Printing deliberately blurry messages on an iconic Valentine’s Day candy. A King Kong-style takeover of one of NYC’s tallest buildings. Pulling off an unfathomable technical and logistical feat in India’s second-largest city. The creativity and ingenuity of our independent agencies these past 12 months have been astounding.
As the year comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on the incredible work from all of our agencies. We’d be here until well into 2025 if we tried to list it all, but here are some of the campaigns, spots, and activations that really stood out in the industry in 2024.
4x Cannes Lion winner with intentionally hard-to-read messaging.
Agency: Tombras
Location: Knoxville, TN, USA
Client: Sweethearts
Campaign: Situationships
Situationships are blurry, hard to read, and full of mixed messages. So, ahead of Valentine's Day, Tombras convinced Sweethearts to sell a special edition Situationships box filled with hearts that are literally blurry, hard to read, and have mixed messages printed on them. The campaign earned them two Gold and two Bronze Cannes Lions, and an untold amount of press for the client and Tombras, too.
Grand Indies winner increases sales by a staggering 60%.
Agency: Five by Five
Location: UK
Client: Screwfix
Campaign: Don’t Stop. Sprint.
“How do you get a 60-minute delivery service for the trade talked about across the UK’s building sites?”
That was the challenge when Screwfix approached FiveByFive with the objective of raising awareness of Sprint, a nationwide 60-minute delivery service (think Uber Eats but for tools, parts, and materials for tradespeople), amongst an audience of UK tradespeople.
The Don't Stop. Sprint. campaign delivered a 65% increase in downloads of the Sprint app and a staggering 60% increase in sales through the app.
270-foot inflatable dragon perches atop NYC's Empire State Building.
Agency: Giant Spoon
Location: USA
Client: HBO
Campaign: House of the Dragon Season 2
To promote season 2 of HBO's House of the Dragon, Giant Spoon launched an integrated campaign that brought the tension and chaos from the world of the show into our world. Under the platform of “Raise Your Banners,” they drew lines of division between Team Black and Team Green across pop culture and created a call to action leading up to the Season 2 premiere. The campaign crescendoed with a 270-foot inflatable dragon atop the Empire State Building in New York City.
Reimagining a familiar brick-and-mortar sign in a powerful nonprofit campaign.
Agency: FUSE Create
Location: Canada
Client: Soles4Souls
Campaign: Doors of Opportunity
To make Soles4Souls a common household name, FUSE Create gave their many different causes a common benefit, and an uncommon twist.
Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that provides proper shoes and clothing to millions facing economic hardship, had a complicated mission. To uncomplicate it, FUSE landed on a benefit common to all areas of assistance: opening doors of opportunity.
To communicate ‘opportunity’ simply and tangibly, they reimagined the familiar “No Shirt. No Shoes. No Service” sign by replacing “No Service.” with “No Employment”, “No Home”, and “No Future” – as a result, Soles4Souls moved from 5th to 4th in Awareness amongst competitors.
Stunning technical and logistical feat for Prime Day.
Agency: Blink Digital
Location: India
Client: Amazon India
Campaign: Radio’d Billboards
60 million Indians still believe that video has not yet killed the radio star - tuning in to their favorite radio channels day after day while commuting to and from work.
Amazon wanted to find an innovative way to meet this cohort in a way that spoke best to them. And so they did, in a way that has never been seen before in the world.
Amazon India and Blink Digital embarked on a radio-tastic adventure during Prime Day, unleashing the "Prime Day Broadcast” "aimed to harmonize tradition and technology, creating a seamless blend that resonated with India's diverse cultural tapestry.
Elite athletes showcase how music fuels their sport.
Agency: Zambezi
Location: California, USA
Client: Bose
Campaign: Pause for Nothing
Bose Athletes Pause for Nothing to showcase the seamless integration of Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds let users listen to their music while still engaging with the world around them. In “Pause for Nothing,” Zambezi showcased how constant music fuels an athlete even beyond their sport. That goes for tennis sensation Coco Gauff, and Manchester City footballer, Jack Grealish.
On and off the court, watch how Coco Gauff goes full blast with Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, featuring Little Simz and her iconic track “Mood Swings.” And as the pitch is transformed, see how Premier League star Jack Grealish’s worlds seamlessly collide.
Making an iconic French beer cool again.
Agency: Rosbeef!
Location: France
Client: Kronenbourg 1664
Campaign: The Fresh / French Way
1664 is a iconic French beer. Iconic but... at a time when craft beers are hype, it's hard to struggle and look nice in the eyes of a young audience. The challenge for Rosbeef! in France was to help 1664 bottles get back in the hands of cool consumers.
With a +12% increase in sales, it's fair to say, mission accomplished!
Showcasing how Switzerland is a “blind photographer's dream.”
Agency: Metzger
Location: Switzerland
Client: Switzerland Tourism
Campaign: Swiss autumn, the season for our senses
Metzger Rottmann Bürge found a clever way to message how autumn visits to Switzerland are a feast for the senses - by recruiting Scottish comedian Jamie MacDonald, who is blind.
Sound, touch, taste, and smell are all highlights of the new ad, as McDonald and his companion explore the Swiss countryside. MacDonald is quietly amusing throughout, and toward the end adds a joke about his lack of sight. “It’s impossible to take a bad photo in Switzerland—it’s a blind photographer’s dream,” he says.
An energetic and stylish campaign with diversity at its core.
Agency: R&R Partners
Location: Las Vegas, USA
Client: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Campaign: Whatever You Go For, Go All Out
R&R Partners' newest work for LVCVA reminds the world that there's no better city to be a fan in, regardless of what you fan for. Featuring Western sports fans, football fans, ravers, mascots, and others as they each prepare for a different 'only-in-Vegas' experience, the spot highlights the magical multitudes contained in Vegas and how they can all celebrate in the city at the same.
Creating the brand identity for the world’s biggest tech show.
Agency: Proof Advertising
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Client: CES
Campaign: ALL ON
No event is more dialed into the global tech conversation than CES. Those who have attended the conference know the unrivaled buzz you feel surrounded by the world’s cutting-edge technology.
Proof Advertising created the “ALL ON” campaign with the specific intent of bringing this feeling to life for 2024. And because they knew artificial intelligence and its use across all industries would be a huge topic at this year’s event, they made sure CES was part of the conversation. Proof used AI to create the show-stopping visuals and bring the energetic “ALL ON” concept to life.
A great canon of work filled with comedy, compassion, and creativity. We look forward to seeing what our partners come up with in 2025.