The top 5 creative campaigns you need to know about right now

The Olympics may be over, but there’s still plenty more sports on the horizon—with top-notch advertising promoting it. Two of our favorite campaigns this week profiled disabled athletes, as the Paralympic Games are fast approaching. A third heralded the return of the NFL in a few weeks. Elsewhere, we got an amusing take on jingles from a fast casual restaurant chain, and the latest bit of lunacy from Germany DIY chain Hornbach. Check out the full Top 5 below. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here 5. Firehouse Subs: Hook & Ladder Agency: Orchard Jingles are a dime a dozen, but Orchard nicely mixes up the formula for Firehouse Subs by having actual firefighters sing the chain’s new song. Except there’s so much to sing about, they can’t fit it all into the allotted time of a commercial. Undercutting standard advertising tropes is always fun, and the firefighters are excellently deadpan here—even after inhaling helium for one ridiculous take. 4. Orange: When You Love Sport, You Love Sport Agency: Publicis Conseil Ahead of the Paralympic Games in Paris, opening Aug. 28, French telecom Orange revisits one of the great Paralympic moments in history—the 1,500-meter final for visually impaired runners at Rio 2016, where the top four finishers all ran faster than the gold medalist in the same event at the Olympics that same year. A great example of show, don’t tell, the film breaks down stereotypes about disabled athletes in much the same way Orange’s famous “WoMen’s Football” campaign did for female athletes. 3. NFL: This Is Football Country Agency: 72andSunny Are you ready for some football? 72andSunny’s exhilarating “This Is Football Country” NFL kickoff campaign will get you in the mood. The anthem spot jumps around from place to place, with loads of interesting and inclusive cameos, while the 15-second spots offer wonderful, quick vignettes of how passion for football seeps into all corners of society. Great energy, joy and unity all rolled up into one. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here 2. Hornbach: Obey Your Hands Agency: HeimatTBWA\ Hornbach is one of those brands where everything it does is creatively fascinating. Following up its Cannes Grand Prix-winning “The Square Meter” spot from last year, the German home improvement retailer has released “Obey Your Hands,” in which an idly smartphone-scrolling homeowner is attacked by his own hands—which pull him up off the couch and upstairs, where he’s needed on a project. Great idea, great visual effects and a joyful payoff. Classic Hornbach. 1. Apple: The Relay Agency: In-house Apple is renowned for its accessibility features—and the advertising that promotes them. This week it followed up its Emmy-winning film “The Greatest” with a sports-themed spot in which four disabled and four non-disabled athletes compete in a four-stage relay race. The film, directed by Derek Cianfrance, is as visually compelling as everything Apple makes, and it continues to flip the script on disabled athletes generally, portraying them not as unique or “superhuman” but as just like any other athletes: driven, talented and competitive. They just happen to use different technologies to navigate life—and their sport. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here

The top 5 creative campaigns you need to know about right now

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