Work of the Year: LBB's Favourite US Ads of 2025
Here at LBB Americas, we like to look back on the year and celebrate some of the work that we enjoyed most. Naturally, it's very difficult to whittle down our shortlists -- which were, of course, not very short at all. In fact, we made an extended US Work of the Year reel, which you can see here.
After curating this bumper reel of creative excellence, and much deliberation, we've managed to select two US projects each to reflect more deeply on, rounding out the year with a recap on some of the country's finest creative (in our personal opinions). These campaigns are the ones that made us laugh, cry, smile, shriek and everything between -- the work that left its mark on us, as standouts of 2025.
It's not just us who have enjoyed the brilliant work and developments coming out of the States this year, either! Compared to 2024, LBB's USA content drove over 60% more traffic in 2025 -- and with the Super Bowl just round the corner, we're excited to keep the stories coming!
We hope you've enjoyed keeping up with the industry along with us this year, and that you have a blast checking out our picks for 2025's top work. Until next year -- The LBB US editorial team: Addison Capper, Abi Lightfoot, Tará McKerr and Ben Conway.
You can check out the full US Work of the Year Reel here.
Apple TV / Severance - Severance at Grand Central
Chosen by Tará McKerr
If we’re measuring the ‘best’ work of this year by how much it got people talking, I reckon this work from Apple TV and creative agency Kamp Grizzly should definitely be up there. The stunt featured protagonists from the ‘Severance’ cast who, in a glass cube in New York City’s Grand Central Station, left commuters stunned as they were met by the obscurity.
Coinciding with the launch of the second season, this felt like one of those increasingly rare moments where advertising taps into culture, quite literally meeting consumers where they are. In an extra moment of welcome bizarreness, executive producer and director of the show Ben Stiller turned up and was seen amongst onlookers photographing the scene. Featured heavily in and out of trade press and organically across socials, this is a piece of work that stands out for me as being ‘properly creative’ – achieving outside-the-box thinking by building a box.
Coors Light - Case of the Mondays
Chosen by Abi Lightfoot
There’s something about the sloths in Coors Light’s ‘Case of the Mondays’ that really speaks to me, as a fellow slow-moving Monday person. The campaign cleverly evolved from a spelling mistake across OOH and print that mistakenly spelled 'refreshment' as 'refershment', into a fully-fledged Super Bowl spot produced by MJZ and created by the minds at Mischief @No Fixed Address.
The spot captures that distinct sense of feeling like the world is moving just a bit quicker than you are, and honestly, it’s one of the most relatable ads I’ve seen all year. From dozing off at your desk to causing a checkout lane pile-up, these chaotic creatures are so endearing and so very silly. And the music? So good.
Mando - If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth Mando-ing
Chosen by Tará McKerr, Americas reporter
Thinking back on the best work from this year, I just had to give credit to this film from Mando. It’s a brand I’d honestly never heard of before, and I never expected that I’d have my head nodding, foot tapping, and smile widening to an ad about… men’s deodorant. But here we are. And there’s something to be said for advertising that grips you, especially when you aren’t even close to the target audience.
It’s longer than your usual spot without feeling dragged out. It’s unserious and purposely leans into that so-bad-it’s-funny kind of humour. Having watched this several times since its release, I still find myself with the same affection I had the first time round. Created with MIRIMAR and directed by Jasper Cable Alexander from DROOL Productions, this has earned a well-deserved place amongst the best of 2025.
Uber - Close
Chosen by Abi Lightfoot
Uber’s first-ever national holiday film ‘Close’ was a firm favourite for me this year, and that’s partly due to the leg work that the brand and creative agency Mother had done in the months preceding its release. Building on the ‘In Good Time’ campaign directed by Michael Spiccia of MJZ, where Uber turned its sights to the suburbs and demonstrated its ability to provide rides at all times of need, this Christmas it used that idea as the foundation of a heart-warming family reunion.
It’s a proper tearjerker that takes audiences on a journey through a father-daughter relationship, with each passing mile used as a time for quiet reflection. Whilst it’s clear that their upcoming reunion is an emotionally charged one, the impeccable song choice – a rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ performed by James Blake – helps to carry the narrative, whilst seamless edit from WORK USA brings the whole film together beautifully.
Ford x Google Maps – Taking Street View Off-Road
Chosen by Ben Conway
The TransAmerica trail is the USA’s longest trail – 5,900 miles, coast-to-coast through deserts, mountains, wetlands, and dunes across 13 states. Until now, however, it’s been hidden to all except a few expert off-roaders with specialised equipment and knowledge. But now, this has all changed. Created by Wieden+Kennedy New York, this campaign saw Google loan the Google Maps Street View camera – the first time Google has lent the technology to an automaker – strap it to a Ford Bronco, and traverse the trail with a convoy of other Ford Vehicles, visually mapping the route from Oregon to Tennessee.
The campaign launched with an 80-second film directed by Farm League’s Nick Sokoloff, and even involved ‘GeoGuesser’ savant GeoRainbolt as an Easter Egg for online explorers. But the magic is truly in the brand synergy at play here – Google Maps gets to add a geographical American icon to its Street View feature, while Ford gets to showcase its vehicles’ off-roading capabilities with an adventurous, real-world story.
Facebook – Secret Santa
Chosen by Ben Conway
As the Christmas season truly kicked in, Droga5 and SMUGGLER director Miles Jay dropped a pair of festive films for Meta that, quite frankly, knocked my Christmas stockings off. While the ‘Home for the Holidays’ spot is a delightfully sentimental tale of reunion, it’s the ‘Secret Santa’ film that has brought me the most joy. Everything from the colours and lighting of the spot to the charming and awkward performances to the score – plus the Kiss needle drop – feels intimately handcrafted to reach peak heart-warming potential. In a year where I found the seasonal ads to be generally lacking, this certified belter put a huge smile on my face.
Uber Eats - Football Is for Food
Chosen by Addison Capper
This may be a round-up of 2025 ads, but the roots of this campaign were actually seeded back in 2024, at the start of the year’s NFL season. What began as a retail campaign – built to drive game-day orders – quickly evolved into a full-blown brand platform for Uber Eats. A running joke about food references in football spiralled into one of the funniest (and proudly dumbest) conspiracies of the year, running from season kick-off to the Super Bowl. It’s even continuing to this day.
Created by Special US, the Super Bowl spot was directed by O Positive’s Jim Jenkins and features Matthew McConaughey playing an array of parts – seriously, is there a present-day actor with better range? – alongside Martha Stewart, Charli xcx, Kevin Bacon, and Greta Gerwig, all in a bid to expose the eerily convenient links between food and football. It was a pleasure to dig into this campaign – and the modern client-agency relationship behind it – on stage at the LBB Beach back in summer.
The New York Times - It’s Your World to Understand
Chosen by Addison Capper
Despite the success of its ‘Truth’ platform, The New York Times wanted to position itself not just as a news source, but as a daily companion – one that helps readers make sense of life’s biggest and smallest moments. To do so, it enlisted Isle of Any, the creative company founded by Laurie Howell and Toby Treyer-Evans, who previously led much of the acclaimed ‘Truth’ work at Droga5.
The result was ‘It’s Your World to Understand’. Directed by MJZ’s Camille Summers-Valli, the campaign’s central film reframes the moments viewers are in – one minute, to be specific, as per the voiceover – balancing scale, rhythm and energy. Despite the volume of scenes and visuals packed into that minute, it maintains a noticeable sense of calm and feels like something I want to return to, like a trusty companion.
