In a five-second ad that ran during the Super Bowl, language learning app Duolingo shocked, confused, and delighted audiences who watched the brand mascot’s rear end expand and explode into a smaller green owl. Duolingo’s message behind the bizarre spot was for users to do their daily lessons, “no butts about it.” While it may have puzzled viewers, prompting some to scour the internet to figure out the meaning, some were already in on the BBL (Brazilian butt lift) joke. Either way, the brand managed to make a splash in a short time frame. –Kyle O’Brien
Teleflora | ‘MotHER: A Teleflora Love Story’ by The Wonderful Agency
Teleflora has made its advertising bones in recent years by telling heartwarming (sometimes heartbreaking) and unconventional love stories. With its 2024 Mother’s Day campaign, it hit all the feels with a long-form spot that highlighted adventurous, rule-breaking, stigma-busting women who at some point added “mother” to their many dimensions. Because mom wasn’t always a mom, you know—she had a life before childbirth. By focusing on the whole person, Teleflora broke the mold for mom-centric marketing and continued its successful two-hankie streak. –T.L. Stanley
StōK Cold Brew | ‘Wred Dragon’ by Maximum Effort
Is that really Sir Anthony Hopkins under the furry, crimson mascot costume for Wrexham AFC? Yes, it is, insists this melodramatic, documentary-style ad that marked the Danone-owned brand’s first foray into the Super Bowl. Airing regionally and via streaming, the low-key, hilarious spot was a Big Game standout, shamelessly hijacking a U.S. football holiday to hype a U.K. professional soccer team and its coffee sponsor. It also gave viewers yet another reason to love the indefatigable Hopkins. –T.L. Stanley
Show-Me Organics | ‘Taste Your Own Medicine’ by Bandits & Friends
The David in this case (Missouri cannabis company Show-Me Organics) continued to battle its Goliath (Big Pharma) with a bold challenge to opioid makers to use the drugs they peddle to American consumers. At the heart of the effort, a short documentary advocated for weed as an alternative to addictive prescription drugs, using pharmacy owners-turned-cannapreneurs as its relatable stars. The content tapped into public anger over the opioid epidemic, calling out pharmaceutical execs by name on social media, as a daring follow-up to the satirical 2023 campaign, “Ask Your Doctor.” –T.L. Stanley
