Dumb Ways to Die only Aussie ad among 20 most popular of 21st Century so far

McCann Melbourne’s Dumb Ways to Die is the only Australian campaign to make it onto the Gunn Report’s list of top 20 ads of the 21st Century so far.

The animated film for Metro Trains joins the likes of Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’, Budweiser’s ‘Wassup’ and Chipotle’s ‘Back to the Start’ in the list, which was compiled after Gunn Report readers were asked to choose from a list of 30 pre-selected ads, with provisions made for other nominations. 

The top 20 have not been ranked by popularity. They are:

BGH Silent Aircon, “Dads in Briefs”, Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires

Budweiser, “Wassup/True”, DDB, Chicago

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, “Gorilla”, Fallon, London

Canal+, “Closet”, BETC Euro RSCG, Paris

Canal+, “The Bear”, BETC Euro RSCG, Paris

Chipotle, “Back to the Start”, Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles

Dove Self Esteem Fund, “Evolution”, Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto

Guinness, “noitulove”, Abbott, Mead, Vickers, BBDO, London

Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum, “Happy Dent Palace”, McCann Erickson, Mumbai

Honda, “Cog”, Wieden & Kennedy, London

Honda, “Grrr”, Wieden & Kennedy, London

John West Salmon, “Bear”, Leo Burnett, London

Metro Trains, “Dumb Ways to Die”, McCann, Melbourne

Nike, “Tag”, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland

Nike, “Write The Future”, Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam

Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland

Peugeot 206, “The Sculptor”, Euro RSCG MCM, Milan

Sony Bravia LCD TV, “Balls” Fallon, London

Volkswagen Golf DSG, “Kids On Steps”, DDB, Berlin

Volvo Trucks, “Epic Split”, Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg

Alex Hayes

Alex Hayes worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017 in roles including editor and head of Mumbrella Bespoke. He has been a journalist for more than a decade working on newspapers and websites in the UK and Australia, specialising in the media and marketing sector since 2012.

topics BudweiserChipotleDoveDumb ways to die

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Comments: 5

E 2 Dec 15

I think the Cadbury gorilla TVC is one of my favourites of all time. Have always loved the bear fight too!

Reply

Negativity Much 2 Dec 15

I constantly feel like nobody at Mumbrella actually likes this industry or has a passion for what they write about. There is always an element of negativity to everything that is written on this site.

“Only aussie ad” how about…”an Aussie ad was lucky to be honoured among the best ads”

Getting on the list should be celebrated. Is remarkable that an ad without the paid media exposure in the US or Europe was able to get on this list. By per capita of population and/or media spend we would be over punching above our weight for sure.

Reply

Alex Hayes 2 Dec 15

Hi Negativity,

Thanks for the comment. I can assure you your feeling is unfounded – everyone here has a deep passion for the industry.

But given the success of many Aussie campaigns at awards like Cannes in the last 15 years could we have expected at least one other campaign to get a look in?

Cheers,

Alex – editor, Mumbrella

Reply

Viewer 2 Dec 15

What other great Australia ads have there been in the 21st century? One that sticks in the mind is the Telstra Bigpond ad from 2005. Where the kid asks questions about the Great Wall of China and the dad answers it was built by the Emperor Nasi Goreng, to keep the rabbits out.

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Rob Campbell 2 Dec 15

Winning awards at industry events isn’t always a measure of popularity Alex. Then again, popularity isn’t always a measure of creativity either.

Reply

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