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

With the Olympic Games in full swing, we’re seeing loads of associated creative campaigns. Three of them—for automotive, health and alcohol brands—made our Top 5 list this week. Elsewhere, we saw a telecom campaign built around a song from 1996 and an airline’s latest creative approach to a cabin safety video. See the full Top 5 below. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here 5. USCellular: Isn’t That Ironic? Agency: The Martin Agency USCellular has been urging people to put down their smartphones for a while. For a business that thrives off smartphone use, that’s a bit of an ironic message. So, for its latest campaign, it recruited “Ironic” singer Alanis Morissette to have some fun with her 1996 hit single. The choice is apt, and it’s brought to life nicely by The Martin Agency and director Dan Opsal, with lots of easter eggs in the spot referencing Morissette’s original music video. 4. British Airways: Plane Eyre Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio It’s been over a decade since airlines started asking their agencies for more creative cabin safety videos to keep viewers engaged. Here’s the latest one—a video from British Airways that heads back to 1800s England for some “Bridgerton”-era hijinks. The period piece, with modern BA employees crashing the scenes, is memorably droll and a nice addition to the canon. 3. Hyundai: It’s OK Agency: Innocean USA It’s unusual, to say the least, for an Olympics-themed ad to shine a light on the decision not to play sports. But that’s Hyundai’s approach here, as the automaker explores the real nuances around children’s athletics and mental health—and whether parents are doing to enough to protect their kids from the pressures of sport. A welcome message amid the cacophony of athletic campaigns this month. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here 2. Molson: Sponsor the Parents Agency: Rethink In a cool twist on Olympic endorsements, Molson Canadian has signed the parents of Team Canada athletes to sponsorship deals around the Paris Games, recognizing their tireless contributions to their children’s success. You often need a pretty fresh idea to stand out during the Olympics, and this one of them. 1. Montefiore: Spot It Early Agency: Mirimar Yet another campaign tied to the Olympics, this evocative spot from Montefiore Einstein revisits the breakdancing craze of the early 1980s in the South Bronx (breakdancing being an Olympic sport in 2024 for the first time). The craft is amazing on this, with director Seb Edwards bringing in collaborators from the dance world to create an authentic vibe. The thematic link to the hospital (spotting talent early is like spotting cancer early) may be a stretch, but the geographic one is not—this is a wonderfully made New York story for a classic New York advertiser. 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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