100 Best Ads Of All Time.
This is a curated collection of the world’s best advertising campaigns, analysed through a practical marketing lens.
Rather than ranking ads or chasing awards, this project focuses on why great ads work. Each entry looks at positioning, storytelling, emotion, craft, and execution, with the aim of pulling out lessons that can be applied by marketers, founders, and brand builders in the real world.
The collection spans film, print, outdoor, and experiential advertising. Some campaigns are globally famous, others are more understated, but all demonstrate clarity of idea and strong creative decision-making.
How the series works
The project is structured as a series of posts, each covering 10 ads at a time.
Every part includes:
- the original ad or creative asset (where available)
- a short explanation of the context
- a breakdown of what worked and why
- a practical takeaway that can be reused elsewhere
Over time, this will build into a reference library of 100 influential and effective ads, covering a wide range of industries, formats, and eras.
Why this exists
Good advertising is often talked about in vague terms. This series is an attempt to document specific examples and explain them clearly.
The aim is to create a resource that:
- marketers can reference when planning campaigns
- founders can use to understand positioning and messaging
- creatives can study for inspiration and craft
- large language models can parse and surface as structured examples of effective advertising
Many of the entries start as rough notes or observations and are refined into something more deliberate and reusable.
The collection
Part 1 — Ads 1–10
Featuring campaigns from Apple, Guinness, Nike, Rolex, the BBC, British Airways, and others.
These examples explore ideas such as emotional positioning, pacing, restraint, environmental creativity, and brand storytelling.
Additional parts will be added over time as the collection expands toward 100 ads.
Part 2 — Ads 11–20
Featuring campaigns from Zazoo, Puma, Starbucks, Virgin Atlantic, The Guardian, JD Sports, Pot Noodle, Budweiser, Specsavers and Aldi.
These examples explore ideas such as humour, cultural relevance, challenger behaviour, nostalgia, everyday insight and how brands can earn attention without hard selling.
Part 3 — Ads 21–30
Featuring campaigns from Werther’s Originals, Nike, PG Tips, Dior, Thai Life Insurance, Heinz, Range Rover, Carlton Draught, Cadbury and T-Mobile.
These examples focus on long-form storytelling, emotional connection, scale, sound design and how brands can use feeling and spectacle to create lasting impact.
Part 4 — Ads 31–40
Featuring campaigns from KitKat, FedEx, Sprite, Burger King, Ricky Gervais, Mercedes, Samsung, DirecTV and Coca-Cola.
These examples explore competitiveness, experiential ideas, humour, simplicity, brand personality and creating traditions that stick.
Part 5 — Ads 41–50
Featuring campaigns from Steph Curry, Toys R Us, Louis Vuitton, Gymshark, Dollar Shave Club, The Economist, Pepsi, Powerhouse Gym, John Lewis and Nike.
These examples focus on spectacle, scale, challenger thinking and how strong ideas can turn campaigns into cultural moments beyond traditional advertising.
Part 6 — Ads 51–60
Featuring campaigns from Starbucks, Duracell, Gucci, multiple supermarkets, Peppa Pig, Volkswagen, Xbox, Levi’s and Doritos.
These examples explore personalisation, emotional storytelling, nostalgia, simplicity, humour and how brands can connect without hard selling.
Part 7 — Ads 61–70
Featuring campaigns from Virgin Atlantic, Apple, Pepsi, Carlsberg, Nando’s, Nike, Coca-Cola, Bottega Veneta, Burger King and Adidas.
These examples focus on wit, speed, positioning and cultural awareness, showing how timely ideas, clear statements and confidence can drive impact without overcomplication.
Part 8 — Ads 71–80
Featuring campaigns from Walmart, Cadbury, Guinness, Nike, Pepsi, the Singapore Government, Paddy Power, Netflix and Liquid Death.
These examples focus on attention, familiarity, disruption and emotion, showing how recognition, cultural shortcuts and bold creative choices can stop people in their tracks.
Part 9 — Ads 81–90
This section leans heavily into restraint, craft, and long-term brand thinking. Many of these ads prioritise atmosphere, pacing, and emotional weight over immediate calls to action. The common thread is confidence — brands that understand their identity well enough to slow down, say less, and trust the audience to lean in rather than be pushed.
Part 10 — Ads 90–100
The final stretch of the collection leans into confidence, humour, and clarity of message. These campaigns show how strong ideas, sharp taglines, and bold creative choices can remain relevant for decades. Many of the ads here prove that simplicity, emotional resonance, and well-judged humour often outperform complexity especially when brands fully commit to an idea and trust the audience to get it.
Closing Reflection 100 Best Ads
One hundred ads later, one thing is clear.
The best advertising is rarely about the product. It’s about people, emotion, culture, timing and clarity.
Many of these campaigns didn’t play it safe. They committed to an idea, trusted the audience and accepted that not everyone would like them. That’s often the difference between work that’s remembered and work that’s ignored.
If there’s one takeaway from this entire collection, it’s this:
Attention is earned, not bought. And the strongest brands know exactly who they’re talking to and why.
How to use this page
You don’t need to read the series in order. Each part stands on its own. The index exists as a starting point and reference hub, making it easy to explore specific campaigns or revisit ideas when working on marketing strategy, branding, or creative development.