The Magic Behind 3 Of The Most Effective Ad Campaigns Of 2013

YouTube/AxeSusan Glenn, as depicted in an ad for Axe body spray.The average person living in a city is estimated to see more than 5,000 advertising messages each day. In order for a brand's message to be effective amidst all that noise, its advertising needs to be not only clever and visually appealing, but memorable and unique in its approach, as well.

But while consumers know this sort of advertising when they see it, the thought and strategy that brands and their agencies use to strike the right emotional chord might not be immediately obvious. That's why the Interactive Advertising Bureau took a closer look at the most successful digital campaigns of 2013, which it rewarded with its IAB Mixx awards.

To do so, the IAB asked a group of industry experts to help figure out just what it was that made such an impression on the people who saw stellar 2013 campaigns like the Coke video chat machines that connected Pakistanis with Indians and Axe body spray's Susan Glenn ads that followed a man's pursuit of "the one who got away."

While the ads succeeded for different reasons, they all had two things in common: great storytelling and strong visuals.