System1 Reveals 10 Brands That Cut Through in 2025

New emotional response insights from System1’s Test Your Ad platform and Competitive Edge database reveals the top 10 global ads from 2025 by emotional response, channel and category cut-through.

The list recognises brands based on how strongly each ad performed relative to direct competitors, highlighting the creative choices that delivered true distinctiveness and a measurable competitive edge. While System1’s Star Rating is widely used to predict long-term brand-building potential, this ranking focuses on a different win: memorable impact within the category, across channels and contexts where attention is hard-won.

Across this year’s top ten, a clear pattern emerged. The most effective work did not rely on one emotional “formula”, instead using emotion strategically. Consistency and commitment to distinctive brand assets showed up repeatedly, alongside campaigns that deliberately went against category conventions. Many also embraced bold storytelling shifts, including creative uses of AI, and a wider emotional range, from amusement and surprise to tension, sadness and even moments of negativity, to sustain attention and drive engagement.

“Cut-through is not about playing it safe or copying the category mood of the moment. It is about deliberately choosing an emotional stance that makes your brand impossible to ignore,”  said Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1 and host of Uncensored CMO.

“This year’s top ads prove there is no single formula for earning attention. From Irn-Bru’s culturally sharp humour and Dove’s long-standing commitment to real beauty, to deliberately provocative work from American Eagle and Lynx, the common thread is intent. When brands fully commit to an emotion, whether that is joy, discomfort or something more challenging, they create memorability, conversation and commercial impact. That is how attention is earned in a sea of sameness.”

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The Top 10 Ads of 2025

Best in Brand-Building

Dove & Zulu Alpha Kilo '#ChangetheCompliment' (US)

3.1 Star Rating uplift versus the ‘Soaps and Personal Wash’ category.

Best in Short-Term Impact

Warburtons & Procure Worldwide, Joyful & Triumphant 'The Inspection' (UK)

0.55 Spike Rating uplift versus the ‘Bakery Category’.

Best in Brand Recall

Uber & Mother 'In Good Time' (UK)

26% higher fluency versus the ‘Mobile App’ category, and 28% higher than the average for “Travel”, making it the most recalled brand versus the category.

Best of Festive

Coca-Cola & WPP Open X & VML 'Holidays are coming' (US & UK)

Top scoring holiday/Christmas ad in the US and UK across Star, Spike & Fluency Rating.

Most Provocative

American Eagle, in-house 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' (US)

16% uplift in negative emotion ‘contempt’ versus the ‘Fashion’ category, making it the most polarizing ad of the year.

Most Subversive

Lynx & Lola Mullenlowe 'Lynx Lower Body Spray' (UK)

21% uplift in emotional response ‘disgust’ versus the category, tapping into one of the rarest emotions to cut-through.

Best in Comedy

Irn-Bru & Lucky Generals 'Made in Scotland for Girders' (Scotland)

56% ‘Amusement’ score, the highest across all categories in 2025.

Best in Sport

Uber Eats & Special 'Football is For Food' (US)

48% uplift in ‘happiness’ versus sport-themed ads, a category that typically struggles to resonate with mass audiences and skews toward already-engaged fans.

Best in Outdoor

Cadbury & VCCP 'All Heroes, No Zeroes' (UK)

First ever 5.9 Star Rating for outdoor, against an average of 2.5 Stars.

Least Dull

Volvo & Lion Creative 'Come Back Stronger' (Saudi Arabia)

Volvo’s ad has just 12% neutral feeling, which is the least commercially impactful (long-term or short-term) emotional response in advertising. This is a 37% decrease versus the car category.