Usually adverts on your phone are a pain, right? But some of them are really quite good. Here are the YP team's faves, and why we like them
Everyone loves Isaiah Mustafa, right?
I really like the Old Spice commercials. They star a deep-voiced, smooth-talking Isaiah Mustafa, who’ll make two tickets to that thing I love turn into DIAMONDS, and who has convinced me that if my man uses Old Spice, he won’t be Isaiah Mustafa but he can at least smell like him. Plus, have you seen how quickly he changed clothes, locations and scenes, all within a single shot? That’s some pretty cool directing and editing to notice ... well, when I’m not being distracted by the man my man could smell like.
Ginny Wong, Sub-editor
Football and flights
In-flight safety videos all pretty much come across as silly and samey, but this one from Qatar Airways is funny. Instead of showing you the cabin crew acting out what to do in case of an emergency, FC Barcelona are shown in various scenes and situations doing all the things you’re expected to do on a flight. Look out for the bit where they tell you about what to do with oxygen masks – I’m sure we’d all have the same reaction if we saw a handsome football player too!
Tiffany Choi, Junior reporter manager
Play beautifully
Nike’s advertising campaign Joga Bonito – which means “play beautifully” in Portuguese – came out about 10 years ago. Up until then, football adverts were pretty boring; showing the last minute of a World Cup final, the beads of sweat that drip down a player’s face as he steps up to take a penalty … boring. Eric Cantona mesmerises with his arrogant French persona, before the advert moves on to a freestyle showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Throw in a little Latin hip-hop in and you have yourself the coolest advert of all time.
Andrew McNicol, Content creator
I poop rainbows!
I think there are a few good ones, Cadburys’ glass and a half range, for one, was great. India’s chemical industry one was just fascinating to watch. But the one I like best is the squatty potty unicorn one. It took an enormously embarrassing subject and made it beyond cute.
Susan Ramsay, Editor
Grab a tissue ...
Thailand churns out a lot of tear-jerking ads that are really well produced and tug at your heartstrings – mostly for insurance companies – but I love rewatching them. The one where a daughter runs away from her mum, the one where a noodleman’s random act of kindness comes back tenfold when the boy he helps grows up to become the doctor who treats him, the one about the man whose wealth is in the lives he touches … excuse me, I need a tissue.
Heidi Yeung, Web sub-editor
NEVER SAY NO TO PANDA
I’m not a big fan of cheese but come on – pandas? LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everyone who gets on the wrong side of the big fluffy cheese-loving panda is sent a message that’s loud and clear: you never say no to panda. And when you’re offered Panda Cheese, you eat it. Don’t say no.
Young Wang, Web reporter
Look at them go!
The Cadbury advert with two little kids pulling funky moves with their eyebrows is the one for me. You don’t even realise it’s an advert for chocolate until the end – the only clue is the girl’s Cadbury-purple dress. But that’s okay, because the two serious-faced kids’ crazy eyebrow dance is so fun to watch that you end up watching it all the way to the end anyway. Kudos to the person that came up with that advert idea!
Nicola Chan, Reporter
For the love of the game
Nike Football adverts back in the early 2000s showcased many of the world’s best footballers and their silky skills. From Brazilian Ronaldo de Lima’s skills before a match against the Portuguese, to Edgar Davids with his sharp orange glasses in the freestyle football cage against the likes of Francesco Totti, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and many more ... I was obsessed with football, and when I was out on the pitch myself, I would try to make these skills my own!
Sebastien Raybaud, Reporter
Can’t help falling in love with this one
Extra Gum’s Christmas advert from 2015 was really moving. The advert follows the journey of two teenagers who bond over gum and develop a relationship that lasts into adulthood. It’s endearing and compelling. I was shocked at how beautifully executed the advert was and how much gets packed into two minutes. The music was mellow and warm, the performances genuine, and the selling of the gum was so naturally added into the story that it didn’t feel forced at all.
Samanwita Sen, YP cadet
A CATastrophe in the bathroom
Unlike other adverts where they’ll tell you straight up about what they’re selling, this one has a whole story about a bunch of cats who want revenge on their owner for making them take a bath. It’s cute and makes you want to watch all the way to the end to find out what happens – as well as what company made this. Now many people know Cotto Studio (the company that made the advert), and lots of people will remember their name and this story.
Eugenia Fong, YP cadet