Top 11 US Ads from The Monthly Cut: Coinbase, A24, Apple Lead First Year Rankings
Having unveiled the top 15 scoring projects globally, The Monthly Cut continues its Year-in-Review series by revealing the 11 best performing ads in its first year from the US.
Each month, a world-class creative council – composed of international brand, agency and craft experts – curates a reel of the freshest, best new commercial creativity. Over 80 of the industry’s finest have taken part, including leaders from across the US like IPG’s Susan Credle, BBDO’s Chris Beresford-HIll, McCann’s Andrés Ordóñez, TBWA’s Jen Costello and JSM’s Joel Simon.
Due to a three-way-tire, we’ve compiled the 11 highest-scoring pieces to have come from the US and placed them in order below, complete with their average scores out of 10 (in brackets) and a selection of juror comments on what made each stand out.
Thank you to The Monthly Cut’s sponsors, cape.io, Jukin Licencing, Shutterstock Studios and Telstra for wanting to support our industry, foster local creative communities, and celebrate the best that the brilliant business of advertising can be.
#1 Coinbase - Your Way Out (8.29)
Leisa Wall, chief creative officer, McCann New Zealand: “Coinbase has gone and made that ad. The one you wish you’d made, and will probably be thinking about for an annoyingly long time. It’s so stripped back, so confident, it almost feels unfair. Every choice is deliberate, every detail fully sweated. It’s the kind of craft that makes you equal parts inspired and deeply, painfully jealous. It’s bold enough to be simple, and smart enough to know that when you have a ripper idea, you don’t need to shout.”
#2 A24 - Marty Supreme (8.0)
Stephen de Wolf, chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO: “Yet another brilliant piece of cultural marketing from A24. Teasing the film without showing the film, everything here is wonderfully considered. From the Zoom call titled “Timothee_Chalamet_internal_brand_marketing_meeting_MartySupreme_11.08.2025.mp4” to “Schwap!” to fleeting glimpses of Chalamet’s desktop image, it’s the detail, layering and hooks that make these 18-ish minutes so entertaining. Not to mention the lovely nod to the absurdity of our own industry: the titles, the hierarchy, and our persistent need for far too many people in meetings.”
Charles Howell, global president of advertising and content, Framestore: “A particularly good edit of a brilliantly cast and performed Zoom call I think I've sat in on.”
Read more: SCHWAP! Timothee Chalamet Needs You to Hear His Marketing Ideas
#3 Apple - Remarkable (7.95)
Stephen de Wolf, chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO: “The excitement and anticipation of getting into college runs through this brilliant spot, naturally bringing the accessibility tools to life. The song, its lyrics and the students combine to make this one of the most powerful pieces of the year. There’s nothing effortless about the execution, which is exactly why I’m jealous of how effortless it feels.”
Read more: Apple and Kim Gehrig's Show Stopping School Musical Puts Accessibility Centre Stage
#4 Squarespace - Unavailable: A Requiem of Unrepentant Anguish (7.8)
Anna Jackson, head of brand, Westpac: “There’s plenty of ways to go big in the Super Bowl. Big names. Big budgets. Big laughs. This was big drama. Perhaps that’s why it stood out so much. The near hedonistic level of film craft helped too. I couldn’t look away.”
Read more: Emma Stone Loses Her Identity and Mind in Squarespace Super Bowl Film
#5 Instacart - Bananas (7.74)
Emma Robbins, national chief creative officer, M+C Saatchi Group AUNZ: “This is big. And the core thought is so simple: If it’s about bananas, make it bananas. The level of commitment is what elevates it. They created a weird universe, dropped in a fruit debate, and made it chaotically entertaining.“
Read more: Ben Stiller, Benson Boone and Spike Jonze Go Bananas at the Super Bowl for Instacart
#6 Apple - A Critter Carol (7.57)
Will Studd, animation director, Aardman: “I loved this spot because of the puppetry and the ‘Flight of The Concords’ track. Hand puppetry always feels wonderfully tactile and it’s a nice salve in the AI days. The set design, lighting, characters and editing are all super premium as you would expect from Apple, but it felt captivating amidst the low-fi-feeling animation. In general, I liked it because it felt brave, nice and weird, and a bit messy. And there was a nice tie to the chaotic, ensemble vibe of family Christmas.”
Read more: Apple’s Handmade Holiday Ad 2025 Keeps It Real with Singing Forest Puppets
#7 Chicago Hearing Society and Rakish Entertainment - Caption with Intention (7.52)
Mpho Twala, co-founder, FAM Films: ““Caption with Intention” redefines captions as cinematic language, using animation and typography to convey emotion rather than just utility. Co-created with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, it addresses overlooked needs like timing and attribution, proving small details transform accessibility. This work exposes our blind spots, re-framing familiar elements to deepen storytelling. Its clarity avoids over complication, simply expanding the viewer's experience. Ultimately, it reminds us that true craft lies not just in what we show, but in who we include and how fully we invite them into the narrative.”
#8 Gucci - The Tiger (7.5)
Andrea Ogunbadejo, president, Eva Nosidam: “What stood out to me about this piece is the commitment to doing something genuinely different. There’s nothing new about fashion and film together, but Gucci takes it further by building an entire world around the collection. With Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn involved, and a cast like that, it leans into something weird and genuinely watchable. I want the feature-length version! It’s exciting to see brands push into this kind of space, where the product lives naturally in the story.”
Read more: Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn Direct Gucci Short Film Starring Demi Moore, Edward Norton
#9 (Tied) Second Nurture - 18 Months (7.33)
Mpho Twala, co-founder, FAM Films: “With ’18 Months’ the level of care you can feel in every frame. Stop motion is used with real restraint: the handcrafted world, the puppetry, even the imperfections all serve the emotion of the story. It feels intimate, almost fragile, which is exactly what the subject needs. There’s also something powerful in how the film reframes time. That’s a simple, human insight, but it lands because the craft holds it gently. And then the sound, it does a lot of the heavy lifting. It carries the tenderness, the weight, and gives the film space to breathe. It’s a piece that understands tone and trusts that if you handle the material with enough honesty the emotion will come through. That’s not easy to do and that’s why it stays with you.”.
Read more: Zombie Studio's Stop-Motion Masterpiece Celebrates All Paths to Parenthood
#9 (Tied) Claude - Keep Thinking (7.33)
Alex Reeves, managing editor, EMEA, Little Black Book: “I’m in favour of Anthropic’s ‘Keep Thinking’ for one simple reason: it purports to protect the bit that matters – our human thinking power. The line rejects AI-as-shortcut hype and reframes Claude as a partner for tougher, slower, more deliberate work. That’s the creative stance the world needs right now. And I say this as someone who uses AI to help me write all the time. Mother’s platform lands a welcome corrective to the current 'move fast' narrative. If AI is going to be useful to makers and marketers, it should expand our capacity to think, not replace it. ‘Keep thinking’ says exactly that.”
Read more: Anthropic's Claude AI Campaign Celebrates the Joy of Not Knowing (Yet)
#9 (Tied) Skate! - Drop In (7.33)
Lisa Mehling, founder, Chelsea Pictures: “It’s all execution and was just so well done… the mix of hi-fi and low-fi of it all. The casting, styling, camera, editing and VFX propels you all the way through. It’s fresh, fun and punk. I wish I got to make this one.”
Read more: Experience San Vansterdam Like Never Before in Bold EA Skate Spot
