2025 was a landmark year for commercials and marketing. With more consumers back to shopping, companies knew this was the time to create innovative, impactful ads. Each ad and news story seemed to grab our attention as new trends and nostalgia were intermeshed.
Brands leaned into emotion, culture, and relatability, creating a feeling of warmth and comfort in a world gone unpredictable. Many of the best ads, if done correctly, can stick with consumers for a lifetime.
The impact of commercials and marketing can span generations. This builds brand awareness and, if done correctly, lifelong loyalty from customers. Advertisements and marketing can shift an entire narrative. In 2025, they proved to be about connection, purpose, and storytelling—not just sales.
Let’s take a look at a recap of 2025’s best commercials and ads—a complete breakdown:
Barbie’s Type 1 Diabetes Doll: Representation That Matters
Mattel stepped up its game this year when it released a new Barbie. Barbie with Type 1 diabetes hit the shelves, and consumers were not disappointed. The accompanying campaign quickly became one of the most talked-about ads of the year.
This is the very first doll of its kind. Mattel’s inclusion of children with Type 1 diabetes sent shockwaves through the media. Their mission? To show all children that they can be anything they want to be, even with diabetes. Hundreds of thousands of children own this doll as the product quickly sold out. The response highlighted a growing demand for authentic representation in toys and media.
Why it worked: Barbie’s new doll came with quite realistic-looking medical devices. This campaign worked as it resonated with children who have Type 1 diabetes. The doll is inclusive and offers the representation that has long been missing.
ChatGPT’s First Brand Campaign: Making AI Feel Human
OpenAI made a landmark appearance in 2025 with
ChatGPT on the frontline. ChatGPT was marketed to be implemented in our everyday lives. Many consumers believe AI is a futuristic, almost sci-fi element.
This first brand campaign showcased how ChatGPT seamlessly integrates into the normal lives of the average person. The messaging focused on simplicity, accessibility, and usefulness, highlighting tasks such as:
Trying out a new cooking recipe
- Planning the next vacation
- Managing work tasks
- And more
Their best ad campaign was successful in showing how AI does not have to be intimidating. They proved the futuristic concept can make mundane chores a little less complicated—and annoying.
Why it worked: This campaign focused on practical users versus experts. They shifted the narrative away from scary ideas of robot takeover to making daily life easier. The campaign successfully positioned AI as a helpful assistant rather than a threat.
Dunkin’ “Shake That Ess”: Pop Culture Meets Performance Marketing
Dunkin’ Donuts delivered one of the most memorable commercials of 2025. The ad featured Sabrina Carpenter and was aptly named “
Shake That Ess”—for espresso. The ad was incredibly catchy and marketed Dunkin’s new iced brown sugar espresso drink. It even won
Gold in Social Media at The Drum Awards for Marketing.
Carpenter’s famed song “Espresso” was reinvented to market the new drink. The country responded well. The youthful, fun sense of humor translated seamlessly, proving the power of music and pop culture in modern advertising.
Why it worked: Sabrina Carpenter’s popularity instantly captured attention. The playful tone and double entendres were memorable, entertaining, and effective in reinforcing brand recall.
Coors Light’s “Case of the Mondays”: Redefining the Week
Coors Light released its “Case of the Mondays” campaign, brilliantly reworking a universally disliked concept. This wasn’t just another beer ad—it reframed Mondays with humor and relatability. The campaign earned recognition as one of “The Best Super Bowl Ads of 2025”by Adweek.
The brand introduced the “Chill Face Roller,” humorously suggesting an ice-cold beer can as a stress reliever.
By leaning into shared frustrations, Coors sold an experience—not just a product. Why it worked: The campaign resonated with nearly everyone. Limited-edition products sold out immediately, reinforcing demand through humor, scarcity, and cultural relevance.
Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” Relaunch: Nostalgia Meets Gen Z
Coca-Cola has always landed
exceptional branding and advertisements. Their commercial in 2025 is no different. The original campaign went national, then massively hit global networks. Coca-Cola famously put people’s names on their bottles to elicit more interest. Now? They mega-produced that same tactic.
In 2025, Coca-Cola utilized the same method by zeroing in on Gen Z. Gen Z has claimed that connection is lacking, so Coca-Cola took that as an opening to make the change. The core idea remained the same, but now QR codes that lead you to a digital place were the change. This code allows users to personalize their own videos. The mission? To “Share a Coke” with your friends, whether in person or online. Brilliant.
Why it worked: Coca-Cola showcases that even though many concepts are digital, we still all crave connection and togetherness. Their new campaign highlighted what already felt familiar and refreshed the message to today’s modern world, which consumers quickly took to.
Shopify’s “Let’s Make You a Business”: Empowering the New Economy
After
the Great Resignation in 2021, millions of people started their own businesses. Desperate for work/life balance after COVID dominated the world, many looked to the digital world. Shopify was one of those platforms. They absolutely won over entrepreneur dreamers and established business owners.
In 2025, Shopify nailed its ad with the “Let’s Make You a Business” campaign. This drew the attention of millions of unhappy workers. It paved the path to possibility, to hope, to achieving their dreams.
Shopify perfectly captured the need for millions of people to have a starting point. They made the spark of an idea feel absolutely possible. Shopify showcased its platform for every person, not only seasoned entrepreneurs. Their basic strategy was to offer their services so that new and old users would never feel alone in their businesses. It worked.
Why it worked: Using real success stories offers credibility and trust in the brand. Their step-by-step guide makes consumers feel hopeful that they can start their own business without a business degree or formal training. By focusing on the community, Shopify promised to connect entrepreneurs with the platform and emphasized the ease of use for beginners.
IBM’s “Every Second Counts”: Business Resilience in Real Time
IBM offered a new slogan of
“Every Second Counts.” With cyber attacks and online thefts on the rise, IBM proves it has our backs. Their campaign ad for Business Resilience Services drove home the notion that they are here to protect and support us.
Hailed as one of the best ads with over 4.8 million impressions and over 500,000 engagements on social media, it focused on the importance of having a plan beforehand. Waiting until after an attack has happened may be too late.
IBM pushed the narrative that businesses will bounce back faster with the proper plan in place. IBM shared real-life examples and stunning visuals to prove how they make split-second choices that can save financial lives, businesses, and peace of mind.
Why it worked: IBM shared that they have the backs of their consumers and can quickly recover from any issue. Data integrity and minimizing downtime assist businesses stay up and running, which consumers appreciate. IBM’s campaign
Nike: Elevating Women in Sports
Nike is an institution known for their genius advertisements. From their slogan of “Just Do It” comes 2025’s campaign. In place of their usual sports commercials, they spotlighted actual athletes in their ad. Specifically, women athletes.
Nike innovatively went above and beyond to ensure their audience knows these athletes during their athletic training and prowess. The commercial showed the women in action, versus merely talking about what they do. The power of real-time displays of women in sports and their overall influence on sports and the world.
Why it worked: Women’s sports are getting more attention, which consumers resonate with. The real shift moved more money into building the brand and what it stands for itself, versus simply focusing on ads that feature performance and endurance. Focusing on the athletes themselves
Dove’s “Real Beauty” Reimagined
Dove has been using the
“Real Beauty” slogan since 2004. Come 2025, they reinvented their creative work and brought it back. Dove revealed how AI—or artificial intelligence—is gravelyswaying images of beauty. These impractical standards of beauty injure younger generations as well as older ones.
Dove noticed that young girls and adult women may feel bad about themselves when witnessing beauty campaigns. They wanted to make a change, so they did. Dove pledged to never use AI-generated women in any of their advertisements. This is groundbreaking support toward stopping AI and contributing to women’s mental health issues worldwide. Dove offered a free guide known as the “Real Beauty Prompt Playbook.” Inside, it assists people who use AI to utilize it in a way that is inclusive. Impossible beauty standards be gone!
Why it worked: Dove proved they are on top of current trends and are committed to combating mental health and self-esteem issues from the unrealistic beauty standards of today’s world. They offer solutions to AI and Photoshop that can assist younger generations in what real and truebeauty looks like.
Conclusion
2025 was a heck of a year for commercials, ads, and campaigns. With millions of people looking for that nostalgic hit and to feel peace of mind, these top brands dominated the airwaves. Using old-school notions meets modern integration, these brands smashed commercial records and increased profits.
Not only did they garner the trust of the audience, but their leadership also built an even more loyal fanbase. Consumers in the modern world are interested in inclusion and representation. These top brands hit the nail on the head, including everyone, and give us all a little more hope of a more unit front across all boards.
Jungle Communications is wild about building better brands! As top industry marketing performers in virtually every industry, Jungle Communications offers leading advertising, marketing, corporate identity, design, and video services—a true one-stop shop for all things marketing and content.
