Herezie Paris ECDs pick their Desert Island Ads
Léna Monceau and Julia Deshayes, executive creative directors, Herezie Paris

Some campaigns frankly take our breath away and make us want to put down our pens (yes, we still write ideas with pen and paper), thinking, “Now that is setting the bar high.” We’ve compiled the 5 ads that had the biggest impact on us—the ones that inspire us and, let’s be honest, make us a little envious.
The Lamp – IKEA
A perfect balance between sensitivity and rationality. The brand cleverly plays with our sentimental attachment to objects and pokes fun at it. The emotional power of the storytelling, paired with an unbeatable product message, is just brilliant. And being gently teased by a witty old Englishman? Irresistible.
The Wind
Beautiful storytelling, thanks, largely, to this enigmatic character—touching, yet a little unsettling. An anti-hero who takes on a poignant, poetic journey. This film is a little gem, a modern fable that captures our emotions while addressing ecology and renewable energy.
Like a Girl
The concept may seem a bit overused today, but when it came out, this campaign was truly a game-changer in how brands talked about women and feminism. It’s a “wake-up call” campaign, built on such a strong insight that it stands alone.
“Like a Girl” opened a door, showing that brands can take a meaningful stance on such issues. The flip side, of course, is the occasional pinkwashing we see from time to time…
Viva La Vulva
This campaign is, in a way, a cousin of “Like a Girl.” While selling the same type of product, its expression and execution are radically different. By celebrating something typically hidden or hushed, the ad becomes a liberating statement. Just like “Like a Girl,” this campaign significantly advanced the menstrual product industry and societal perceptions. And we believe that’s the role of brands and advertising: to represent, to show, to make things exist.
Here, we have a joyful and incredibly well-crafted example that vulvas and periods exist.
Epic Split – Volvo
A classic. But what we love about this ad is how it defies all rationality. If we’d been handed the brief, we humbly admit we wouldn’t have made any of these choices—the staging, the direction, the music, the voiceover… It challenges our assumptions and forces us to think differently.
“Epic Split” is a lesson for us: how something that seems kitschy and over-the-top on paper can, with the right talent and vision, become utterly sublime.
Herezie is an independent agency in Paris. Clients include Prime Video, Unilever and Chanel.