Why Animated Ads Dominate in 2024

In 2024, animated video advertisements emerged as a powerful marketing tool, revolutionising brand storytelling and boosting audience engagement. 

By using advanced animation techniques, video production and creative storytelling, companies are breaking through the digital noise, capturing viewers' attention more effectively than the traditional static ads. 

These dynamic visuals allow brands to communicate complex messages with simplicity, humour, and emotional resonance, making even technical or mundane products feel compelling and memorable. 

The rise of social media and short-form content platforms, such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, has accelerated the popularity of animated ads, enabling brands to easily create shareable, eye-catching content that can quickly go viral and significantly expand their digital reach.

As 2024 draws to a close, it’s worth showcasing some of the best-animated advertisements brands have produced so far this year, examining the key elements that contributed to their success.

Top 10 Animated Ads of 2024

#1. Microsoft

• Overview: This ad introduces Microsoft Loop - the new collaborative app that is designed to help teams manage projects more efficiently. Known for their visually striking animated advertisements, Microsoft has once again delivered an impressive and engaging promo for their latest offering.
  
  
• Why It Worked: 
• Good use of animation to demonstrate the UI with real-life examples.
• Uses animation to effectively highlight Microsoft Loop's key features and capabilities.
• Visual movements such as Pan and Zoom keep viewers engaged.
• Strong brand messaging - viewers can automatically associate the ad with Microsoft with the use of the brand logo and colours.

#2. Barbour Christmas Advert 2024

• Overview: Aardman, the renowned animation studio, has partnered again with the prominent heritage and lifestyle brand Barbour to feature Shaun the Sheep in their new Christmas 2024 campaign. This simple yet effective storyline depicts the flock of sheep struggling to sing due to the cold, only to have Bitzer, the quick-thinking sheepdog, come to the rescue. Bitzer gifts the entire flock cosy woolly hats and scarves, allowing the sheep to stay warm and continue their festive carolling.
  
  
• Why It Worked: This heartwarming narrative perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the holiday season, highlighting the theme of providing warmth and comfort to those in need. The ad strikes a family-friendly tone that aligns seamlessly with the Christmas theme and Barbour's heritage brand identity. Through this well-executed storytelling, the collaboration between Aardman's beloved Shaun the Sheep characters and the Barbour lifestyle brand effectively engages the viewer while conveying the core message of spreading holiday cheer.

#3. Duolingo

• Overview: Duolingo's animated advertisement captured the essence of its brand mission: to make language learning free, fun, and effective. Through a series of animations, the ad showcases how the app makes it easy for users to learn practical language skills for everyday situations, from ordering a croissant to getting a haircut at a salon.
  
  
• Why It Worked: 
• Brand consistency: The ad’s animation reinforces brand identity and user familiarity by using the same visuals and characters that are seen on the app.
• Problem solving: Using everyday scenarios helps illustrate the practical applications of the app's translation capabilities. This approach makes the content more engaging and impactful, as users can readily see how the app's features could benefit them in their own lives and communication challenges.

#4. Samsung Biologics

• Overview: In this brand awareness campaign, Samsung uses animated visuals, background music, text, and sound effects to promote their work and show how it can affect everyone around the world. The ad doesn't use any voiceovers but instead uses light to guide viewers through the story right to the end. 
  
  
• Why It Worked: 
• Unique 3D animation style
• Strong brand messaging using words that are simple to understand
• The ad uses uplifting music to enhance the narrative to create a more immersive, inspiring viewing experience for the audience.
• Special effects such as parallax and gradients are used to complement the brand colours and themes. 
• The musical choice helps amplify the ad's positive, forward-thinking tone, leaving viewers with a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm about the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals.

#5 Just Eat x The Joy of Everyday

• Overview: The latest Just Eat campaign leverages the lives of animals to tell a compelling story about the convenience of food delivery. Created by McCann London, the creative includes a series of nine short animated vignettes, each featuring animal characters who personify different customer cohorts. Through these bite-sized, character-driven narratives, the campaign succeeds in positioning Just Eat as the ideal food and grocery delivery option for moments of convenience across a range of everyday scenarios and lifestyles.
  
  
• Why It Worked: 
• Storytelling Approach: Rather than simply showcasing the product features, the campaign opted for a narrative-driven approach, using engaging mini-stories around the animal characters and their food delivery needs. This storytelling format is more compelling and memorable for the audience.
• Whimsical, lighthearted tone: This upbeat, playful approach aligns well with the convenience and joy of food delivery, making the messaging more positively received.
• Other videos in the series:
  
  

What We Can Learn from These Ads

Above are just a few of the brilliant animated ads produced this year, and from these examples, we can see how animation is used to bring various stories to life. Demonstrating product features and establishing brand identity helps to create engaging and memorable content that connects with the audience on an emotional level. The strategic use of animation, visual techniques, relatable characters, and compelling narratives helps these ads effectively communicate their brand messages to their target audience.

The Future of Animated Videos: 2025 and beyond

As we look into 2025, it's clear that animated videos will continue to be a preferred and engaging marketing choice for businesses across industries. Whether the goal is boosting brand awareness, showcasing a new product, or even using animation to upskill employees, video marketing is a highly effective investment.

Animated content offers a range of advantages that make it an increasingly valuable tool in the modern marketing landscape. Through the power of visual storytelling, brands can captivate audiences, communicate complex information in a digestible format, and build emotional and memorable connections.

As technology continues to advance and audience expectations evolve, the role of animated video will only grow stronger. Brands that embrace this dynamic format will be well-positioned to cut through the noise, deliver memorable experiences, and achieve their strategic goals in the years to come.