Creative Ads Design - Examples and Inspirations
Creative advertising is all about fresh, engaging ideas that capture attention and drive results. From legendary campaigns like Apple’s “1984” to unconventional approaches like Red Bull Stratos, this article explores standout ads and the power of creativity in marketing.
With the need to balance following established trails that convert and keep target audience with coming up with fresh, innovative ideas, ad creators are in constant need of new, creative concepts. That’s why looking for inspiration is one of the key elements in keeping one's mind fresh and operational in this business.
According to data collected by Semrush ("93 Online Advertising Statistics You Need to Know for 2024"), online ad spending is estimated to reach $247.3 billion by 2024. Additionally, 79% of CMOs state that bringing entertainment and audience engagement is increasingly important in a world where blocking or ignoring ads is increasingly easy.
These data points, paired with these statements, show the increasing importance and need for creative advertising and crafting more inspiring ads. But where to begin?
What Is Creative Advertising?
In the most basic approach, creative advertising is about making the ad creative. This leads to an interesting question about what real creativity is. According to Albert Einstein, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” When it comes to advertising, fun and intelligence are necessary to create something for both the creator and spectator.
Creative advertising is about delivering new, fresh, and uncommon ideas necessary to tell a story, generate, or sell a concept—or, in the best-case scenario, do both at the same time. When it comes to advertising, creativity needs to be overseen by strategy and branding, to avoid going wild.
How To Make Creative Ads?
Making creative ads is the ultimate goal of ad agencies and specialists around the world. There is no reliable answer on how to make them only hints and trails to follow. Sometimes it may be about not showing a product at all, as was the case with Apple’s famous 1984 ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I
Alternatively, it can be about being straightforward in a way no one has ever been:
Or, if you want to be creative, just do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yO7xLAGugQ
As there are no easy answers, the best approach is to go through interesting and inspiring examples that allow one to see how others have grasped the creative spark.
Advertising Campaign - Examples and Inspirations
In the modern era of omnipresent advertising, there is both a flood of inspiring and imaginative ads and a challenge in finding and highlighting something truly interesting. Considering that, the best approach is to collect the best and most inspiring pieces, be they outdoor, digital, or TV. That’s why the editor’s picks include:
Red Bull Stratos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I
Red Bull Stratos was a skydiving project branded and orchestrated by Red Bull, a popular brand of energy drinks. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a stratospheric helium balloon and fell approximately 24 miles (39 kilometers), breaking the world record for free falling. The event was broadcast on television and online, with media covering it for weeks before and after.
Baumgartner was free falling for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, reaching 843.6 miles per hour (1357.64 km/h), and breaking the sound barrier. This made him not only a holder of the height record in free falling but also the first (and so far the only) man to break the sound barrier without using any engine or machine.
Engineering and running this form of an ad (because it WAS an ad) required immense creativity. Sending a man to the stratosphere and letting him fall is not an obvious way to promote a brand of soft drinks.
Gillette: Socially Involved Brand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYaY2Kb_PKI
A renowned brand of shaving razors, Gillette, used brand storytelling to comment on modern society by tackling the idea of toxic masculinity. The ad shows multiple examples of harmful or dangerous behaviors and opportunities to “behave well.” The brand delivers the message, “The best a man can get,” and among other messages, it informs viewers that when it comes to a clean-shaven face, Gillette is indeed the best pick.
Mercedes-Benz - Chicken Ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLwML2PagbY
Without an earthshaking budget or super-sophisticated CGI, Mercedes-Benz created an ad where natural chicken behavior was used to demonstrate the stability of the car during a drive. The ad was enriched with upbeat music and visuals, creating a pleasant, relaxed mood.
With its laid-back approach and tongue-in-cheek messaging, the ad was viewed by millions of YouTube users. Moreover, Jaguar, one of the competing brands, released a counter-ad to piggyback on its reach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAGOcyvBap0
FedEx - Simply Show
The FedEx ad is as simple as possible, delivering a super-clear message. Two people handle a package to each other through the windows. The trick is the world map on the wall, showing that the package is traveling from southern Asia to Australia as easily as being handed over.
Volkswagen - Imply the Consequences
The ad shows a hedgehog standing in line with fishes in bags full of water—one can easily imagine the spikes puncturing the bags and ultimately killing the fish. But when paired with the message about parking assistance, clients can easily imagine a car being scratched or crushed in a clumsy parking maneuver.
Band-Aid - Use the Power of Pop Culture
The Incredible Hulk is one of the most powerful Marvel superheroes, with his ability to deflect tremendous damage or deal it with equal ease. “I have an army” “We have a Hulk”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMpCCo8Evnc
Band-Aid has shown the Incredible Hulk as one who also needs a band-aid from time to time, showing that even the mightiest of heroes shouldn’t be ashamed of having his finger cut.
Colgate - Name the Problem, Show the Solution
Yellow teeth and bad breath are not the worst effects of smoking cigarettes. Yet, they are the only immediate ones that show nearly instantly after the first pack is smoked. Colgate does not attack the bad habit itself—there is information on the adverse effects of smoking even on cigarette packs themselves. It simply shows that one can counter yellow teeth with toothpaste.
Barilla - Show the Product Out of Context
Some of the greatest ads, with Apple’s “1984” being a prime example, do not show the product and force the consumer out of their communicational comfort zone. Barilla, a popular pasta brand, has shown its product as a firework, wishing consumers a happy new year, breaking the norm and delivering something new and fresh.
Hell Pizza - Break the Rules
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1yBlV7Ges&list=PLDC9AACFCFC699F20
Bandersnatch is a famous episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror series, where the user could make choices about how the story develops, managing the protagonist’s decisions. Yet, long before that (in 2010, to be precise), New Zealand-based Hell Pizza launched a YouTube-only ad based on the same concept, where the user followed a pizza delivery man during a zombie apocalypse. They used a much smaller budget and existing video infrastructure (YouTube) to achieve a comparable effect to Netflix.
The technical elements have changed since then, so the system is not working as smoothly as 14 years ago, but the ad still works, and one can follow the story and enjoy the unique New Zealand accent.
KitKat - Leverage the Brand Power
“Have a break, have a Kit Kat” is one of the most iconic and recognizable slogans in the world, comparable with “I’m loving it” from McDonald’s or “Just do it” from Nike. Showing on a billboard that someone actually took a break is a humorous approach to brand identity and reinforces brand recall in the user.
Global Coalition for Peace - Creatively Approach the Surroundings
A powerful ad created for the Global Coalition for Peace is meant to be displayed on round advertising pillars. The horizontal photo shows a soldier holding a sniper rifle with a long barrel. Yet, with the poster wrapped around the pillar, one sees that the soldier is actually aiming at his own back.
Creative Product Ads as a Conversion Booster
One of the best elements of a truly creative concept is that it impacts all aspects of marketing, including conversion rates, branding, and customer loyalty. This is a direct result of the attention-grabbing nature of the genuine creative spark behind the concept.
There is a limited way to measure the impact of creativity itself—the concept is too elusive and hard to quantify. There is no way to determine the percentage of creativity in an ad or to optimize it. Yet, creative content is what makes a difference in a content-flooded reality.
Creative Ads Design with Tools
Creativity itself is a matter of the human brain. On the other hand, using new tools has always sparked new forms of creativity, leading to new types of art or expression—ranging from increasingly sophisticated paintings done with new materials to digital forms of art, including AI-supported art.
Commercial-oriented artists working in the advertising industry can leverage tools like Cropink to unleash their creativity en masse by applying the same rules to multiple images and ads. Since Andy Warhol’s serial portraits, making art massive is nothing surprising. Cropink is product feed management tool with dynamic ads templates available for free. You can also use this platform as a campaign management tool for Meta (Facebook and Instagram).
Cropink Team specializes in digital marketing, with a focus on product advertising across social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. We share insights, strategies, and best practices to help brands create high-performing ads that drive results.
Related Articles
Pinterest is no longer just for inspiration—it’s a performance marketing powerhouse. Discover 7 ad formats, from AR Try On to shoppable Idea Ads, and learn how Pinterest drives high-intent traffic and sales in 2025.
Looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day slogan? Explore catchy, cute, and creative Valentine slogans for cards, gifts, marketing campaigns, and more!
Struggling to get clicks? Learn how to write ad text that converts in 2026—by focusing on emotions, benefits, and mobile-first copy. Discover proven tactics, from urgency to personalization tools like Cropink.
Showcase Shopping ads were a powerful tool for upper-funnel product discovery, but they were officially retired in 2021. This comprehensive guide explains the original ad format and provides a strategy for replicating its broad search and visual storytelling success using the modern Google campaign types.
Pinterest ads do not fail because of budgets. They fail because of small rule breaks. This simple 2026 guide shows you exactly what Pinterest approves, what it blocks, and how to design ads that blend into the platform and actually perform. If you want fewer rejections and better results, this is the checklist you should read before launching your next campaign.
With 76% of consumers planning to celebrate Father's Day, the revenue opportunity is huge, but so is the competition. This guide shows you seven creative Father's Day ads that stood out for the right reasons. Learn the tactics these brands used and how you can adapt them for your own products or services.
The objectives of advertising in 2026 go beyond awareness. With 63% of global ad spend now digital and triggered emails converting 88% better, brands must align goals like lead generation, loyalty, and engagement to maximize ROI. Learn how strategic ads deliver results.
Bandwagon advertising uses social proof to influence buyer behavior. With 69% of millennials driven by FOMO and 20% of consumers influenced by celebrities, popularity becomes a growth engine. See how to turn engagement into conversion using real-time tactics and creative tools.
Creating a successful ad campaign is a science, not a gamble. This comprehensive 8-step guide provides the framework you need to launch your first profitable ad and continuously optimize for maximum return.
Discover how to tap into Facebook Messenger’s 947 million users in 2026. Learn how Messenger ads drive real engagement by starting direct conversations—right where your audience is already active.
Find out how Revolve, Uniqlo, and other top apparel brands convert customers with clothing ads. We examine 9 examples and show you how to apply the same strategies to your apparel store.
Wondering what PMax campaigns are? Learn how Google’s fully automated ad campaigns use machine learning to boost conversions by up to 39% and lower CPA by 75%. See how PMax works across Search, Shopping, YouTube, and other major Google platforms in one campaign.
How Can Cropink Help?
Start with Cropink is easy and free
No credit card required