Kantar says ads from Coca-Cola, Deliveroo, Desperados and bread brand Freya's took the top spots in the print / outdoor, TV, digital / social and LINK AI-tested categories, respectively.
The winners are determined by Kantar's LINK+ ad testing solution and a qualitative assessment by Kantar's diverse global creative team, says Kantar.
According to Kantar, the winning ads highlight four rising creative trends in the industry, giving marketers inspiration for how to use creativity to connect with audiences and predispose people to their brand:
Relatable Realities
Connecting with people through real moments that reflect their everyday lives. Coca-Cola's #1 winning print/outdoor ad 'Pick up a Coke, light up the dark' highlighted the opportunities that hide in the dark for those living in places where the winter months bring long hours of darkness.
Bizarrely Bold
Surreal ideas like exaggerated visuals and fantastical scenarios don't just grab attention, they differentiate these ads from the crowd. Deliveroo's TV winner 'Octoman' unexpectedly presents Octopus Triton on a date ordering his takeaway to an isolated island, stopping viewers in their tracks.
Roots Reimagined
Brands are looking to their past to help connect with people today, whether that's emphasising the way they've always been there for people or celebrating the ways they've changed and grown. The #3 TV winner Volkswagen's 'YourWagen' ad spells out the literal meaning of the brand's name, 'people's car,' and spotlights the personal stories of its owners over time, involving genuine Volkswagen fans in its storytelling.
Trend Tapping
Embedding a brand in the conversations people are already having, through music, sports, or borrowing attention by jumping on viral hype moments and contemporary culture. Tourism Australia did this with its #3 digital / social winner 'Colours of Australia, Taylor's Version,' released just as Taylor Swift arrived to tour the country.
Commenting on the winners, Vera Šídlová, Global Creative Thought Leadership Director of Kantar, says, "Demands on our time and attention can feel endless. It's not surprising that marketers can struggle to find the secret ingredient to ads that connect with us on a personal level, make us stop what we're doing and focus."
"Our winners show how creativity can truly connect with audiences. Whether it's bizarre moments that stop us in our tracks, relatable stories that touch our hearts, or helping us find our place in today's world, these ads prove that genuine connection and fresh thinking go hand in hand. The power of creativity in shaping brands and driving commercial impact has never been clearer. Testing creative content throughout every stage of the development process is key to creating campaigns that are both creative and effective, and has never been easier," adds Šídlová.
Commenting on Desperados' first-place winning ad in the digital / social category, Jan Maarten Zandbergen, Global Strategic Insights Manager for Tiger and Desperados, says, "The insight we started with for the campaign was that younger people have a real tension when it comes to letting loose and being spontaneous. The world is a chaotic place, and as a result, they value control in their own lives. From there, we developed the 'Beer with Latin Vibe' campaign by testing ideas right from the very beginning to find the role Desperados could play in that dynamic. We were almost co-creating the campaign with consumers, testing creative iteratively throughout the process until we had got it right. By testing early on, our aim was to take out our own subjectivity and move forward with the ideas that are highly creative and most likely to be successful."
Individuals are encouraged to see the full list of award winners in each category here.
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*Image courtesy of contributor