Every year brings a few advertising and marketing campaigns that stand out as being far more creative, original, and memorable than the rest of the pack. The explosion of social media, however, seems to have rejuvenated Madison Avenue's creativity (albeit mostly not on Madison Avenue itself), and the sheer number of creative campaigns coming out of major brands was rather impressive over the past year.
Once upon a time, all a brand needed was a catchy slogan ("Good to the last drop"), a memorable icon (Morris the Cat), or a gimmick (Swedish Bikini Team). But as it became easier for people to skip advertisements, brands needed to get more creative, and fully realized marketing campaigns became more important.