Ads used to be annoying breaks that made you want to grab the remote. But those times are long gone. Not only do the best cartoon ads today sell things, but they also make you laugh, cry, and want to share them with everyone you know. 

Nike spent seven months making a five-minute football epic that made them an extra $2.3 billion. Also, Metro Trains made a movie about train safety that got 320 million views and became the most popular video of 2012. 

These are not mistakes; they were game-changers that showed how commercial animation services could turn boring things into stories that people would never forget.

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11 Game-Changing Animated Ads

Here we will introduce the top 11 animated ads.

1- Nike – “The Last Game” (2014)

There is a bad scientist who doesn’t like it when football players take chances. He believes that Ronaldo’s fancy moves and Zlatan’s crazy kicks are pointless since they could fail. He makes perfect robot copies that never do anything wrong, but they are really tedious to watch. 

Why did this change everything?

• Nobody had ever made a 5-minute animated commercial before, and most ads are 30 seconds. Nike said “screw it” and made a short movie instead. It cost a fortune, but the price of commercial animation paid off—because people actually wanted to watch it, and it racked up 53 million views.
• It made Nike $2.3 billion in extra sales. That’s not a typo, but billion with a B. When your ad makes that much money, every other company starts paying attention.
• It proved brands could be entertainment companies. Instead of interrupting your entertainment with ads, Nike became the entertainment. People shared it like it was a real movie.

2- Coca-Cola – “Happiness Factory” (2006)

A man puts a penny into a Coke machine. But instead of just showing the drink coming out, we see this amazing world inside the machine.

A cute flying pig-helicopter animal known as a “Chinoink” moves around empty bottles. There are little factory workers all over the place trying to fill your bottle with real happiness, not just Coke.

All the colors and lights are very bright, like in a picture. It’s a team effort to make sure your Coke is perfect. People are sliding down rainbows, and flowers are blooming everywhere—an imaginative example of the types of commercial animation that turn ordinary moments into magical storytelling experiences.

Why did this blow people’s minds?

• It made buying Coke feel magical. Before this, vending machines were just boring metal boxes. Now, every time you bought a Coke, you wondered if those little creatures were really in there.
• 50+ animators worked on making every detail perfect. Each creature had a personality, and each color was chosen carefully. 
• Coke tested this more than any other ad in its history. And it scored higher than anything they’d ever made. 
• It proved you could sell feelings instead of features. They didn’t tell you Coke tastes good. They showed you what happiness looks like and connected it to their product.

3- Honda – “Grrr” (2004)

The commercial animation begins in a lovely animation world with waterfalls and clear lakes. However, diesel engines that are loud and smelly are flying around like angry bees and destroying everything.

All over the world, cute animals are full. Rabbits jump out of holes to bite the engines, and fish leap from lakes to swallow them. Plants try to grab them too. The whole natural world is fighting back against these dirty, smelly machines.

Why was this completely insane (in a good way)?

• They made “hate” sound friendly and cheerful. Nobody had ever used hate as a positive marketing message before. But they did it with bright colors, happy music, and cute animals, so it felt warm instead of angry.
• Honda’s chief engineer actually hated diesel engines. This wasn’t made up, and he refused to design one for years because he thought they were awful. When he finally did, Honda turned his hatred into their entire marketing campaign.
• Sales went absolutely crazy. Honda sold 42 times more diesel cars after this ad. Their overall UK sales jumped 35% and brand awareness doubled.
• It won every major advertising award that year. Cannes Grand Prix, the most-awarded campaign of 2005, and Adweek called it “Commercial of the Decade” in 2009.

4- Metro Trains – “Dumb Ways to Die” (2012)

You meet these cute bean-shaped figures who are doing weird things that are killing themselves. A person takes a grizzly bear with a stick. 

Someone else sells both kidneys online, and someone uses their private parts as piranha bait (yeah, they went there).

It gets stranger and funnier with each death. As much as the figures look cute and innocent, you can’t help but laugh at the bad decisions they make. They look a lot like the worst safety symbols from cartoons.

How did a train safety video break the internet?

• It was cute and catchy to make death. They didn’t show a scary accident video; instead, they made these cute idiots die in funny ways. You want to keep these little guys safe from themselves.
• You could never forget the song. It got to number 10 on iTunes in 24 hours, and Radio stations played it for free because so many people asked for it.
• There were 320 million viewers. This PSA was shared more than any other ever. Friends most likely sent it to you, and you most likely sent it to someone else.
• It really did save lives. The number of close calls on Metro Trains dropped by 20% after this program. Advertising works best when a cute cartoon movie keeps real people from getting hurt.
• They made a huge business out of entertainment, and the game was number one in 22 places. Also, their products included stuffed animals, kids’ stories, and follow-ups. 

5- Duolingo – “Everyday Language” (2024)

Duo, the owl that represents Duolingo, loses his mind. He’s sick of people skipping their Spanish classes, so he starts showing up everywhere, like in your bedroom, at work, or even at family dinner, to beg you to practice.

The owl becomes more powerful and a little scarier as it goes on. He’s hiding in your car, knocking on your windows, and staring you dead in the eyes when you don’t answer your calls. 

It’s like a scary movie with a bird learning a language.

Why did this make Duolingo the king of social media?

• They liked their own jokes. Since people were already making fun of Duolingo’s annoying alerts, they decided to go full crazy owl instead. That’s a great way for brands to know themselves.
• TikTok liked it a lot. Gen Z loves crazy brand material, and this was just right. There were thousands of reaction films and remixes made after the video.
• They made it scary and funny to learn a language. No one thinks that their educational app will make scary comedies.
• Perfect time for a joke. Before this came out, brands were trying too hard to be “cool” on social media, but now they knew how to be funny.
• 50 million views on all tools. Many people shared it because it was fun, not because they wanted to learn the language.
• Created a selling point out of notifications. They didn’t say sorry for being pushy; they made it their whole identity. 

6- Starbucks – “Drink In, Breathe Out” (2024)

George is a typical holiday poor guy who is drowned in all the chaos. He’s in a hurry, and everyone at work is acting crazy. The tangled fairy lights are trying to hurt him, too, and he hates going shopping at the last minute.

This poor guy is stuck in a holiday nightmare where everything moves very quickly. You know what to expect: office parties, crowded grocery stores, and long gift lists.

After that, something magical takes place. When George walks into a Starbucks and takes a sip of his drink, time stops for a moment, and the mayhem ends. After a while, he can breathe again and remember why Christmas is fun.

Why did this hit people right in the feels?

• The animation was pure eye candy. They mixed 3D sets with stop-motion and 2D characters. Every tiny detail was handcrafted, from mini red cups to realistic store setups. 
• Perfect timing for post-pandemic stress. After years of weird holidays and social anxiety, people were craving normalcy and moments of peace. This ad basically said, “We get it, come chill with us.”
• They nailed the slow-motion effect. When George takes that sip and everything slows down, you physically feel the relief. It’s like meditation in commercial form.
• Hidden Easter eggs everywhere. True Starbucks fans could spot their ready-to-drink products in the grocery store scene, plus tons of other sneaky details that made repeat watching fun.

7- Chipotle – “Back to the Start” (2011)

You meet this farmer who starts out doing everything right. His animals are happy, running around in actual grass fields like you see in kids’ books. But slowly, things change.

Money gets tight. Pressure builds up. The farmer starts putting up walls and cages. Before you know it, his cute little farm turns into one of those massive industrial operations where animals never see sunlight.

How did this make people lose their minds?

• Willie Nelson made everyone cry. When you hear his old, worn-out voice singing about starting over while watching a farmer fix his mistakes, it hits differently. 
• Every single frame was made by hand. This wasn’t computer animation. Real people moved tiny pieces for months to create this story. When you know that, every second feels more important.
• They dropped serious cash during the Grammys. Most companies buy 30-second spots. Chipotle said “nah” and showed their full 2+ minute movie during one of the biggest music nights of the year.
• McDonald’s freaked out and changed overnight. The day after this aired, McDonald’s announced it’d stop confining pigs. 

8- John Lewis – “The Bear and the Hare” (2013)

There is a bear and a rabbit that get along really well. They can’t be apart in the spring and summer; they play games, go on trips, and just be friends.

Then winter comes and ruins everything. Just like bears do every year, the bear has to go to sleep for months. He never gets to spend Christmas with his rabbit friend while they celebrate with everyone else in the forest.

Why did this become the gold standard for Christmas ads?

• They hired actual Disney talent. Aaron Blaise animated The Lion King and Brother Bear. When John Lewis wanted their animals to feel real, they got the guy who made Simba come alive.
• Almost half of the viewers got genuinely emotional. 48% had what researchers call an “intense emotional reaction.” Most ads are lucky if 5% of people even remember them the next day.
• Lily Allen’s voice was pure magic. Her soft, dreamy version of that Keane song made everyone remember what it felt like to be a kid on Christmas morning.
• Everyone has that one friend. We’ve all either been left out or worried about leaving someone else out. This story worked whether you were 8 or 80 years old.
• They printed 25,000 individual animation frames. The Graphical Tree company literally printed over 500 huge sheets to create every single movement. 

9- Oreo – “Wonderfilled” (2013)

The ad starts by asking, “Wonder if I gave an Oreo to…” and then shows us three classic villains getting cookies.

First up is the Big Bad Wolf. Instead of huffing and puffing to blow down the three little pigs’ house, he brings them “cool stuff” and helps them build a deck. The pigs don’t get killed, but they get home improvement help.

Then there’s a vampire in a creepy show. After getting an Oreo, he doesn’t want blood anymore. 

The ad asks, “Would he still be so undead? Would he thirst for milk instead?” The vampire basically becomes a normal guy who just wants cookies and milk.

Why did this melt people’s cold hearts?

• They targeted cynical adults on Mad Men. Oreo deliberately aired a super cheerful ad during one of TV’s darkest shows. 
• The song was insanely addictive. Owl City created this bouncy tune that got stuck in everyone’s head for weeks. It hit iTunes top 10 in 28 countries because people genuinely wanted to listen to it.
• 500 singers took over subway stations. Oreo hired a cappella groups to perform the song live in New York, Chicago, and LA subway stops. Commuters got serenaded with cookie-powered joy during rush hour.
• Adults forgot they were adults. The campaign reminded grown-ups what it felt like to see the world through wonder-filled eyes instead of cynical ones.

10- Chipotle – “A Love Story” (2016)

Young Ivan runs a small orange juice stand and falls for Evie, who has a lemonade stand called “Evie’s Lemon Land” across the street. Ivan wants to impress her, so he tries to make his stand better.

But Evie sees this as competition, not romance. So she upgrades her stand, too. This starts an escalating rivalry that spans decades from the 1960s to the present day.

Their simple juice stands become fancy, branded shops, then massive restaurant chains. Ivan becomes “Mister Orange,” and Evie’s becomes a huge corporate empire. They add more and more menu items, use artificial ingredients and additives, create flashy mascots, and bombard people with ads.

How did this make everyone forget it was an ad?

• Backstreet Boys got the indie treatment. Brittany Howard and Jim James turned “I Want It That Way” into something beautiful and melancholy. The cover alone was worth watching for.
• The animation was movie-quality. Pixar’s Saschka Unseld directed this thing. When you get Disney-level talent, you get Disney-level feelings.
• No Chipotle products appeared anywhere. They told a complete story about food industry corruption without showing a single burrito. 
• Market research went crazy. Ace Metrix called it the highest-scoring quick-service restaurant ad they’d ever tested. 71% of viewers said it made them trust Chipotle more.

11- Android – “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (2016)

Bullies pick on three kids at school because they look different. Three of the kids have different looks. One is like a rock, another is like paper, and the last one is like scissors. 

They are supposed to be enemies in the game rock-paper-scissors: the rock hits the scissors, the scissors cut the paper, and the paper hides the rock.

They start to fight, but then they become best friends. Anytime someone picks on one of them, the other two stand up for that person. They know that just because they are different doesn’t mean they have to hate each other.

Why did this campaign win hearts everywhere?

• Perfect timing against Apple uniformity. While Apple was pushing “everyone must have the same iPhone,” Android said, “diversity makes us stronger.” 
• The rock-paper-scissors metaphor was genius. Everyone knows these characters are supposed to be enemies, so seeing them as friends immediately makes you feel good about differences.
• They supported real social movements. Android put up Pride parade billboards showing 80+ different phone customizations. They connected their tech message to actual human rights.

The Bottom Line That Changed Everything

Brands all over the world learned from these campaigns: people want stories, not sales pitches. Something big changed when Chipotle forced McDonald’s to change their whole pig policy overnight, or when a train safety video went viral and became more famous than most Hollywood movies. 

No longer are animations just pretty pictures; they are the key to making dull goods into cultural moments.