’s short, straightforward and doesn’t try to achieve much. The message is spot on: just as how Intuit – the company behind TurboTax and Quickbooks – help you save time, the commercial encourages Super Bowl LII commercials to follow suit. But, more than anything, the commercial also served as a teaser to the brand’s four-minute animated video released prior.
She-I-O
In an effort to honour female farmers on Women’s Equality Day, Land O’Lakes has given the classic nursery rhyme, Old MacDonald Had a Farm a feminist makeover.
The agricultural cooperative pooled the talents of singer Maggie Rose and award-winning songwriter Liz Rose to create She-I-O, a song that serves as a rallying cry for women breaking stereotypes, not only in dairy farming but in every industry as well. It debuted as part of the cooperative’s All Together Better initiative program, where Land O’Lakes will donate a dollar to Feeding America for every share, tag or comment on the music video.
Alexa Loses Her Voice
Alexa losing her voice caused quite a panic at Amazon HQ. But, it turns out the smart speaker that dominates the market segment has quite a few celebrity substitutes lined up in cases as such. Among them include Gordon Ramsay, Cardi B, Rebel Wilson and Anthony Hopkins. They weren’t much effective voice assistants, but at least the video teased what it would be like to have the speaker voiced by famous celebrities, right?
The ingenious part of the campaign comes with the diverse selection of celebrities featured in the ad, each with a distinct and powerful set of characteristics – and while we’d love to see the feature available on the Echo, it is but merely an ad.
Be Proud and Be Confident
Every now and then, the Filipino viewers get a dose of heartwarming, intentionally tear-jerking ads, as if they’re part of some holiday tradition. This year, one of the videos that are leaving a hole in everyone’s heart is a Levi’s Philippines ad for its customised denim jacket.
The video opens with a man entering a Levi’s store who browses through its denim jacket selection. Noticing other customers have theirs customised, he went up to the counter and had his personalised as well.
The finished product? A series of metal studs glued to the jacket’s sleeves. It turns out, the jacket is for his blind son and the studs added to the jacket represents the Braille alphabet that reads, “Anywhere you go, andyan lagi si papa (papa is always with you).” You might find yourself tearing up, just like the rest of the Filipinos who’ve seen the video.
As we’re nearing the end of 2018, we can’t help but feel more excited about what’s to come in the digital marketing industry. Meanwhile, if you’re curious about what else made the headlines this year, read the Best Seo Blogs of 2018.
