Best of 2012: The Drum team's favourite ads, design, websites and apps of the year

So without further ado, here are some of our favourite things from 2012...

Dumb Ways to Die

Chosen by Gordon Young, editorA 'Charlie Says...' for the 21st century, Dumb Ways to Die has to go down as one of the most popular and creative public safety films of all time. Created by McCanns for Metro Trains in Melbourne, the video’s amusing animation and insanely catchy soundtrack has seen it clock up more than 34 million views on YouTube at the time of writing. McCann claimed that within two weeks the ad had generated at least £20m worth of global media value for "a fraction of the cost of one TV ad". It just goes to show that big budgets aren’t everything.

Lego 'Imagine' by Jung Von Matt

Chosen by Thomas O'Neill, assistant editorA series of print ads for Lego by German agency Jung Von Matt which was simple, minimalist, clever and, most of all, fun. While it could never be accused of breaking new ground, the campaign was hugely successful in engaging with its audience, allowing us to indulge in a bout of shameless nostalgia and achieving the near impossible for a print ad by spreading throughout the blogosphere in hours and staying there for weeks.

Xbox SmartGlass app

Chosen by Stephen Lepitak, news editorThe SmartGlass app is Microsoft's clever way of linking its Xbox console to the other devices its users own. Acting as a remote control but more impressively as a second screen, it offers a tantalising glimpse into the future of video games, adding a whole new layer of possibilities to the typical linear gaming experience. While it still feels like early days for this technology, I definitely see its potential for mass adoption given the way it can heighten the home entertainment experience.

Uncle Drew by Pepsi Max

Chosen by Cameron Clarke, opinion editorNBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving spent four hours in make-up so he could adopt the persona of ‘Uncle Drew’, a pensioner who looks light-years away from being a professional athlete. When Uncle Drew steps into a street game in New Jersey, the unsuspecting players can barely stifle their sniggers. Little do they know what's about to hit them as Drew teaches the 'Young Bloods' how to play ball the old school way. A huge viral success (the original video has had 18 million views and spawned a similarly popular sequel), Uncle Drew shows the potential of branded content - so long as there's a great idea behind it.

Sainsbury's Tiger Bread makeover

Chosen by Ishbel Macleod, reporter and communities coordinatorThinking all the way back to January, I absolutely loved the decision by Sainsbury’s to change the name of its tiger bread to giraffe bread, following a letter from a little girl. Even though the letter from the three-and-a-half year old took place last year, Sainsbury’s were quick to capitalise when a picture of the letter Lily sent, and a response from customer service team member Chris, went viral. Within days of this, Sainsbury’s announced the name change of the bread and a Facebook page supporting Chris was set up (it has over 4000 members). Genius work!

Microsoft IE9's Brandon Generator

Chosen by Jess Davies, senior reporterMicrosoft IE9’s graphic-novel-style campaign Brandon Generator, created by Lbi and 3 Monkeys, was one of the highlights of 2012. The idea was to showcase the web as a new format for storytelling and to do so Microsoft brought in the likes of director Edgar Wright and illustrator Tommy Less Edwards to create content that could show the capabilities of IE9, including its support of HTML5, in an innovative way. Wright wrote the first of four, seven-minute episodes, while the latter three were inspired by crowd-sourced content, with people able to write, draw pictures, and leave messages. The team searched through all 8,700 ideas submitted, picked the best bits, animated them and got them live in ridiculously tight timeframes. The episodes were stylishly illustrated and animated and had a genuinely good story, accompanied by a score composed by band The Unloved. The site saw nearly 500,000 views within the first week of the final episode going live, and was later extended to TV and outdoor.

British Heart Foundation - Staying Alive

Chosen by Jen Faull, reporterAd of the year has to be the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Stayin' Alive’, created by Grey. Vinnie Jones is doing what Vinnie Jones does best - playing Big Chris - to tell the nation that “kissing is only for the missus”. Instead we should “pump hard and fast” to the Bee Gees classic Stayin’ Alive when performing CPR. 28 people have apparently told the BHF that their life has been saved thanks to Vinnie, and the latest ad featured one of these survivors, Andy Linton. Great concept, execution and a lifesaver, what else can you ask for?

Prius Plural

Chosen by Richard Draycott, associate editorMy son Connor is still nine years away from getting behind the wheel of a car, but chances are when he eventually gets around to buying a car the Toyota brand will be on his list because of this excellent quirky cinema ad. Bright, child-friendly animation and a catchy sing-a-long song sung by someone who either is or sounds just like Derek Griffiths of Playschool fame, this ad always grabs my attention in the cinema and makes me smile broadly and hum along.

Mulberry's Brilliant Britain website

Chosen by Gillian West, reporterMulberry is without a doubt one of the quintessentially British brands; in the last few years its inspirations have ranged from seaside holidays and Carry On films to the English countryside and the British literary classic Fantastic Mr Fox. In 2012 the luxury retailer took its love for our great country one step further by creating an open “love letter to the nation” in the form of its Brilliant Britain website. Launched in October, Brilliant Britain celebrates the country’s unsung heroes, our charming quirks and our offbeat peculiarities, from architecture to science and language to education. Vogue’s fashion editor Francesca Burns, model Tali Lennox, musician Jools Holland and designer Andy Hillman are just a few of the famous faces who contributed to the site and readers can also nominate their own Brilliant Britain suggestions – a great way to celebrate a great British brand and the Great British nation if you ask me.

Red Bull Stratos

Chosen by Andy Barr, The Drum’s corporate PR columnistThere is only one stand out campaign of the year for me and that is Felix whatshisname and his jump from space. Ok, to be fair, I was the one person who did not watch it, in fact, I was a bit “Meh”. BUT, Red Bull on the other hand, well they had me glued to the re-runs. Their brand was plastered all over the shop, from his space hat to his air-pack, and I dare say, should it have all gone wrong, his coffin would have had wings too. It was more a tactical advertising slot for Red Bull, a kind of crossover between PR and marketing and advertising, all three depts, firing as one.On the flip side, the worst thing of the year in our sector, people using the word “PRketing”. As buzzwords go its at the top of my shit list.

The BrewDog brand

Chosen by Andrew Boulton, The Drum's copywriting bloggerThe Scottish makers of fine (though powerful) craft beers are leading the way for all challenger brands – offering products and espousing values that set them far apart from the commercial pack, without alienating them from the success and status that such a place in the market affords. As a brand it succeeds in being entirely uncompromising and has become astoundingly attractive on the back of that stance.An incident earlier this year saw a tantrum by Diageo, the global drinks corporation, prevent BrewDog from winning an award they had thoroughly deserved at the British Institute of Inn Keeping Awards. A brand of BrewDog’s size would easily be forgiven for not having the stomach or voice to stand up to these industry behemoths. Not the case.They took up their arms through social media (another arena in which they continue to excel) and stated their case. Their loyal followers soon got on board and vowed to boycott all Diageo drinks. Eventually Diageo were forced into a rather sheepish climb down, apologising for their actions and admitting that their behaviour was not in keeping with their company values. So, what could understandably have been a quiet and uncomfortable retreat turned into an epic PR victory for BrewDog.Such has been the extent of their enhanced profile and success (their turnover is said to be in the region of £12m) that the term ‘challenger’ brand seems to be a little redundant in their case. Their following could accurately be described as both cult and mass (a near impossible situation to manufacture) and any established drinks brand operating in this country must be both nervously and enviously looking at how they operate.

Chillingo’s Contre Jour game

Chosen by John Glenday, reporterIf you’re looking for a fresh index finger challenge this Christmas then I recommend foregoing Angry Birds and giving Chillingo’s Contre Jour a whirl. It’s a physics based puzzle game of a similar vein to its brasher antecedent but there the similarities end. This is a much more artistic effort with the emphasis firmly on stylised visuals and immersive sound.

Walsall town centre mural, by United Creatives

Chosen by Katie McQuater, staff writerI loved the hand painted wall mural created by United Creatives for Walsall town centre. The work, installed as a wayfinding intervention, shows a series of local facts, highlighting and illustrating the town's hidden gems and telling its story in numbers. Previously an unsightly stretch of concrete, the wall now connects the town in an imaginative way.