Here are The Drum’s most-viewed Ads of the Day from 2023
The spots from around the world have tackled tough themes such as antisemitism, inclusivity and toxic beauty standards.
Dove's Self-Esteem Project by Ogilvy / Ogilvy UK
Each day, we carefully select a piece of creative work that stands head and shoulders above the rest as our Ad of the Day. It might be work that has started a fierce debate, highlighted an important topic, pushed boundaries or which has resonated with millions of people. Ultimately, though, it boils down to stellar creative execution.
Luckily, it’s been another bumper year of brilliant advertising and our readers have flocked in their millions to view our selections.
Here is the cream of the crop.
10. Orange France: World Cup by Publicis Groupe’s Marcel
After this video from Orange France went viral back in July, fans have dubbed it the best women’s football ad and one of the best sports ads ever.
To combat gender bias in football, particularly around major tournaments, the French division of telecoms giant Orange worked with Publicis Groupe’s Marcel to launch a campaign that challenged people’s perceptions.
It starred French national team stars Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann (sort of).
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9. Dove: Self-Esteem Project by Ogilvy
Dove continues to highlight the negative effects social media can have on young people and teens with this iteration of its ‘Self-Esteem Project’.
This beauty giant found that half of the kids it surveyed for the campaign said that social media makes them and their peers feel anxious and many have been exposed to ‘body transformation’ posts.
To bring these stats to life, it released a staggering video that detailed one young girl’s battle with an eating disorder, which seems rooted around the time spent on her phone.
8. Burger King: ChatGPT by David São Paulo
Back in June, Burger King was having none of McDonald’s self-congratulatory advertising. In short, Maccas released an ad campaign stating that when ChatGPT was asked what the most iconic burger in the world was; its answer was the Big Mac.
Not pleased with the result, Burger King was prompted to ask the chatbot: “And which one is the biggest?”
The answer, of course, was the infamous Whopper.
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7. Deutsche Telekom: Without Consent by Adam&EveBerlin and DDB Germany
This ad came with a warning that some viewers might find it upsetting.
In the ever-changing digital world, it is important to be aware of the risks that come with sharing so much of ourselves and our lives on social media. From holidays to weddings and even births, once images are out there, they are available to anyone to use without limits.
To spotlight this, Deutsche Telekom released a frank spot that sees a child’s image manipulated using AI to show her when she is older. ‘A Message from Ella’ features a deepfake version of the youngster who can move and talk like a human.
6. Levi's: The Greatest Story Ever Worn by Droga5 New York
2023 marked the 150th year of Levi’s iconic 501 jeans.
To commemorate the milestone and the millions of people who have worn 501s, the brand released a global campaign immortalizing some of those stories throughout time.
5. Foundation to Combat Antisemitism: Son by Wunderman Thompson USA
Founded by New England Patriots and Kraft Group boss Robert Kraft, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism's campaign cost $25m to make.
In one of the ads, viewers see a father take action after he finds his son’s antisemitic social media posts. As he pulls up to a car park, the man confronts the youngster by telling him he is aware of what he has been saying online.
The son sheepishly looks around as his father continues to tell him that this way of thinking is hateful, ugly and cowardly. As the rain pours around them, it becomes clear that the elder has driven his child to a synagogue to make him realize that he would not say these antisemitic things to people's faces, so he should not do so while hiding behind a screen, either.
The one-minute short ends with the startling statistic that ‘Hitler was right’ was posted over 70k times online last year.
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4. LinkedIn: Find Your In by Droga5
This LinkedIn ad followed a young girl loitering in a laundromat. When she notices a LinkedIn notification pop up on a phone next to her, the girl is prompted to think about who she will become when she is older.
Dazzled by the infinite possibilities in her future, uniforms from every profession, from sports jerseys to white collar shirts, fly out of washing machines as she dances to Remi Wolf’s 2021 hit, Guerilla.
3. T-Mobile: Nada Yada Yada by Madwell
Verizon-owned brand T-Mobile responded directly to Metro’s ‘Nada Yada Yada’ campaign with a spot starring Jason Alexander, known for playing George Costanza in Seinfeld, who got to relive an iconic moment from the show.
2. KFC Canada: Apologies by Courage
Our second most-viewed Ad of the Day goes to KFC Canada for this sarcastic ad. In the spot, viewers see a range of situations where people forget to use knives and forks with their meals. The premise is, of course, that the food is just too finger-lickin’ good – a phrase that KFC has used since the 1950s.
Famed music director Henry Scholfield, who is known for working with Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran, was behind the camera. Fans of British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply will instantly recognize the soundtrack.
1. Amazon: 'Tache by Wieden+Kennedy London
Taking the top spot, our most viewed Ad of the Day for 2023 is from Amazon.
The short was directed by Olivia Wild and was part of the ‘It’s On Prime’ campaign. It featured a young girl encountering some unwanted facial hair for the first time. Her initial response is to remove it before she notices that some of her heroes rock a mustache too, like Freddie Mercury, Frida Kahlo and Eddie Murphy.
In the end, she ordered a bright yellow jacket, similar to the iconic one worn by the Queen frontman at Wembley Arena in 1986, and embraced her new look.
The ad also features the song Cool Cat by the band.
After more ads? You can view our Ad of the Day section here.