A marketing team’s job seems like it must get harder and harder as the years go by. Most people are being constantly bombarded with ads, posters, banners, videos, and slogans, to such a degree that “ad blindness” is becoming a measurable phenomenon. So when an ad actually makes you stop and look, it’s a sign that someone knew what they were doing. 

The “Brilliant Advertisements” Instagram page shares marketing campaigns that stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. So guard your wallet, get comfortable as you scroll through, and be sure to upvote your favorites. 

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#1 UNICEF "One Shot Is Enough" Campaign On Cyber Bullying That Won A Set Of Gold Press And Outdoor Lions At Cannes In 2015

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#2 "Man Of Steel" Superman Elevator Ad

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Not every brilliant marketing campaign is an ad. Some brands have realized that just attaching their name to something people are paying attention to can bring recognition and associations. For example, Dove’s “real beauty” campaign wasn’t exactly promoting the company's products, rather, it was simply research on women’s self-perceptions of beauty. 

One of its most famous takeaways was the startling discovery that “only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful.” Given that you probably see more than a dozen beautiful women while strolling around any city center for less than an hour, the study highlighted the havoc unrealistic beauty standards had caused for female mental health. 

#3 Don't Buy Exotic Animal Souvenirs

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#4 If You Want Stronger Marriage, Work On It Together

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#5 Anti-Smoking

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So people and media outlets were discussing and sharing a study that tactically included Dove’s branding and logo and linked to their official website. This way, Dove escaped the trap of “ad blindness” by using (important) research as a sort of Trojan horse. In a sense, this sort of marketing is perhaps a best-case scenario, as a company spends its resources to make something useful for all of us. 

#6 Daihatsu

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#7 New Tattoo Artists Wanted For Berrge Tattoo Studio. To Apply, You Have To Fill In The Qr Code Carefully!

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#8 Unicef - Every Child Needs A Family

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There is a sort of arms race going on, as marketers are becoming increasingly aware that more and more of us have learned to tune out most advertisements. Posters and billboards hardly raise an eye and most of us simply do something else when an unskippable video ad plays. Interestingly, even before 2000, researchers had noticed that many people already had “banner blindness.” 

#9 Band Aid: Flexible Fabric

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#10 Creative Marketing

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#11 Erdal Shoe Polish

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Further studies into the topic have found that a staggering 93% of ads go unviewed even when directly in front of the user. Add in the prevalence of ad blockers and similar technology and one begins to wonder if anyone has actually ever viewed an internet ad. This, unfortunately, is probably the reason so many banner ads are aggressive, loud, and deceitful, as they need every trick in the book to get you to look for more than a second. 

#12 These Guys Came Up With The Lollipop In 1958. While Others Promote Their Sugar-Free Products Stressing The Health, Chupa Chups Does It Differently

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#13 Think Of Both Sides

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#14 Toothpaste Billboard

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Interestingly, this number will likely be even lower on sites that you frequent. Once you are familiar with a digital “environment,” your eyes simply know where to look and what to ignore. In other words, your brain collaborates with your eyes to make a deeply effective form of ad blocker. Somewhat nice to know that multimillion-dollar campaigns can be disrupted by your brain on autopilot. 

#15 Don't Selfie And Drive

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#16 Sopranos Taxi Ad

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#17 "Obscene To Some. Beautiful To Us."

This ad is from Queer Lisboa, the Portuguese Film Festival dedicated exclusively to screening gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and transsexual themed films, a genre known as Queer Cinema | Agency: Fuel Lisboa

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Despite copious research and the ability to see, in real-time, what generates clicks or not, some companies still seem to think it’s acceptable to run terrible, annoying, and ineffective ads. Studies have shown that using specific calls to action, like “click here” or “sign up now” has practically no effect on the user's actions. 

#18 Silberman's Fitness Center

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#19 McDonald's: Open 24 Hours

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#20 More And More Cyclists Are Being Injured In Streets And Roads

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In the same way that a brilliant ad can make a pretty regular company stand out, a terrible ad can tear down its reputation independent of how we feel about its products. There is no shortage of ads so annoying that many of us promise ourselves that we will simply never use these products out of spite. Research shows that annoying or distracting ads actually generate negative emotions in the average user. 

#21 DHL: The Fastest Express Service

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#22 Arno Turbo Fan

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#23 Feed SA, A South African Charity

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Particularly in online advertising, the user's preconceptions about the brand are possibly the most important part. Because online ads are more intrusive than traditional ads, which we tend to think of as simply part of any inhabited area’s decor, they create stronger emotions. So seeing the ad of a brand we like, just reminds us that it exists, while the inverse is just as true. 

#24 Mini: Outside The Box

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#25 Advertisement For The Dubai Autism Center

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#26 Seagram India: Make A Responsible Choice

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Of course, this does all create fertile ground for smart and creative advertisers. Most of us could probably think up a bog-standard ad in our heads right now, so a more “out-there” ad might actually catch our eye. Similarly, as the average ad now is ignored and disregarded, anything that does appear interesting to us is likely to hold our attention for longer. 

#27 Harry's Bread: Nice And Soft

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#28 Heinz Hot Ketchup

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#29 Semi-Transparent Billboard To Convey The Feeling Of Speed

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While some go the low road and simply blast us with noise, lies, and sound, this list shows that there is still room for good ideas that stimulate us, instead of just clutter. So if you want to keep looking at ads (not a common occurrence) Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our other articles on creative designs and brilliant ads. 

#30 Kashinsky & Stergakos Dental-Care

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#31 Nivea: Because Life Makes Wrinkles

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#32 Impossible

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#33 Tipp-Ex

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#34 Guinness: Phones Down, Please

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#35 Biolink Shampoo Intense Moisture

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