What Are The Top 10 Funniest Ads Of 2015?
It’s surprisingly difficult to make a genuinely funny advert. Don’t believe us? Just ask any brand that’s tried and failed.
Here at Unruly, we’ve spent much of 2015 noting the roaring success of brands which take emotion seriously. Whether that’s through ‘sadvertising’, ‘dadvertising’ or any other convenient rhyming epithet, it’s becoming more clear that powerful, sentimental hooks are a reliable indicator for strong social sharing. But what about humour?
Funny ads present a couple of problems. First of all, language-heavy jokes tend to preclude international audiences, so big sharers tend to be primarily visual. Also, as anyone who’s ever told a joke and silenced the room at a party knows, there’s nothing more cringeworthy than a joke not landing.
That being said, 2015 had its fair share of spots which defied the odds to make us laugh. Without any further ado, this is the top 10 funniest ads of the year, featuring both viral hits and lesser-known gems which slipped under the radar.
10. UnitedHealthcare – ‘Our Song’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9YiTIYO-2A
Released in March, this hilarious throwback to 1987 film ‘Dirty Dancing’ proved to be a real crowd pleaser. It’s easy to see why United’s spot performed so well, by combining a beloved film reference with an impressively dramatic fall through a dining room table.
9. Clash of Clans – ‘Revenge’
Clash of Clan’s spot ‘Revenge’ was among the most successful viral spots of this year’s Super Bowl, facing off against the typically bombastic ads the day had to offer. ‘Revenge’ finds celebrity guest Liam Neeson recalling his weirdly iconic speech from ‘Taken’ while ordering scones in a hip bistro.
8. Pizza Hut – ‘The Dangers of Selfie Sticks’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmQs37YqXg
Since 2014 was apparently ‘The Year of the Selfie’, it’s only natural that the phenomenon might get some flack in 2015. Lampooning the potential dangers of photographing yourself with an extending pole, Pizza Hut’s spoof pokes fun at selfie-takers while also parodying the self-important viral PSA.
7. Brian Wilson – ‘Texas Law Hawk’
A slightly weirder detour now, down into the mysterious world of Texan litigators. Brian Wilson – no, not from The Beach Boys – is an attorney from Fort Worth whose bizarre, independently-produced adverts blew up online earlier this year. If you like the idea of a man with a crew-cut busting through doors while calling himself ‘The Texas Law Hawk’, this may be the spot for you.
6. Green Party of England and Wales – ‘Change The Tune’
If you’ll cast your minds back to Britain’s General Election, you’ll recall that the crop of political adverts was reasonably dire. That is until the Green Party released ‘Change The Tune’, an all-singing, all-dancing protest against the party political establishment, represented by four near-identical men in suits. Though it feels like a strange throwback now, hats off to the Green Party for an amusing and stirring rallying cry.
5. Turkish Airlines – ‘Startup Class’
To announce its new route from Istanbul to San Francisco, Turkish Airlines produced ‘Startup Class’, a brilliant send-up of Silicon Valley and the pomposity of the tech world. Shot in the stripped-back style of a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch, it’s basically a series of funny gags taking potshots at ‘thinkfluencers’, up to and including the immortal line “Tinder for drones”.
4. Robert Dyas – ‘We’re Robert Dyas and we’re gay. And straight. And bi…’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YS2dSa-Ud0
The most recent addition to our list (and perhaps the only unintentionally funny ad of the bunch), Robert Dyas’ Christmas spot has had the social web giggling over its frankly bizarre combination of sexual politics and electrical appliances. Whether you think the brand is in on the joke or not, it’s definitely livened up the festive advertising field.
3. Snickers – ‘The Brady Bunch’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbomTIWCZ8
Another highlight of this year’s Super Bowl programming, ‘The Brady Bunch’ is a whole lot stranger than its competitor from Clash of Clans. In fact, ‘Revenge’ did far better in terms of sharing than ‘The Brady Bunch’, but we’re still ranking it higher because, well, it’s hilarious. All you need to know is that it’s a beautiful cocktail of Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo and a classic 1970s sitcom.
2. Purina – ‘Puppyhood’
By far the highest-shared comedy ad of the year, Purina’s ‘Puppyhood’ has been lingering on the Unruly Viral Video Chart for what seems like four million weeks. It’s fairly obvious why, with the combination of a cute puppy and BuzzFeed’s charming gags making the whole production eminently rewatchable.
1. Comic Relief – ‘Game of Thrones: The Musical’
Despite tough competition, our number one spot has to go to the latest effort from charity Comic Relief, Coldplay’s Game of Thrones musical. A brilliant mock-documentary about Chris Martin’s hubristic attempts to put the pop-rock spin on the world’s favourite HBO show, the ad is so full of great moments we couldn’t begin to list them. You’ll just have to watch for yourself.
