It sometimes seems like we’re inundated with advertisements everywhere we go: online, in apps on our phones, during podcasts we listen to, on billboards off the highway, on the train... The endless stream of commercials never seems to end. So most of us have become experts at completely blocking out all of the ads we encounter (although it’s hard to ignore the ones that pop up on Instagram for products we were just discussing five minutes prior…). But every now and then, we come across advertisements that are so brilliant we actually want to engage with them, and that’s what the Creative Advertising Instagram account is all about.

Run by the Swedish company Havelle, this Instagram account puts the world’s best outdoor ads in the spotlight. From beautiful billboards to giant cartons of milk, these ads are sure to grab the attention of anyone passing by and inspire those working in marketing to up their game. To learn more about all of these fascinating ads, we reached out to Tobbe Christell at Havelle, who was kind enough to have a chat with us about why it’s so important to be creative and innovative when it comes to advertising. “What the public remembers best is when the advertisement stands out and leaves an impression,” Tobbe told Bored Panda. “It's simple psychology - you learn best and remember the impressions you value best.”

We also asked Tobbe to shine some light on what he thinks makes for a great outdoor ad. “First of all, the advertisement must be created to attract attention,” he says. “Once you have the attention, a humorous element is what always gets the most attention. People love to spread humorous elements and are happy to take pictures of this and spread it.”

“Recently, we assembled a solution for SkyShowtime with 3D produced Minions in Stockholm, Sweden,” Tobbe went on to note. “Of all those who passed these, 12% took a picture of the Minions, which is proof of how much value a creative campaign creates. Of course, good documentation is often important to get good viral spread.”

Tobbe also told us about a "rather simple solution" that was created in Singapore for McDonald's, where customers could literally scream for ice cream to receive a free cone. He shared a video of this ad, featuring some amused customers who tried it, on the Creative_ads TikTok, and it quickly received 9.5 million views.

Tobbe also shared some of the don’ts advertisers should keep in mind when it comes to creating effective outdoor ads. “The advertiser should avoid overly complicated solutions and messages, a lot of text and low contrast,” he says. “Outdoor advertising - whether it's just printed posters or a more creative solution - needs to be simple and quick to understand.” And when it comes to what he decides to share on the Creative Advertising Instagram account, the expert told Bored Panda that he typically finds the campaigns on his own, but will occasionally showcase fun ads that followers send his way.

We were curious about some of Tobbe’s personal favorite ad campaigns that Havelle has worked on, and he shared some of the most eye-catching examples with us. First, he mentioned a Halloween ad for Fanta. “Together with a digital billboard, we projected a film that integrated with the content on the billboard,” Tobbe shared. “Fanta and FilmicArt created amazing animated scary Halloween elements that fought to take their Fanta from the digital screen. This campaign won gold in the American Obie Awards and has received a fantastic spread.” 

Tobbe also told Bored Panda about a brilliant ad that Havelle helped Reebok create, featuring a “ZPump 2.0 Speed Camera”. “Those who ran faster than 17 km/h past the outdoor board with a built-in speed camera unlocked one of the boxes in the board and had the opportunity to collect a pair of Zpump 2.0 shoes, free of charge,” he explained. 

Next, Tobbe shared about a hilarious ad for Adobe that Havelle worked on. “With over 12.5 million views in 4 days, Adobe's film ‘Photoshop Live – Street Retouch Prank’ is one of the biggest viral successes ever from a commercial actor in Scandinavia. In the film, we see retouch artist Erik Johansson showing off his skills to a surprised audience at a bus stop. The purpose of the film was to attract as many people as possible to want to watch the Creative Days Nordics event on Adobe's live stream.”

Havelle has also worked on a genius, interactive campaign for H&M. “We developed a panel with frosted glass, which encased samples from the new Isabel Marant H&M collection,” Tobbe explained. “The call-to-action was clear: to tweet #LookNBook, which promptly revealed the garment from the collection for several seconds. If the product was to their taste, they could reserve the item. As a result, there were 1,658 tweets with the hashtag ‘LookNBook’.”

There have also been some fantastic advertisements from Havelle for films and TV shows. “The Rain is about a storm and rain that contains a virus that infects the population,” Tobbe shared. “We created a mural, where the message ‘SURVIVE’ only became visible when it rained.”

And if you’re a fan of Star Wars, you would love what Havelle created for The Book of Boba Fett. “Before the premiere of Boba Fett on Disney+, we produced the world's largest helmet and mounted it on a facade in Stockholm,” Tobbe told Bored Panda.

Havelle even got creative when crafting an ad for Shazam! Fury of the Gods. “On a facade next to a digital billboard that partly showed the trailer for Shazam and partly other advertisers, we projected the character Shazam patiently (and a little bored) waiting when his trailer wasn't shown,” Tobbe shared. “But when his trailer appeared on the screen, he was extra happy.”

If you’d like to see more of the brilliant and creative ads Havelle has had a hand in putting out into the world, be sure to visit their website right here!

This list just goes to show that even ads can be an art form! We hope you’re enjoying viewing these brilliant campaigns, pandas. Be sure to upvote the ones you find most creative, and feel free to share in the comments about the best outdoor advertisements you’ve ever come across. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring some of the best ads of all time, you can find that piece right here!