Ads Worth Spreading

People use YouTube to create original content that will connect, inform and inspire others across the globe, and we encourage advertisers to do the same. It is our goal to recognize and give praise when brands create content that people seek out, love and share with others. TED, the organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, announced a similar mission late last year with their inaugural Ads Worth Spreading challenge, designed to solicit best-in-class ads that raise the bar, elevate the craft and invent new forms of engagement, both online and in general.

Beginning in early January, TED and YouTube began the call for submissions. In less than a month, nearly 1,000 ads were submitted from around the world, varying in length from 30 seconds to five minutes. The winners were selected by a diverse judging panel made up of 24 artists, business people and thought leaders, including Robert Wong from Google’s Creative Lab and YouTube creative champion Terrence Kelleman of Dynomighty. One-third of the entries came from outside of the U.S., across a wide variety of brands and causes.

In early March, Chris Anderson announced the 10 winners of the challenge from the stage of the annual TED conference in Long Beach, California. The winners represent some of the most creative, compelling and out-of-the-box executions of the past year. They embody a new paradigm for advertising creative, pushing the boundaries on what will move audiences and spur action by embracing longer-form storytelling as advertising.




Video is a powerful medium for spreading ideas. Our mission--like TED’s--is supported in part by advertising. Any great video--whether original content or advertising--should make you think, make you respond, and make you want to share. We hope to continue to see more enthusiasm and more passion in online advertising, solidifying it as the medium that elevates the craft and practice of brands spreading ideas.

The 10 winning Ads Worth Spreading are:

• Chrysler: "Born of Fire" (Wieden+Kennedy)
• The Nike Foundation: “Girl Effect, The Clock is Ticking” (Wieden+Kennedy)
• Dulux: “Dulux Walls” (Euro RSCG London)
• Intel: “The Chase” (Venables Bell & Partners)
• Nokia: “The World’s Smallest Stop-Motion Character Animation” (Wieden + Kennedy London)
• Hornbach and HEIMAT Berlin: “Infinite House” (@radical.media)
• The Topsy Foundation: “Selinah” (Ogilvy Johannesburg)
• Batelco: “Infinity” (FP7/DXB, Bahrain)
• Savory Institute: “Changing Our Future” (Foresight Multimedia)
• Target: “Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular” (Mother NY and Legs Media)

The winning videos can be seen today on the YouTube homepage, and you can also take a look at behind-the-scenes commentary on YouTube Show & Tell, our resource for the best creative marketing on YouTube.

Mark Sabec, Product Marketing Manager, who recently watched “Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man”