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ARISTON AQUALTIS | UNDERWATER WORLD | 2006
There Was an Ocean Living Inside the Washing Machine / ARISTON "UNDERWATER WORLD"
A washing machine ad won the Gold Lion at Cannes and ended up in the Louvre. A washing machine ad.
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CORONA | SUN RESERVE | 2025
An Invention: Protecting the Sun With the Law / CORONA "SUN RESERVE"
For its 100th anniversary, Corona did something unheard of: it turned the sun itself into a protected reserve. Usually when you hear "reserve," you think forests or oceans — nobody protects the sun. And the way they pulled it off was a total legal hack.
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FONDATION DE FRANCE | BEE_INFLUENCER | 2020
Why an Influencer Became a Honeybee / FONDATION DE FRANCE "BEE_INFLUENCER"
I always thought influencers were a human thing. Turns out I was wrong. A bee smaller than an inch gathered 280,000 followers on Instagram and poured the ad money straight into saving her own species. This really happened.
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KLOOP | KOSHOGO | 2019
Printing rejected accusations onto white curtains / KLOOP "KOSHOGO"
A white cloth appeared in the city. It was supposed to be a symbol of marriage—but it had become a record of violence.
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NZ FIRE SERVICE | SPEED OF FIRE | 2003
Watching Fire Spread in Real Time / NZ FIRE SERVICE "SPEED OF FIRE"
As a timer ticks steadily forward, a living room fills with smoke. From New Zealand in 2002 comes an ad that shows the speed of fire exactly as it happens.
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BACK MARKET | HACK MARKET | 2022
Using the enemy's weapon inside the enemy's temple / Back Market "HACK MARKET"
Inside an Apple Store, using AirDrop, sending a message to someone about to buy an Apple product: "You can get that cheaper at our place." It's a little crazy (in the best way).
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VOLKSWAGEN | DON'T MAKE UP AND DRIVE | 2012
A makeup tutorial suddenly crashes / VOLKSWAGEN "DON'T MAKE UP AND DRIVE"
You're watching a tutorial on how to do your makeup, when suddenly you hear a car crash and the screen shakes. That's the one-minute video VOLKSWAGEN put out on YouTube in 2012.
SEAWEED | DESIGN NORI | 2012
The Blind Spot: Designing the Seaweed Itself / SEAWEED "DESIGN NORI"
Using a laser cutter to etch patterns into sheets of nori that hadn't changed in 500 years. The idea of designing the product itself, not the package, was a total blind spot.
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GO EQUAL MOVEMENT | #GOEQUAL | 2020
To celebrate a historic goal, she pointed to a symbol of equality / GO EQUAL MOVEMENT "#GOEQUAL"
In June 2019, the moment she scored in a Women's World Cup match, Brazilian soccer legend Marta Vieira da Silva dramatically pointed to her own cleat. It was a historic moment, breaking the record for most World Cup goals scored by any player, male or female. There was no corporate sponsor logo on that shoe—just a pink and blue equality symbol shining on it.
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BRITISH AIRWAYS | Surprise Surprise | 1993
What Happened in That Movie Theater? / British Airways "Surprise Surprise"
Something happened in a movie theater in 1993. The title "Surprise Surprise" seems to say it all, but the details remain a mystery.
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ASDRA | ABSURD PROMISES | 2024
Why Is This Simpler Than a Politician's Promise, Yet Nobody Mentions It? / ASDRA "ABSURD PROMISES"
During Argentina's 2023 presidential election, candidates were making grand, nearly impossible promises, but not one of them said a word about people with disabilities. People with Down syndrome, in particular, were bound by an absurd law: even though their genetic condition never changes, they had to renew their disability certificate every single year or lose their rights. To expose this contradiction, VML and ASDRA started tweeting a certain index in real time during a live presidential debate.
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CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT OF THE CANTON OF BASEL-STADT | Light Frieze | 2017
An ancient decoration reborn as pixels of light / CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT OF THE CANTON OF BASEL-STADT "Light Frieze"
A brick wall that glows like it's breathing. This piece brings back the "frieze"—the decorative band that has adorned buildings since ancient Greece—as a 21st-century media facade.
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FOX NETWORK | NHL on Fox - Better If It Were Hockey | 1998
Hook You in 10 Seconds, Then Make You Laugh / FOX NETWORK "Better If It Were Hockey"
This is an ad from 1998, back when FOX held the broadcast rights to the NHL. It shows footage of a squash match and then flatly declares, "This would be better if it were hockey" — the sheer boldness of that move is something else.
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OLD SPICE | DIKEMBE MUTOMBO'S 4 1/2 WEEKS TO SAVE THE WORLD | 2013
4 and a Half Weeks Until the End of the World, and Mutombo's Wagging His Finger / OLD SPICE "DIKEMBE MUTOMBO'S 4 1/2 WEEKS TO SAVE THE WORLD"
According to the Mayan calendar, the world was supposed to end on 12/21/2012 (December 21, 2012). Old Spice picked its savior: Dikembe Mutombo, one of the greatest defenders in NBA history. And the whole idea of saving the world through an 8-bit game is already pretty absurd.
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BILLBOARD ARABIA | THE SECOND RELEASE | 2025
A Diva's Return After 30 Years, Revived by AI / BILLBOARD ARABIA "THE SECOND RELEASE"
Bringing back a forgotten diva with AI. And timing it to Saudi Arabia's National Day, no less. The moment I heard this, my first thought was "wait, is this a good idea?" But the result was a Cannes Lions Gold - in a category where only 0.78% of all entries win.
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LOUVRE ABU DHABI | Highway Gallery | 2018
Turning a Desert Highway into the World's First Gallery / Louvre Abu Dhabi "Highway Gallery"
You're driving down a desert highway when the radio suddenly starts explaining Van Gogh. Outside your window: a giant "self-portrait." What Louvre Abu Dhabi pulled off was basically a free sample of an entire museum.
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LA REDOUTE | THE NAKED MAN | 2012
An invention: paper over a mistake with more mistakes / La Redoute "THE NAKED MAN"
On January 4, 2012, French fashion retailer La Redoute posted a photo of kids' clothing that happened to have a fully naked man in the background. People instantly branded it an "epic PR fail" and it spread like wildfire. So what did the agency do? Not apologize — they planted more weird photos all over the site and turned it into a game. This completely backwards decision ended up winning a Gold Lion at Cannes.
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NIKE | Footballverse | 2023
The Answer Was "The Future" / NIKE "Footballverse"
This is the answer NIKE gave to "who is the greatest player of all time." In a secret research lab in Switzerland, Ronaldinho, CR7, and Mbappé clash across time and space over four and a half minutes. The conclusion: "the best is yet to come." Simple, but powerful.
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HONDA | IMPOSSIBLE DREAM | 2006
Racing Through 50 Years of Dreams in Two Minutes / HONDA "IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
This two-minute ad aired in the UK on December 2, 2005 (12/2). Set to Andy Williams's "The Impossible Dream," a man in a racing suit moves from one historic Honda vehicle to the next. The sequence gets wonderfully wild—he jumps off a waterfall in a boat and comes floating back out of the mist in a hot air balloon. It all ends with Garrison Keillor's voice saying "I couldn't have put it better myself," wrapping up a perfect two minutes.
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ITC SAVLON | Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks | 2017
The Moment Chalk Turns Into Soap / ITC Savlon "Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks"
Kids wrote on the blackboard with chalk, and that same chalk let them wash their hands. Here's the story of how soap reached children in rural India.
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NIKE | STICKMAN | 2003
A Stick Figure Outdoes a Superstar / NIKE "STICKMAN"
In 2003, a black stick figure stepped onto the pitch alongside Ronaldinho and started kicking a ball around. But it didn't stop there. It swallowed the ball whole, ripped off its own leg, and used it to take a shot. One wildly illegal-feeling move.
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VOLKSWAGEN | Surprisingly Ordinary Prices - Dentist | 1997
£14,650. Why did the dentist freeze mid-procedure? / Volkswagen "Dentist"
A dentist, hand still inside a patient's mouth, freezes with wide eyes. That single shot became part of British advertising history in the 90s.
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HEINEKEN | AUDITORIUM | 2010
The Classical Concert Trap / HEINEKEN "AUDITORIUM"
On October 21, 2009, 1,000 football fans gathered at an auditorium in Milan, with no idea they were walking straight into a trap.
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IMPULSE | ART SCHOOL | 1998
This Is a Condom Ad / IMPULSE "ART SCHOOL"
A nude model at an art school "reacts" when a woman arrives late to class. The awkwardness of the moment gets expressed through the objects around them, used as metaphors. This was a body spray commercial that aired on British television in 1998.
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LOCTITE | ROCKING CHAIR | 1990
A Rocking Chair Makes the Case for Strong Glue / LOCTITE "ROCKING CHAIR"
Chile, 1990. A LOCTITE glue commercial starring a rocking chair. The only thing we know for sure is that it won Gold.
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NACAIDS | THE GRIM REAPER | 1988
Fear Saved No One / NACAIDS "THE GRIM REAPER"
In 1987, a bowling alley appeared on Australian television. The pins the Grim Reaper's ball knocked down were a mother holding a baby, and children at play. It was pulled off air after just three weeks — one of the most controversial ads in the history of public health.
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BRITVIC | SAINT GEORGE | 1997
Etched into Advertising History in Just 10 Airings / BRITVIC Tango "SAINT GEORGE"
A 90-second commercial that ran just 10 times carved its name into advertising history. The budget went almost entirely into production, and the airtime was limited to a single show, TFI Friday. This wasn't cutting corners—it was the plan all along.
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ADDICT AIDE | LIKE MY ADDICTION | 2017
Every Time You Hit Like, You Were Missing an Addiction / ADDICT AIDE "LIKE MY ADDICTION"
A chic Parisian woman gathered followers in just a few weeks. Travel, parties, boats — nobody noticed, but there was alcohol in every single photo.
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GIRLS WHO CODE | DOJACODE | 2022
Write Code, and Doja Appears / GIRLS WHO CODE "DOJACODE"
"Doja Cat is one of 999 things girls care about." That one sentence sums up the whole idea. If girls aren't interested in coding, why not use one of those 999 things to pull them in? Doja, in this case.
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GUINNESS | Not everything in black and white makes sense (Bicycle) | 1997
A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle / GUINNESS "Bicycle"
A fish hops on a bicycle and pedals smoothly off the edge of the screen. In that one moment, every bit of logic built up before it gets turned upside down.
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RUH FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP | The National Sport of Kazakhstan | 2024
Why Did Men Only Get Angry Once They Saw It in the Ring? / RUH Fighting Championship "The National Sport of Kazakhstan"
A ring where men and women fight each other? Unthinkable, the men raged. But inside their own homes, they said nothing. RUH Fighting Championship exposed that silence.
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BOSCH | Fresh Stone-Age Meat | 2010
Dinosaur meat, fresh today / BOSCH "Fresh Stone-Age Meat"
Mammoth steak in the freezer aisle. Dinosaur leg cuts. Saber-tooth tiger fillet. Packaged up like they're totally real products, sitting right there on the shelf. The confused faces of shoppers walking by? Priceless.
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NSPCC | CARTOON | 2002
Real children don't bounce back / NSPCC "CARTOON"
A boy who looks like he stepped out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon gets hit by his father. Burned with a cigarette. Pushed down the stairs. A laugh track plays, and because he's a cartoon, he bounces right back. But in the final moment, the boy turns into a real child, and he doesn't move.
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UPSIDE DOWN & INSIDE OUT - S7 AIRLINES | Upside Down & Inside Out | 2017
A 10-Year Dream Fulfilled in 27 Seconds × 8 / S7 AIRLINES "Upside Down & Inside Out"
Shooting a music video in zero gravity — a dream OK Go had been holding onto for ten years finally came true when they crossed paths with S7 Airlines.
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VOLKSWAGEN GROUP | LUNCH-BREAK | 1996
What Happened During the Lunch Break? / Volkswagen "LUNCH-BREAK"
London, 1996. This was the era when Volkswagen was taking on the UK market around the theme of "affordability." The title is "LUNCH-BREAK." What happens during a lunch break? There's something in that humor and sharp eye for detail that feels distinctly BMP DDB Needham.
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HERALBONY | HERALBONY Art Prize | 2025
The world recognized "brilliant disorder" / HERALBONY "HERALBONY Art Prize"
A venture company from Iwate won Gold at Cannes Lions, in the "Glass: The Lion for Change" category. This is the story of HERALBONY, a company that has treated art by artists with intellectual disabilities not as charity, but as business.
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DU | TOO DEPRESSING (Cinema Tuesdays) | 2014
Too lonely to laugh. Except you will. / DU "TOO DEPRESSING"
Watching a movie alone, in a theater, and it's a hopeless tragedy on top of that. Is there a crueler punishment? The first time I saw this ad from du, I laughed so hard I cried. I couldn't believe something this dark actually got approved.
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LA SIRENA | END THE SILENCE | 2016
Silence itself was an accomplice to the violence / LA SIRENA "END THE SILENCE"
A live news anchor appeared on air with a bruise on her face, as if she'd been hit. Viewers were stunned. But it wasn't an accident or an incident — it was a live on-air intervention staged by a supermarket chain.
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TOYOTA | START YOUR IMPOSSIBLE | 2019
Take Away the Car, and You See Mobility / TOYOTA "START YOUR IMPOSSIBLE"
The car disappeared from Toyota's global campaign. What's shown instead: wheelchairs, robotic prosthetic legs, support robots. A car maker made an ad that doesn't show a car.
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眞露 | 恋スル！チャミスル シーズン1／恋するチャミスル シーズン2 | 2022
Six and a Half Minutes of Nonstop "So Relatable!" Moments / Jinro "Falling for Chamisul"
A forbidden romance across class lines, amnesia, a rich young heir, the fiancée of a company president's daughter—this ad packs in every K-drama plot twist you've ever seen, and I couldn't stop watching all six and a half minutes of it.
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HARIBO | キッズボイス 相撲 | 2021
Sumo Wrestlers Saying "Squishy-Squishy" Are Almost Too Cute for Their Own Good / HARIBO "Kids' Voices: Sumo"
A hulking sumo wrestler in a yukata says things like "Squishy-squishy~" and "It's so juicy." But the voice is a child's. For three seconds you're confused, and the next second you're already grinning.
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NOBLEX/ PARAMOUNT+ | THE CEO (El Gerente) | 2023
A Promotion Becomes a Movie, Wins Gold at Cannes / NOBLEX "THE CEO" (El Gerente)
A promotion from 2017 turned into a 105-minute movie six years later, got a theatrical release, and won Gold at Cannes. It's the kind of thing that gives you goosebumps just thinking that it actually happened.
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MERCEDES BENZ | REUNION | 2012
The Weight of a Word Like "Reunion" / MERCEDES BENZ "REUNION"
The title is "REUNION." This Mercedes film was made in 2012 by BBDO Johannesburg in South Africa, and it won Gold.
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加賀市 | 加賀市新幹線対策室 | 2020
Turning Jealousy Into a Bid for the Bullet Train / Kaga City "Kaga City Shinkansen Countermeasures Office"
Has there ever been local government PR that put jealousy front and center like this? Taking the frustration of losing out to Kanazawa and turning it straight into fuel for a "Go, Kaga!" cheering mood. You rarely see local PR this honest, and this lovable.
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BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION | HARD, FAST & EFFECTIVE | 2013
The Ad That Brought 28 People Back to Life / British Heart Foundation "HARD, FAST & EFFECTIVE"
People who watched this ad ended up saving 28 lives. An ad whose success gets measured not by awareness or likability, but by "how many people came back from the dead" — that's not something you see every day.
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CAPE TOWN TOURISM | SEND YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE TO CAPE TOWN | 2013
An Invention Called Sending Your Facebook Profile / CAPE TOWN TOURISM "SEND YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE TO CAPE TOWN"
"If we can't send everyone to Cape Town, let's send their Facebook profiles instead." In 2013, someone actually turned that idea into an app.
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CHEVROLET | Taxi Drivers' University | 2011
A Real University That Taxi Drivers Could Actually Attend / Chevrolet "Taxi Drivers' University"
There are moments when an ad stops being an ad. This campaign is exactly that. Chevrolet in Colombia built a real university for taxi drivers.
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GLOBO TV | One Thousand Casmurros | 2009
1,000 People Read One Book / GLOBO TV "One Thousand Casmurros"
Split a book into 1,000 pieces and have 1,000 people read it. Who even comes up with that?