Research
What the best ads ever made have in common
A live analysis of every ad in the directory: the persuasion techniques they rely on, when and where they ran, who made them and what they won. The numbers update as ads are added.
Key findings
- Humour is the most common technique. 27% of the ads use humour, ahead of pathos (22%) and purpose and cause (17%).
- Great ads layer techniques. 84% combine two or more. The most common pairing is pathos with storytelling, found in 4% of the ads.
- The leading technique changed. Before 1950, it was pathos; since 2020, it is purpose and cause.
- Ogilvy made more of these ads than any other agency: 8% of those with a credited agency. 3% were made in-house.
- 26% won a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, advertising’s most coveted award.
- Most are recent. 59% were made in 2000 or later; the median ad dates from 2006.
The techniques they use
Share of ads using each technique. Most ads use two or three.
Techniques by format
The three techniques used most within each format.
| Format | Most-used techniques |
|---|---|
| Commercials | Humour 42%Pathos 26%Storytelling 22% |
| Made for the Internet | Participation 38%Purpose and cause 25%Humour 22% |
| Print & Outdoor | Visual metaphor 29%Pathos 26%Humour 19% |
| Stunts & Experiences | Purpose and cause 39%Participation 36%Guerrilla and ambient 25% |
How it changed over time
The three techniques used most by the ads of each era.
| Era | Most-used techniques |
|---|---|
| Before 1950 | Pathos 35%Transfer 22%Visual metaphor 18% |
| 1950–1979 | Humour 29%Mascots and characters 22%Pathos 18% |
| 1980–1999 | Humour 37%Pathos 18%Jingles and music 18% |
| 2000–2009 | Humour 38%Participation 25%Demonstration 15% |
| 2010–2019 | Purpose and cause 32%Participation 26%Pathos 24% |
| Since 2020 | Purpose and cause 38%Participation 30%Humour 25% |
When they were made
Share of ads by decade.
| Decade | Share |
|---|---|
| 1880s | |
| 1890s | |
| 1900s | |
| 1910s | |
| 1920s | |
| 1930s | |
| 1940s | |
| 1950s | |
| 1960s | |
| 1970s | |
| 1980s | |
| 1990s | |
| 2000s | |
| 2010s | |
| 2020s |
Formats
Share of ads by format.
| Format | Share |
|---|---|
| Commercials | |
| Print & Outdoor | |
| Made for the Internet | |
| Stunts & Experiences |
The agencies behind them
The ten agencies with the most ads, as a share of ads with a credited agency. 3% of all the ads were made in-house.
| Agency | Share |
|---|---|
| Ogilvy | |
| BBDO | |
| DDB | |
| Wieden+Kennedy | |
| McCann | |
| TBWA | |
| Leo Burnett | |
| Saatchi & Saatchi | |
| FCB | |
| Crispin Porter + Bogusky |
The brands that appear most
Share of all ads, for brands with a page of their own.
| Brand | Share |
|---|---|
| Coca-Cola | |
| Nike | |
| Volkswagen | |
| Apple | |
| Burger King | |
| Budweiser | |
| Guinness |
Recognition
Share of all ads.
| Recognition | Share |
|---|---|
| Won a Cannes Lions Grand Prix | |
| Won the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial | |
| Ran during the Super Bowl |
Methodology
What is measured. Every published ad in the directory, at the moment this page loads, so the figures change as ads are added. The directory is curated, not a random sample: each ad is here because it is studied, through awards, case studies, museum collections or teaching (see how we choose). These figures describe the ads people learn from, not advertising in general.
Techniques. Each ad is tagged with one to three techniques from a fixed list of persuasion and creative techniques (all techniques), each with a sentence on how that ad uses it. Shares are the proportion of tagged ads that use a technique. Ads use more than one, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Agencies. Offices and later names of the same agency count together: Doyle Dane Bernbach with DDB, Chiat/Day with TBWA\Chiat\Day, Abbott Mead Vickers with AMV BBDO. Where a credit names several agencies, the first counts. Agency shares are of ads with a credited agency; in-house work is reported separately.
Recognition. Taken from the directory’s collections. The award collections require a cited source that states the award.
Caveats. The directory leans towards work covered by English-language trade press and award shows, and towards recent decades, when more work is documented online. Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.
Data. Everything here is computed from the same data as ads.json, the directory’s machine-readable index.
How to cite
Damn Good Ads. “What the best ads ever made have in common.” Updated 7 October 2026. https://damngoodads.com/research/what-the-best-ads-have-in-common/