System! has named its top brands of 2025, tweaking what amounts to its algorithm to show how strongly each ad performed relative to direct competitors, highlighting the creative choices that delivered true distinctiveness and a measurable competitive edge.
So we have:
The Top 10 Ads of 2025
Best in Brand-Building
Dove & Zulu Alpha Kilo “#ChangetheCompliment” (US)
3.1 Star Rating uplift versus the ‘Soaps and Personal Wash’ category.
Best in Short-Term Impact
Warburtons & Procure Worldwide, Joyful & Triumphant “The Inspection” (UK)
0.55 Spike Rating uplift versus the ‘Bakery Category’.
Best in Brand Recall
Uber & Mother “In Good Time” (UK)
26% higher fluency versus the ‘Mobile App’ category, and 28% higher than the average for “Travel”, making it the most recalled brand versus the category.
Best of Festive
Coca-Cola & WPP Open X & VML “Holidays are coming” (US & UK)
Top scoring holiday/Christmas ad in the US and UK across Star, Spike & Fluency Rating.
Most Provocative
American Eagle, in-house “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” (US)
16% uplift in negative emotion ‘contempt’ versus the ‘Fashion’ category, making it the most polarizing ad of the year.
Most Subversive
Lynx & Lola Mullenlowe “Lynx Lower Body Spray” (UK)
21% uplift in emotional response ‘disgust’ versus the category, tapping into one of the rarest emotions to cut-through.
Best in Comedy
Irn-Bru & Lucky Generals “Made in Scotland for Girders” (Scotland)
56% ‘Amusement’ score, the highest across all categories in 2025.
Best in Sport
Uber Eats & Special “Football is For Food” (US)
48% uplift in ‘happiness’ versus sport-themed ads, a category that typically struggles to resonate with mass audiences and skews toward already-engaged fans.
Best in Outdoor
Cadbury & VCCP “All Heroes, No Zeroes” (UK)
First ever 5.9 Star Rating for outdoor, against an average of 2.5 Stars.
Least Dull
Volvo & Lion Creative “Come Back Stronger” (Saudi Arabia)
Volvo’s ad has just 12% neutral feeling, which is the least commercially impactful (long-term or short-term) emotional response in advertising. This is a 37% decrease versus the car category.*
Al clear?
Chief customer officer Jon Evans says: “Cut-through is not about playing it safe or copying the category mood of the moment. It is about deliberately choosing an emotional stance that makes your brand impossible to ignore. This year’s top ads prove there is no single formula for earning attention. From Irn-Bru’s culturally sharp humour and Dove’s long-standing commitment to real beauty, to deliberately provocative work from American Eagle and Lynx, the common thread is intent.
“When brands fully commit to an emotion, whether that is joy, discomfort or something more challenging, they create memorability, conversation and commercial impact. That is how attention is earned in a sea of sameness.”
*(Don’t get this at all – Ed.)
