With 1,253 votes cast, our readers have whittled down 12 of the most popular ads on our site in 2021 to just one winner
It’s been a bumper year for news brand advertising this year and it’s no wonder, really: 2021 has had us talking about extraordinary successes, solidarity in the face of adversity and another difficult year for us all as the pandemic has continued.
Whether it’s been the highs of restrictions lifting and national sporting triumphs or the lows of lockdowns and online hate speech, advertisers have drawn from readers’ experiences to connect with them about the things they care about.
We can now reveal Newsworks’ Ad of the Year 2021, as voted for by our readers, is…
A huge congratulations to the Jewish Leadership Council and Muslims Against Antisemitism for taking the top spot! Their ad, a joint collaboration between BE&R and Fat Rhino, featured an impactful statement of Jewish and Muslim solidarity against hate in the wake of the violence in Gaza in May. The ad was published in many national news brands as the violence dominated the news agenda.
More congratulations have to go to ITV and Wilkinson Sword, planned by Essence and Wavemaker respectively, for also securing a huge number of votes to take second and third place. Both ads were powerful messages of solidarity with the English football team, particularly in light of the racist abuse some players had received after defeat in the Euro 2020 final.
The lead chopped and changed over the last fortnight with many different ads looking as though they might take the crown. That’s a testament to the high quality of the final 12 ads that it was all to play for right until the very end!
We’re also excited to announce the winner of the prize draw for the Apple Watch is Matthew McIntyre, VP, Programmatic EMEA at Essence – congratulations!
Well done to all our winners and thanks to everyone who voted. Roll on 12 more months of stand out ads in 2022!
