I’ve spent most of my career in media and comms planning, but the work I’ve always been drawn to sits where brands contribute to culture and communities. The ads that stay with me are the ones that made me feel something, captured a moment in culture or made me dream about the creative companies that that put them together.
Nike Airport (1998)
If you grew up loving football in the late 90s, this ad will bring back some memories. Nike perfectly captured what made the Brazilian team so special: flair and joy. Ronaldo, Romario and the rest felt more like cultural icons than footballers. I also loved the use of Sérgio Mendes’ Mas Que Nada, which brought together football, music and Brazilian culture brilliantly. Nearly thirty years later people are still talking about it, which says everything about how good it was.
Nike – Nothing Beats a Londoner
I’ve always admired brands that genuinely understand the communities they want to be part of, and Nothing Beats a Londoner is one of the best examples of that. Nike has always been brilliant at understanding that culture happens in cities and pitches, not in marketing departments. This campaign showed how a global brand can feel local when it truly understands the people it’s speaking to.
Budweiser – Dream Goal
This is a more personal choice because I worked on the team behind it early in my career., As a junior, I watched the team put it together and learnt a lot. Budweiser had become the lead sponsor of the FA Cup and needed a way to become part of football culture rather than simply sponsor it. The campaign tapped into something already happening every weekend across the country: people filming goals from the sidelines. Players uploaded their goals, the public voted and the winner earned a trip to the FA Cup Final. It was simple, participatory and rooted in real football culture. A great example of building an idea around behaviour rather than forcing one onto people.
Channel 4 – Superhumans
The Paralympics changed the way disability was portrayed in sport, and I don’t think any campaign did more to accelerate that shift than Superhumans. What stood out was that it celebrated Paralympians as elite athletes and showed the determination required to compete at the highest level. It was emotional, powerful and impossible to ignore. More importantly, it helped change perceptions. For me, it’s one of the strongest examples of advertising making a positive contribution to culture. Channel 4 has a real talent for that kind of work, backed by an exceptional creative team.
Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split
Sometimes an ad stays with you simply because it’s incredibly cool. On paper, The Epic Split is a demonstration of Volvo’s steering system. In reality, it’s Jean-Claude Van Damme performing a split between two reversing trucks at sunrise while Enya plays in the background. It’s a beautifully simple idea that turns a technical product feature into something genuinely memorable. It proves that even the most functional product benefit can become iconic when creativity is applied in the right way.
Sam Bradshaw is head of media at AgencyUK.
