Business Insider’s 10 Best Ads Of 2014

If 2014's efforts were anything to go by, we think we're living in a golden era for advertising.

Unlike last year, the winning ads don't necessarily share a theme, which shows how marketers are diversifying their strategies to continue to surprise consumers. If we were to pick one intertwining thread among the top 10, it would be that marketers are now successfully harnessing social media and the power of sharing to increase the reach and effectiveness of their campaigns.

As with last year, some of the ads in our rankings will be familiar, but others you may not have seen. 

Our ranking is entirely subjective: we looked at originality, entertainment value, and success stories. These were the brands and the campaigns that stood out. Congratulations to everyone who made the list.

10. Samsung — "Oscar Selfie"

You might be sick of this photo right now, but that’s probably good evidence that Samsung’s marketing tactic was a huge success. As part of its sponsorship of the Oscars, Samsung and its media agency Starcom MediaVest integrated the Galaxy Note smartphone into the event by having Ellen DeGeneres take a selfie jam-packed with A-list celebrities, including Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep.

The photo swept across social media like wildfire and was on the front pages of newspapers and placed at the top of news bulletins around the world the following day.

9. Wren — "First Kiss"

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At first it wasn't entirely obvious that this awkward art project-esque video, which asked 20 strangers who had never met to kiss for the first time, was an ad campaign. Sometimes cringeworthy, and at other points extremely touching, the video went viral and has notched up more than 92 million hits. The kicker? Clothing brand Wren was behind it all along.

Wren said the video helped increase sales by a massive 13,600%. The company's founder and creative director has said there were five reasons it was so successful: People like emotional content, the bored-at-work audience is desperate for human connection, direct traffic isn't everything, subtlety is a marketer's best friend, and the power — when it comes to marketing — is shifting to the internet.

8. Cardstore — "World’s Toughest Job"

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It’s super cheesy, but Cardstore’s #WorldsToughestJob ad does an exemplary job of getting the brand’s message across in a super shareable way. The greetings card company created a fake job ad for a "director of operations" in a newspaper but held real job interviews via webcam. The potential interviewees grew incredulous as their interviewer listed the job requirements: working 24 hours a day with no breaks and without pay. The big reveal at the end? The director of operations is actually the job of a mom. Send her a card on Mother’s Day, you ungrateful swines.