Most Read of 2023: USA

Every 2023 Super Bowl Ad

Our bumper list of every single Big Game spot is often one of our most read articles each year, but 2023’s was better than ever, all thanks to our Creative Library and its smart, clickable credits. 

Celebrity talent is a natural sucker of eyeballs and no one drew readers more this year than Kristofer Hivju, who many may recognise as Tormund from Game of Thrones, in this spot for Scotts Miracle-Gro from MullenLowe US.

Gaming engines have transformed filmmaking and how the visual effects magicians of our industry build virtual worlds. The beginning of 2023 saw the launch of the latest version of the Epic Games-founded technology, and readers were eager to know more about it. Drew Smith, technical artist and research engineer at Vū Studios, duly obliged. 

We've been obsessed with the work of Daniels ever since they were killing bands at the beginning of music videos and getting teddy bears to dance to dubstep for British cereal brands. This year, with it seeming very possible the duo may pick up an Oscar for their 2022 movie 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', we invited them to travel back in time for a deep dive on the commercials and music videos that had the biggest impact on their careers, and were joyed when they said yes. 

Is there an agency that’s launched in recent years to bigger acclaim than Mischief? It feels difficult to think of one. Back in March we chatted to the person at the helm, Greg Hahn, as part of our 5 Minutes with… partnership with Adobe to ponder how his agency hacked the Super Bowl, treating his own business as a brand and why being a creative leader is similar to being a music producer.

‘Travels Come True’ thanks to this magical spot for McKinney, which features Zooey Deschanel as Choice Hotels’ ‘Fairy Hotel Mother’. 

Three well-known industry veterans going into business together back in March was of particular interest to you, dear readers. To quote my colleague Ben Conway, who wrote this piece, “Majestic Beast is a part-creative, part-production company - a new beast altogether - set up by industry heavyweight Bob Winter, a widely-awarded agency veteran (most recently, ECD at Leo Burnett in Chicago). Supporting him are Matt Abramson, executive producer and managing director at Cap Gun Collective and Jen Shelley, director of communications at Whitehouse Post.”

Apple is the undeniable champion of the product demo, a fact further cemented with the brand’s 2023 holiday film. Its plot switches between a woman’s live-action real world and stop-motion imaginary world, as she transforms from a disgruntled office worker by day to a stop-motion artist by night, using her extracurricular creative endeavour to process challenges with her boss. Hungry Man’s Lucia Aniello and Passion Pictures’ Anna Mantzaris helmed this piece of joy from TBWA\Media Arts Lab.

Bring your kids to work day. It’s a nice idea in theory. But kids these days are savvy, especially when it comes to technology. This enjoyable spot from Park Pictures’ Lance Acord and Goodby Silverstein and Partners for Xfinity imagined employees’ kids encouraging their parents to push the brand’s phone network to its absolute limit. Because, well, kids these days don’t wait around for buffering.

USA reporter Ben Conway with a real scoop here. He chatted to PepsiCo’s CMO Todd Kaplan and chief design officer Mauro Porcini about the iconic drink brand’s new logo when it dropped in April of this year. 

It’s hard not to enjoy a spot of creepy doom to advertise something as useful and normal as paint. Which is what TBWA\Chiat\Day LA did to amusing effect for Behr in ‘Hearing Things’ from back in March. SMUGGLER’s Benji Weinstein directed this spot. 

Back in February, I got the chance to speak to beloved directors Melina Matsoukas and Martin De Thurah, as well as brand leaders from Levi’s and talent from Droga5, about what proved to be one of my favourite pieces of film advertising all year. Do be sure to check out all three spots via the link in the header above.

Got Booster? VMLY&R New York and RESET's Martin Werner paid homage to the iconic ‘Got Milk?’ campaign in this spot for Pfizer. In it, Martha Stewart sharpens a samurai sword while encouraging viewers to get rid of their ‘Unwelcome Guest’, which in this case was covid-19. 

A deep dive into the reel of one of comedic advertising’s best. Essential reading. 

Kroger’s 2023 festive film told the story of a childless couple who host various exchange students, enamoured by the connective power of shared food cultures. It’s one of the most unexpected, emotional pieces we saw from this year’s crop of Christmas ads backed up by wondrous animation from the talented folks at Hornet. USA reporter Ben Conway spoke adam&eveDDB New York’s Jason Ashlock and Hornet’s Yves Geleyn about how it all came to be, which you can check out here. 

After joining Publicis Groupe’s Le Truc in September, we were honoured to be allowed a look into Julia Neumann’s beloved notes app on her phone and the veritable treasure trove of wisdom stored within.