US Edition★Ad Age Selects the Best Campaigns of the 21st Century

Ad Age selected the most representative advertising campaigns of the 21st century over the past 15 years. The chosen campaigns responded to the dramatic changes in the advertising environment brought about by the rise of digital media and offered a new perspective on the world.

1st Place: Unilever "Dove: Campaign for Real Beauty"
The series of works—including "Evolution," which showed how artificially constructed photos of beautiful models are; "Onslaught," which intercut images of innocent girls with footage of women driven to excessive dieting and makeup by the beauty industry's information assault, prompting viewers to question; and "Sketches," which conveyed the message "You are far more beautiful than you think"—spread globally online, shaking society's perception of beauty.

2nd Place: Nike "Nike+"
Nike+—sports shoes integrated with sensors—transformed Nike from a sports apparel brand into a consumer technology company. It caused a sensation in the industry with "Nike+ Running" in 2007, which synced with Apple products and fitness data, and the "FuelBand" in 2012.

3rd Place: BMW "The Hire"
Before video-sharing sites existed, BMW invested a massive $17 million to produce a series of short films directed by multiple renowned filmmakers. Released on their website, the campaign became a major talking point.

4th Place: Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"
This campaign for men's body wash targeted women as its main audience. The comedic commercial spread rapidly on Twitter, rapidly increasing its fan base.

5th place: Red Bull "Stratos"
In 2012, Red Bull supported Felix Baumgartner's free fall from the stratosphere. He accomplished two missions: setting a new world record for the highest jump from the ground and investigating the effects of altitude and falling speed on the human body. The live stream recorded 52 million views, the highest number in history.

6th place: Burger King "Subservient Chicken"
This campaign promoted chicken burgers by providing web content that customers could customize. The mechanism, in which the character "Subservient Chicken" obeyed the instructions typed in by users, proved very popular.

7th Place: American Express "Small Business Saturday"
Designated the Saturday between Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving kicking off the U.S. holiday shopping season) and Cyber Monday (the start of online sales) as "Small Business Saturday." The campaign promoting shopping at locally owned stores was a huge success.

8th Place: Apple "Get a Mac"
A series of skits featuring Mac and Windows computers, reminiscent of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates respectively, having conversations. Through the interactions between the casual, smart Mac and the stiff, suit-wearing PC, it conveyed the Mac's functionality and appeal. Its witty entertainment value was highly praised.

9th Place: P&G "Thank You, Mom"
A renowned campaign that moved the world by depicting mothers who devotedly encouraged and supported athletes from childhood. Following the 2012 London Olympics, it made an overwhelming impact again at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

10th Place: American Legacy "Truth"
A smoking prevention campaign targeting teenagers. Rather than the traditional approach of warning about the harms of smoking, it successfully reduced youth smoking rates by spreading the message that "smoking is not cool."

Source: Ad Age (View all 15 campaigns selected by the magazine at the site below)
Top Ad Campaigns of the 21st Century
http://adage.com/lp/top15/#intro