Though the hurdles of the pandemic continued all throughout 2021, you wouldn’t notice from the myriad, expertly executed stories told by the ad world’s leading production companies. 

See all of Ad Age's 2022 A-List winners here.

The industry’s top production players proved once again just how crucial they are to making a brand’s message shine. This year, the companies in our A-List package delivered gorgeous visuals, heart-tugging drama, laugh-out-loud comedy, cross-platform tales and real-world experiences like no other. The messages may have hit home from the ad world’s biggest stage—the Super Bowl; they may have resonated in a real-world or virtual experience or connected more intimately on a small screen. 

In deciding our ranking, we factored in companies’ unique points of view, impactful work, excellence of craft, ingenuity, resourcefulness and reliability. Diversity was crucial too. As marketers and brands continue to seek meaningful ways to connect with their consumers, talents from all backgrounds are paramount in helping them to break through with their messages. The best companies of the bunch also showed a distribution of great work from across their entire bench of directors. Excellent accomplishments from the vets were just as important as those from the up-and-comers. 

See all of Ad Age's 2022 A-List winners here.

Ultimately, these are the companies that made many of the best work of 2021 a reality. Without them, all those big ideas would be simply that—ideas. 

We will celebrate the A-List winners on April 25 at our A-List & Creativity Awards Gala, during which our Creativity Awards winners will be revealed. For more information and tickets to this must-see event, go to  AdAge.com/ACGala.