Whether it’s an eye-catching social media ad, a captivating video ad, or a clever billboard, great advertising design is what makes people stop scrolling, click that link, or remember a brand long after they’ve seen it.
And in a world flooded with content, great design is more important than ever.
In this article, I’ve rounded up 16 brilliant examples of advertising design that showcase the power of creativity in the world of advertising and marketing.
I’ve chosen these creative ads because they all make clever use of their formats to grab attention and deliver impactful messages.
Ready to get inspired? Let’s dive in!
1. This clever print ad design from Stihl
First up is this super-creative and clever piece of advertising design from Stihl. These print ads make brilliant use of the physical newspaper format to demonstrate the power of their leaf blower.
In fact, the leaf blower is so powerful that it has blown away half of the article that should be printed on the paper.
This is an extremely effective example of media-specific creativity, where the design is directly connected to the format it’s presented in.
It’s fun. It leaves a lasting impression. And it makes me want to buy a leaf blower – and I don’t even have a garden!
Top marks.
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2. This witty Specsavers billboard
This iconic outdoor advertising design from Specsavers is another excellent example of an ad using the format to its full potential.
This witty ad design is part of the optician’s long-running “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” campaign. It features a billboard ad deliberately hung the wrong way, implying that the person who put it up clearly hadn’t been to Specsavers.
This eye-catching ad instantly captures the attention of passers-by, drawing them into the joke.
And it’s not just funny – it’s also perfectly in line with Specsavers’ visual identity and delivers their key brand messaging in an unforgettable way.
It’s a simple concept, brilliantly executed.
And if you love ads as much as we do, check out the top five outdoor marketing trends for 2025.
3. This outdoor ad with purpose from IBM
Sticking with the outdoor theme, IBM’s “Smarter Outdoor” campaign is a brilliant blend of advertising and purpose. Part of their “Smarter Cities” initiative, this isn’t just any old poster – it doubles up as a functional bench too.
Other posters in the campaign served as rain shelters and ramps, providing immediate value to city dwellers.
These outdoor ads are not only visually striking – they also promote IBM’s vision for improving cities with innovative, people-focused solutions. And with a clear call-to-action, they encourage passers-by to get involved and share their ideas too.
4. This interactive direct mail ad from BMW
More than 59 billion pieces of marketing mail are sent each year in the US. So if you want yours to get noticed, you need to make it stand out.
This interactive advertising design from BMW does just that, making full use of the direct mail medium to highlight the performance of their winter tires in a clever way.
The mailer features a perforated pull-tab that mimics a BMW driving effortlessly through snow. When the recipient pulls the tab, it creates the illusion of a BMW cutting an oh-so-satisfying path through snowy terrain. This highlights the superior performance of BMW’s winter tires in challenging weather conditions.
This creative and attractive flyer design turns a simple mailer into a tactile and engaging experience, making the product benefit tangible in a fun and memorable way.
5. This cunning mobile ad campaign from Burger King
This playful yet cunning ad design makes clever use of mobile advertising, using real-time location data and push messaging to create a standout experiential advertising campaign.
Burger King’s “Whopper Detour” tapped into their friendly rivalry with McDonald’s by offering a $0.01 Whopper via the Burger King mobile app whenever a customer was inside or near a McDonald’s location.
The catch? Customers only had one hour to claim their Whopper, encouraging them to step away from BK’s rival and head to a nearby BK store.
It’s pure genius, using the digital format to turn location into a game and to drive both traffic and buzz.
Pure genius.
6. This beautiful video ad design from Honda
The sky’s the limit when it comes to video ads, and this spot from Honda uses the format to full effect.
Using stop-motion animation and thousands of hand-drawn paper sketches, the ad takes you on a journey through Honda’s history. It features their development from bicycles to jets – each transition utterly seamless and beautifully crafted.
What makes this ad particularly striking is its art direction. Every frame feels very intentional and meticulously designed, and the use of stop-motion animation gives the video a tactile, handcrafted quality that wouldn’t work in any other format.
It’s art in motion, literally.
7. This print ad from adidas
When it comes to double-page spreads, the fold is usually seen as a limitation. A pain in the butt.
But as adidas demonstrates here, why fight the fold when you can use it dynamically as part of your print ad design?
This double-page spread for adidas’ Forever Sports campaign cleverly uses the natural fold to create movement in an otherwise static image. As potential customers open and close the pages, the athlete appears to perform a crunch.
It’s fun. It’s interactive. And it solves the problem of that pesky fold.
Proof that smart design can transform any challenge into an opportunity.
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8. This clever advertising design from WWF
Climate change and deforestation are well-known threats to the planet, we know that. But most of us are too caught up in our busy lives to take action. So WWF wanted to create a series of print ads that would cut through the noise and force people to pay attention.
Enter the “Before it’s too late” campaign.
Print ads are often consumed quickly, and WWF capitalized on this by creating an image that communicates volumes with just a quick glance.
The only copy is the tagline: “Before it’s too late”. This allows the viewer to focus on the image itself and leaves the mind to naturally draw the connection between the damage to the lungs and the destruction of forests – our planet’s “lungs”.
It’s a strong message, delivered in a concise and powerful way.
9. This innovative print ad from IKEA
In 2018, IKEA took a bold approach to print advertising by turning a magazine ad into (wait for it) a pregnancy test. An actual pregnancy test!
As part of its “Where Life Happens” marketing strategy, which highlights IKEA’s role in life’s everyday moments, the ad aimed to promote its baby crib to its target audience in a very unique way.
It invited women in Sweden to pee on the ad to find out if they were pregnant. If the test came back positive, it revealed a discount code for the crib.
Despite running only in one Swedish magazine (I can’t think why!), this one-of-a-kind advertising design became a global talking point. Proof that you don’t need a huge advertising budget when you have a really great idea!
10. This cheeky banner ad from WD-40
WD-40 is the go-to for fixing things that get stuck, and these banner ads from WD-40 use a cheeky image to playfully illustrate that concept. The ad teases users to scroll down to view more. But surprise – something is stuck!
If only they had some WD-40…
It’s a fun and playful way to showcase the product’s benefit, using the banner ad format to create promotional materials that stick (pun intended).
11. This outdoor advertising design from 3M
3M’s Security Glass campaign was a stroke of genius. As part of a bold marketing stunt, 3M filled a glass bus shelter in Vancouver with a substantial amount of cash (rumored to be $3 million). They then challenged the public to put the security glass to the test. To break the glass and keep the money. But spoiler alert: no one could!
This outdoor advertising stunt successfully showed off the strength of the security glass and transformed a simple bus shelter advertisement into an interactive and, let’s face it, unforgettable experience.
Even if you didn’t see it in real life, it’s the kind of clever advertising design you’d share and discuss – a real talking point, which is ultimately one of the main aims of advertising.
12. This social media advertising design from Nike
Social media ads come in all shapes and sizes. On Instagram alone, you have the choice of photo ads, video ads, story ads, and carousel ads.
These social media ads from Nike make brilliant use of the carousel ad format. Instead of simply switching between images, Nike uses the carousel function to make the visuals seamlessly slide across, creating the illusion of movement.
But the real magic happens in the storytelling. The first image pulls you in and builds intrigue, before the grand reveal in the second.
As one commenter perfectly put it: “I love how it uses the slide to change perception.”
13. This display ad from KitKat
What better way to make you take notice of digital ads than by disguising them as a computer alert?
At first glance, Kit Kat’s ad design looks just like an official system notification. But upon closer inspection, it quickly becomes clear that it’s not an alert.
It’s clever old Kit Kat, using their graphic design skills, brand colors, and signature “Have a Break” messaging to catch you off guard.
By playing with the format, Kit Kat turns a familiar digital interruption into a memorable ad, making brilliant use of the unexpected to create something fun, eye-catching, and very on-brand.
14. This gamified banner ad from Volkswagen
Volkswagen’s interactive banner ad puts a fun and digital spin on the classic sliding puzzle.
Users have to rotate road pieces to create a clear path for a car to drive from the top to the bottom of the page – cue some serious procrastination! This clever concept hooks you in and makes you engage with the brand while solving the puzzle.
It’s a spot-on example of targeted advertising in the digital age, tapping into the target audience’s love of a challenge while subtly reinforcing Volkswagen’s message of precision and control.
Fun, engaging, and totally on-brand.
15. This personalized email ad from Spotify
Spotify’s “Your Year Wrapped” email campaign is a gold-standard example of email marketing design. These promotional emails are sent out every December to showcase users’ listening habits over the past year.
They use vibrant design elements like bold typography, bright colors, and easy-to-read charts and graphics that summarize listening habits at a glance.
Well-organized sections create a smooth flow, while clear call-to-action buttons encourage users to explore their music further or share their insights on social media.
And all in all Spotify manages to transform a simple piece of email marketing into an engaging and interactive experience. Plus, they provide their target audience with valuable content that they genuinely look forward to each year.
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16. This attention-grabbing social media ad campaign from Snickers
Over the years, Snickers has become a dab hand at celebrity partnerships. But this social media campaign fooled the world!
Celebs including Rio Ferdinand posted completely out-of-character tweets – in his case, about his newfound love of knitting.
These unexpected social media posts caused quite a stir before the grand reveal explaining that it was all in the name of Snickers’ “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign.
It was a brilliant use of influencer culture and social media, using simple tweets and a healthy dose of humor to connect with their audience and get Snickers’ message out there.
FAQs about advertising design
Is advertising design the same as graphic design?
No, advertising design and graphic design are related but distinct disciplines. Graphic design is a broad field focused on creating visual content for various purposes, including branding, publications, and digital media.
Advertising design, on the other hand, specifically involves creating visuals aimed at promoting products or services to drive consumer engagement and sales. While all advertising design is a form of graphic design, not all graphic design is intended for advertising purposes.
What are the 5 phases of the advertising design process?
The advertising design process typically involves the following five phases:
- Empathize – Understand the target audience’s needs and preferences through research
- Define – Clearly articulate the objectives of the advertising campaign
- Ideate – Brainstorm creative concepts and ideas that align with the campaign goals
- Prototype – Develop preliminary designs or mock-ups of the advertisements
- Test – Evaluate the effectiveness of the designs and refine them based on feedback
These phases are adapted from the design thinking process, which emphasizes a user-centered approach to problem-solving.
What do you need to be an advertising designer?
Here’s everything you’ll need to become an advertising designer:
- Education – A degree or formal training in graphic design, advertising, or a related field
- Technical skills – Proficiency in design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
- Creativity – The ability to generate innovative ideas that effectively communicate promotional messages
- Understanding of marketing principles – Knowledge of marketing strategies and consumer behavior to create compelling advertisements
- Communication skills – The capability to collaborate with clients and team members to bring concepts to fruition
What are the four elements of advertising?
Here are the four key elements of advertising:
- Headline – Captures attention and conveys the main message
- Visuals – Images or graphics that attract interest and support the message
- Body copy – Detailed information that persuades your audience about the product or service
- Call to action (CTA) – Encourages your audience to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or visiting a website
Final thoughts
These creative advertising design examples were chosen because they really make the most of their media formats to create something memorable and impactful.
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring them and that they’ve given you inspiration for your future advertising campaigns.
When the time comes, Filestage is on hand to make your design approval process quicker, easier, and more collaborative. Start a free trial today and see how Filestage can help.
