shots Selects...The Best Ads of 2017

McDonald's McCafe Madness

Agency: Leo Burnett London

Director: Tony Barry

Production Company: Knucklehead London

Chosen by: Danny Edwards

It’s actually pretty rare to get a genuinely funny commercial. There’ve been some this year that have elicited a slight smirk, some which even caused both sides of my mouth to rise in unison, but Leo Burnett London’s spot for Maccie D’s coffee got that rarest of beasts; an actual laugh. With shots towers being in Shoreditch, we can fully empathise with the confused looks of the perfectly cast actors and while I’ve yet to be served a deconstructed coffee, I have tried to fold my admittedly lanky limbs under tables ranging from ping pong to foosball. 

Samsung Ostrich

Agency: Leo Burnett Chicago

Chosen by: Selena Schleh

The story of an ostrich who’s inspired to learn to fly after accidentally donning a VR headset has stormed the awards circuit this year and no wonder – for me, this ticks every advertising box: a heartwarming, uplifting narrative, sky-high production values, incredible photo-realistic CGI and an inspired choice of music (Elton John’s Rocket Man). Though I must have watched it a dozen times, it never fails to raise a smile.

OK Go Obsession

Director: Damian Kulash & Yusuke Tanaka

Chosen by: Selena Schleh

Chicago rockers OK Go continue to raise the bar for branded content with their innovative brand tie-ins. Following on from their Cannes-winning collaboration with Morton Salt, The One Moment, they teamed up with paper brand Double A on this amazing ‘printed’ promo which took two and a half years, 567 printers and thousands of sheets of paper (relax, eco-warriors – it was all recycled afterwards).

State Street Advisors Fearless Girl

Agency: McCann New York

Chosen by: Selena Schleh and Danny Edwards

No ‘best ads of 2017’ list would be complete without the bronze figure of a little girl, hands on hips, defiantly facing off against the charging bull of Wall Street. It’s fascinating that in this age of technological innovation and ever-expanding range of digital and social platforms, the most talked-about, globally significant piece of marketing this year employed one of the oldest mediums in the world: a statue. Anyone who’s seen Fearless Girl in the ‘flesh’ – as I was lucky enough to do on a trip to New York earlier this year - can’t fail to be moved by her and the message she represents.  SS

If the McDonald’s Madness spot is there to make you laugh, this juggernaut of a campaign is guaranteed to make you think. McCann New York’s now-permanent statue, created for investment company State Street Global Advisors, transcended advertising to become a global talking point. Okay, so I may just have had to look up who the client was again, but I definitely know it was McCann and I definitely know the Fearless Girl is something to be admired, respected and, hopefully, its intention repeated by other forward-thinking clients. The little girl facing down Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull sculpture is as much art as advertising and is all the more powerful for it. DE

Heinz Geoff

Agency: Y&R Auckland

Chosen by: Olivia Atkins

Having grown up in a household where beans were a firm favourite around the breakfast table, I found Geoff’s story truly relatable. Although I didn’t end up working at Heinz, I like to think that inside its headquarters, it’s filled with people like Geoff who are fascinated by the brand and thrive on innovation. The spot is adorable and endearing; the animation impeccable; and the depiction of family life, truly realistic. 

Lynx/Axe Is It OK For Guys...

Agency: 72andSunny Amsterdam

Chosen by: Danny Edwards and Olivia Atkins

Gender empowerment has rightly been at the forefront of industry discussion over the course of 2017 with work (such as Fearless Girl) and initiatives (such as Free the Bid) creating awareness of the issue. But this campaign from 72andSunny for Lynx turns its attention to problems of male identity. 72andSunny has already done a great job of breathing new life into what was an aging and out of touch brand with Find Your Magic, and this campaign only serves to reinforce that. The Google search-driven idea reveals how men are hiding behind their computer or phone screens to ask the questions they can't face asking out loud. For this campaign, though, men typing in particular questions found responses from a team of real guys.

Is it ok to do yoga? World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says ‘Of course!’.

Is it ok for guys to be friends with women? Actor Will Poulter says ‘Bring it on’.

It’s a clever and powerful approach that reinforces the brand’s own new identity by championing alternate male identities to the ones we’re often fed. DE

There’s a lot of work on female empowerment in advertising at the moment, but this spot for Lynx from 72andSunny cleverly focuses on some of the most common questions posed by men today, remembering that young men can be an equally vulnerable group. Using a first person perspective and voiceover, the spot successfully taps into the male psyche to challenge gender stereotypes in a campaign inspired by questions typed into Google. It’s an extremely simple but hopefully effective approach to break down pre-existing ideals of what it means to be a man or woman. OA

Marmite Gene Project

Agency: adam&eveDDB London

Chosen by: Danny Edwards

You wait for ages for a truly funny commercial campaign then, lo-and-behold, two come along at once. While McDonald's McCafe Madness is a perfectly delivered shot of caffeine-based comedy, this campaign for Marmite is the yeasty gift that keeps on giving. The 'You either love it or hate it' line is already cemented in UK advertising culture and beyond but this brilliant idea takes it more than a few steps further.

Conducted in association with DNAFit, The Marmite Gene Project is an examination of over 260 British men and women which sought to understand why Marmite is so divisive and, in doing so, created a DNA testing kit which could tell you whether you were a lover or a hater. Consumers could order the kit and, by sending off swabs, receive results back about their Marmite preference. Digital agency Analogue Folk also created a TasteFace site which analysed your face using recognition technology and then rated your fondness for it. 

The brilliantly funny James Rouse commercial [above] also told you everything you needed to know about the aim of the campaign and rammed home Marmite's ability to poke fun at its own divisiveness. Funny, clever and as always with Marmite work, brave, it's a 2017 standout.  

Gatorade G Active

Agency: TBWA Chiat Day Los Angeles 

Chosen by: Olivia Atkins

Although I still don’t fully understand how it was done, TBWAChiatDay’s spot for Gatorade is remarkable; it’s all done in camera. To promote the launch of the new zero calorie, electrolyte-water, G Active, the team created a runner made up of water droplets. Using insane camera tricks and a special technological rig constructed for the shoot, the hard work and tight schedule paid off as the campaign film is truly spectacular.