The best ads of the decade

Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (2010)

This Super Bowl ad by Old Spice and Wieden+Kennedy promoted the brand's body wash by targeting female viewers and suggesting that it would help the men in their life smell better.

It became a viral sensation overnight, leading Old Spice to bring back the actor, Isaiah Mustafa, for a follow-up interactive campaign later in the year.

It has such lasting cultural cachet that Tide drew from the spot for its own 2018 Super Bowl ad.

Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" (2011)

The "Share a Coke" campaign known worldwide got its start in Australia in 2011, when Coca-Cola personalized Coke bottles with the 150 most popular names in the country.

Over time, Coke made it possible to order custom bottles with nicknames and college logos.

Volkswagen's "The Force" (2011)

This 2011 Volkswagen Super Bowl ad by Deutsch set a precedent by becoming the first ad to be released before the Big Game — and remains the most-watched Super Bowl ad of all time.

It tapped into Star Wars fandom and told the story of a little boy who tries to channel the powers of Darth Vader without success, until he manages to make a VW Passat come to life with his father's remote start.

Melbourne Metro Train's "Dumb Ways To Die" (2012)

This PSA features a medley of cartoon characters trying to get across a serious message in a light-hearted way: Loitering near train tracks can be fatal.

The song has garnered 185 million YouTube views since it debuted in 2012.

Oreo's "Dunk in the Dark" (2013)

Oreo set the standard for what quickly came to be known as real-time marketing with its witty tweet timed with the third-quarter blackout during the 2013 Super Bowl final.

The tweet — "Power out? No Problem. You can still dunk in the dark" — set off a gold rush among brands looking to replicate Oreo's success around big cultural moments, and continues to be considered of the best examples of quick creative thinking on social media.

Under Armour's "I Will What I Want" (2014)

Under Armour has been a challenger brand to Nike and Adidas, a status it also embraced in its campaign "I will what I want." The first spot featured Misty Copeland, the first black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater's history, and promoted the idea that hard work is the key to silencing naysayers and achieving your goals.

John Lewis's "Monty's Christmas" (2014)

British retailer John Lewis has become known for its yearly Christmas ads, and this tear-jerker starring a penguin called Monty who longs for love is one of its biggest hits.

The cutesy ad ends with Monty's best friend, a little boy named Sam, presenting him with a penguin friend on Christmas Day.

Always's "#LikeAGirl" (2015)

The 2015 "Like a Girl" ad for Always that promoted gender equality was one of Procter & Gamble's first to champion social causes.

The campaign by agency Leo Burnett put a positive spin on the insult "like a girl" and swept a series of awards, from a Grand Clio and a Cannes Grand Prix, to a Black Pencil and White Pencil at D&AD as well as an Emmy.

Bud Light's "Dilly Dilly" (2017)

It's hard to turn a marketing catchphrase into a cultural phenomenon, but Bud Light did it twice, with Wassup, then Dilly Dilly.

The series of ads created by Wieden+Kennedy turned a garbled, non-sensical phrase into a recognizable phrase that went viral, and the brand continues to milk it.

State Street's "Fearless Girl" (2018)

Asset manager State Street and advertising agency McCann New York installed the bronze statue in New York's financial district to call attention to the lack of gender diversity in boardrooms. It became an overnight sensation and cultural icon almost instantly, picking up a bunch of awards on the Cannes ad festival's first day.

Controversy followed after State Street was forced to pay $5 million for allegedly underpaying women and minorities, though.

Amazon's "Alexa Loses Her Voice" (2018)

This Amazon Super Bowl ad from 2018 envisions a world where Alexa loses her voice, and is replaced by some well-known voices.

The star-studded 90-second spot featuring a host of celebrities including Rebel Wilson, Gordon Ramsay, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and even Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.

Nike's "Dream Crazy" (2018)

A string of marketers have taken stands on hot-button issues in recent years, but none of them succeeded like Nike.

The brand featured former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled to protest racial injustice during the national anthem before NFL games, in the 30th anniversary celebration of its "Just Do It" campaign.

The ad went on to win several awards and also helped increase the brand's market value by $6 billion.

KFC's "FCK" (2018)

When KFC's UK restaurants ran out of chicken in February 2018, the brand converted the embarrassing situation into a hilarious marketing stunt that showed it had a sense of humor.

KFC and its ad agency Mother took out a full-page ad in the newspaper Metro, jumbling its initials to respond to its product shortage with a KFC bucket that read "FCK."

Burger King's "Whopper Detour" (2018)

Whether it's roasting celebrities on Twitter or hacking a new technology to throw shade at a competitor, Burger King regularly turns heads with its ads.

But "Whopper Detour" — where Burger King used geofencing around McDonald's restaurants to get people to download its app — is one of its most successful campaigns to date.

The campaign drove more than 1.5 million app downloads and won a Grand Prix.

Gillette's "We Believe: The Best Men Can Be" (2019)

Gillette courted controversy with its ad that challenged toxic masculinity in the midst of the #MeToo. But it was a risk worth taking for the Procter & Gamble shaving brand to try to connect with younger generations and show it's not afraid to have an opinion.