Commercials reached a whole new level of creativity in 2021. At times, these ads made us laugh and even cry, but they were so well-produced that we often didn’t mind watching them a second time.
From commercials that aired during the Super Bowl, Tokyo Olympics, and everything in between, here’s our list of the best commercials of 2021.
Amazon: Alexa’s Body
This commercial centers around a woman who fantasizes what it would be like to have Michael B. Jordan as the “beautiful vessel” for her Alexa.
Apple: Fumble
Apple created an ad showing consumers the benefits of the Ceramic Shield glass used in the iPhone 12. This fun 30-second commercial shows a woman accidentally dropping her iPhone in the most relatable way.
Cheetos: It Wasn’t Me
In this commercial, Mila Kunis takes the advice of rapper Shaggy. Every time her husband Ashton Kutcher catches her eating Cheetos, Mila has the perfect response: “It Wasn’t Me.”
Dove: Reverse Selfie
In 2020, Dove conducted a self-esteem research project and found that 80% of girls have already applied a filter or used an app to change the way they look in their photos by the time they are 13.
This commercial shows the pressures around social media and how it’s hurting the self-esteem of young girls across the world.
Etsy: Give More Than A Gift – Bus Stop
Dedicated to the unexpected friends who got us through the past year, this holiday campaign tells the story of an unlikely bond between two people. This heartwarming commercial will leave you smiling.
Ford: Night Swimming
This commercial is the complete opposite of your typical truck ads. Ford created a stunning commercial that features beautiful underwater scenes of people swimming at night.
This ad creatively demonstrates Ford’s best-in-class 800mm wading depth. Watch commercial here.
Heinz: Draw Ketchup
Heinz Ketchup decided to conduct a little experiment. They invited consumers across five continents to participate in a simple task: draw ketchup. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that most people drew Heinz Ketchup.
Heinz later used these drawings as new labels for its bottles.
HP: Parallel Lives
During the Olympics, HP debuted this ad to showcase its efforts towards sustainability. The commercial presents HP’s goals of becoming the world’s “most sustainable and just technology company.”
“Parallel Lives” addresses climate change and shows viewers how the brand is using ocean-bound plastic in its product.
M&M’S: Come Together
The Super Bowl ad features a variety of relatable scenarios. It ultimately shows us that with a little bit of laughter, empathy, and M&M’S we can move forward. The commercial features well-known actor Dan Leavy.
NIKE: Play New
NIKE’s latest campaign invites people to discover sports in new ways.
Peloton: Unspoiler Alert
This commercial quickly came together in response to the debut of HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That. The episode showed Mr. Big’s (Chris Noth) untimely death after using a Peloton bike.
This humorous commercial features Chris Noth himself and a voiceover by Ryan Reynolds. The ultimate goal was to show that the Peloton and cardiovascular exercise are good for you.
Procter & Gamble: Love Leads To Good
P&G paid tribute to parents with this commercial during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This commercial explores the important role all parents have in raising their children to be good.
Rocket Mortgage: Certain Is Better
Tracy Morgan appears in the comical commercial to show us why being certain with Rocket Mortgage is better than just being pretty sure.
Toyota: Upstream
This emotional spot shares the story of Jessica Long’s incredible journey from double amputee to becoming a 13-time Paralympic gold medalist.
Visit Iceland: The Icelandverse
This Icelandic tourism campaign is a genius parody of Facebook’s Metaverse announcement. A Mark Zuckerberg lookalike introduces us to the ‘Icelandverse’.
The commercial saw massive success. Five days after its initial release, it was reported to have been viewed over six million times. They even gained the attention of Zuckerberg himself. He released a social media post that said: “Amazing. I need to make a trip to the Icelandverse soon. Glad you’re wearing sunscreen too.”
Learn More
Creating an amazing commercial starts with partnering with the perfect agency partner. Many of these brands worked with creative agencies to help develop one-of-a-kind ads. Use Agency Spotter, to aid in your search for the perfect agency. You can search by location, budget, service, and so much more.
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