To mark our 125th anniversary, ISBA launched the “Best Ads of the Last 125 Years” campaign in partnership with Campaign. The initiative aimed to celebrate media and creativity and the evolution of advertising. Working alongside media partners Radiocentre, Thinkbox, Newsworks, PPA Magnetic, IAB UK, Outsmart and The Cinema Advertising Authority - with support from the Advertising Association and the IPA - ISBA curated longlists, shortlisted entries, and invited the industry to vote.
The process began with each media partner nominating standout work from their respective channels, creating a longlist that reflected the diversity and innovation of advertising over more than a century. From there, a panel of nine esteemed judges, Simon Michaelides, Kate Stanners, Pippa Glucklich, Lorna Tilbian, Stephen Woodford, Paul Bainsfair, Sharon Lloyd Barnes, Nishma Patel Robb and Nicky Morgan, whittled the entries down to shortlists for seven categories: Cinema, Digital, Magazines, Out-of-Home (OOH), Press, Radio, and TV.
Voting was then opened to the wider industry on Campaign’s website, giving them the chance to champion the ads they felt had made the greatest impact.
The votes are now in. The industry has spoken, and the winners of the 125 Ads campaign have been revealed – showcasing the adverts that defined eras and shaped the advertising landscape.
The Winners:
- Cinema: 'We're the superhumans' Channel 4 / 4 Creative
- Digital: 'Daisy the AI Granny' O2 / VCCP / Faith
- Magazines: 'Absolut Perfection' Absolut / TBWA
- Out-of-Home (OOH): 'I never read the Economist' The Economist / Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
- Press: 'FCK' KFC / Mother London
- Radio: 'Mrs Cleese' Life of Brian / Lonsdale Advertising
- TV: 'Water in Majorca' Heineken / Lowe Howard-Spink
Simon Michaelides, ISBA’s Director General and judge of the awards said: "As an industry, we always pride ourselves on being forward-thinking, but none of us can resist occasionally looking back and comparing work from times past to the present day. It's been a fascinating process working with my fellow judges and now seeing the final votes.
What stood out most to me was how important the relationship between the creative and the media channel is. When these are planned together you get brilliant advertising. It was also a great reminder that although the media landscape has evolved significantly in the last 125 years, human beings haven’t and that bold, emotive creative remains just as important as ever."
A big thank you to all who voted, as well as our esteemed judges.