🎉 AdFiesta #9 — Welcome to the party!

What is AdFiesta?

AdFiesta is a curated advertising newsletter that doubles as the industry’s Weekly Advertising Award Show.

Every week we showcase the best new campaigns from the wild, wonderful world of advertising — and you get to pick which one wins Ad of the Week! Along the way, we’ll keep you updated on important industry news, notable campaigns, and award winning work around the globe.

In this week’s edition: Peyton Manning crashes into a jumbotron, Tom Holland throws a dance party, and Liquid Death introduces a deadly fantasy league. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

• 🥁 The Shortlist

• 🎉 Ad of the Week

• 📰 Noteworthy News

• 🎥 8 more ads worth watching

🥁 The Shortlist

Every week I scour the internet for the best new ads released around the world. After narrowing it down to 3, it’s up to you: Watch the ads and vote to decide which one should win Ad of the Week!

Guillotine Leagues / Liquid Death x Yahoo Fantasy

Excellence in Creativity

Engineered For Whatever / Columbia

Excellence in Creativity

Somos Gregarios / Movistar

Excellence in Storytelling

(Context: in biking, a gregario is a supporting rider who sets the pace and blocks the wind, sacrificing their own chances of winning for their teammates’ success)

We heard that last week’s in-email form didn’t work for several subscribers. We’re working on trying to fix it; in the meantime, vote for this week’s winner using this form!

🏆 Last Week’s Winner

We tallied the votes and Ogilvy Toronto’s work for TD Bank has won AdFiesta’s Ad of the Week!

Fractional Window Shopping is the kind of brilliant idea that makes you stop, stare, and see the world in a whole new light. The campaign cleverly placed OOH signs around Toronto that, when viewed from the perfect angle, reveal a fraction of a company’s logo. Simple yet striking ideas like this make you wonder “why didn’t I think of this!”

A common theme I’ve noticed while gathering work for the first 8 weeks of AdFiesta is that while commercials can be beautiful and moving, clever OOH design solutions stand out far more. Brands interacting with consumers in the real world cut through the noise better than any other medium and have sticky, staying power when paired with a ingenious creative idea.

See all of the activations from Ogilvy here.

📰 Noteworthy News

• Injury law firm The Barnes Firm sparks controversy after duplicating an award winning commercial from the New Zealand Transport Agency (read more on AdAge)

• Dairy Queen chooses Colle McVoy as Creative Agency of Record (read more on LBBOnline)

• OpenAI names Omnicom’s PHD as Global Media Agency (read more on Adweek)

• Instagram adds a reposts and a dedicated friends tab, among other new features (read more on Adweek)

📌 Campaign Central

• McDonald’s revives McDonaldland in a nostalgic campaign (read more on AdAge)

• Levi’s releases the Denim Cowboy, the brand’s final video collaboration with Beyoncé (read more from Levi Strauss)

• Zendaya stars in a promo for On directed by Bardia Zeinali (read more on Adweek)

• People mishear King's Hawaiian in new work from Erich & Kallman (read more in LBBOnline)

• Julien & Quentin and Innocean pull a rainbow from the sky in a commercial for Genesis (read more on PR Newswire)

• Smuggler and Audible transport romance readers into a medieval whirlwind (read more on LBBOnline)

• Volkswagen asks fans to find license plate cameos in the brand’s new Buzz Code campaign (read more on MediaPost)

🏋️‍♂️ Viral Stunts

• Heinz and Smoothie King collab for a limited edition Ketchup Smoothie (read more on DesignRush)

• Mischief creates a popup produce store for Pay Day (read more on Muse by Clios)

🎥 8 More Ads Worth Watching

Be a Bonehead / Kettle & Fire

Excellence in Creativity

Paradigme / Prada

Excellence in Storytelling

Back to School / Browns

Excellence in Film Craft

TikTok Test Drive / Audi

Excellence in Technological Innovation

Trainline x Real Betis

Excellence in Creativity

Legend of Canarinha / Nike

Excellence in Creativity

Parachute / Bud Light

Excellence in Creativity

The Kidney Pass / Way Out West Festival

Advertising for Good

That’s it for this week’s volume of Ad Fiesta 🎉

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Have ideas and suggestions on how we can improve? Saw a great ad we missed? Email us at [email protected].

Ad Fiesta Vol. 9

Week of August 11, 2025

Curated by Adam Sheets