Top 30 best ads 2021 in France

• Digital media: TV, radio and press explode with +43.5% of net advertising revenue vs. 2020
• DOOH is experiencing strong growth with +40% net advertising revenue vs. 2020
• TV takes third place among the media that have benefited the most from the market recovery with €2.4 billion in revenue (+24.3% vs. 2020)

Summary of the most important advertisements of the year 2021:

1. Omar Sy becomes a poster boy
2. Bouygues Telecom offers its new charger
3. Monoprix appears in Big Bang
4. Les Prénoms de France Invest
5. Lacoste wins numerous awards
6. Boursorama in the press
7. A poster, radio and digital campaign for Blablacar
8. An accident in the metro by Fast and Furious
9. Baskets of trainers in billboards
10. Deezer and its summer advertising campaign
11. A TV advert and geolocation messages for Waze
12. Boursorama, happy to have so many customers
13. Gleeden and its billboards on trucks
14. Celio and its campaign with "normal" men
15. A special episode of The Simpsons for Balenciaga
16. LAST make-up in the Paris metro
17. Pumpkin and its outdoor campaign
18. Orelsan displayed between Caen and Paris
19. Digital outdoor displays in Lyon
20. Keolis against sexual harassment
21. A depolluting advertising canvas for the Trinité church
22. 30 million friends and its campaign to defend the animal cause
23. Skoda and its humorous ads
24. What the Hemp! : the power of hemp
25. Danette and its communication in the metro
26. Orange and its TV advert for Christmas
27. A live on Twitch for Brossard
28. Ads for Black Friday
29. BeautyMix campaign with Big Success
30. TV and cinema advertising for Sam

What if Omar Sy became his character in real life? At the beginning of 2021, in the middle of the Parisian metro, Netflix tested the disguises of Assane (Lupin's character) by making Omar Sy pass incognito as a poster poster man. And it worked well because nobody noticed. We love this kind of advertising activation!

"One couple in two is glued to their phone before going to bed, but thanks to the Bouygues Telecom mini charger, no more phones in bed! With this in mind, Bouygues Telecom wanted to save couples with its new mini charger for Valentine's Day. No more evenings spent behind the phone!

The campaign was broadcast on the social networks Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok as well as in FLIGHT on 9 February 2021. It consists of two long formats (60s and 30s) and a series of additional short formats (10s and 15s).

>>> Targeted advertising for Valentine's Day, discover all the important dates for the year 2022.

Again and again... Monoprix offers a tailor-made advertisement with puns, humour and a little provocation as we like it.

In this campaign, exclusive advertisements proposed by the chain turn towards organic farming and therefore respect for the environment.

A first publication on 15 April 2021 in Big Bang, the new French magazine.

>>> Discover the best Monoprix ads.

France Invest is an association of investors for growth. A company made up of 365 member management companies and 180 member consulting firms that form a community of 7,000 professionals. France Invest is one of the associations recognised by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

France Invest's print advertising campaign consists of three full-page ads in the daily newspaper Le Monde and on the association's Linkedin and Twitter social networks in March, April and May 2021.

A campaign entitled "Les prénoms" highlights its charter of commitment to gender parity. The 3 prints break down the preconceived notion of positions of responsibilitý in the finance sector.

>>> What are the formats of press inserts?

For 24 hours, on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May 2021), the Lacoste crocodile was replaced by endangered animal species from around the world.

For the second year in a row, Lacoste demonstrated its commitment to the animal cause through its partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). All profits from this day were partly donated to the IUCN.

The concept was visible on several communication channels (TV, OOH, social networks and e-shop).

This campaign won numerous awards at advertising festivals, including a prize at the Clio Awards 2020/2021. It is therefore impossible for us not to include this ad in our top ads of 2021.

Boursorama Banque distributed over 2,500,000 printed copies in the press (L'Equipe and Version Femina). The scratch cards were visible in L'Equipe on 29 May and in Version Femina on 2 June.

"Don't count on luck, and save money by opening an account with Boursorama Banque, the cheapest bank for 13 years" explains Bourosrama.

An ingenious concept to show Boursorama customers that they save more at home: a Boursorama Banque customer paid an average of €7.73 in bank charges in 2020. This compares to an average of €215 in other banks. Over 13 years, that's over €2,200 in savings.

>>> Advertising in the magazine press

The carpooling company plays on verbal exchanges during journeys.

A humorous advertising campaign designed to reassure travellers and encourage them to carpool. Blablacar also proposed its offer for all new drivers who will receive 40 euros of petrol (after their first carpools) in addition to the passengers' contribution.

A campaign visible since 23 June on billboards, radio and digital in France and Spain.

>>> See audio advertising devices

For the release of the film Fast & Furious 9 on 14 July 2021, Universal Pictures France is taking over the platform of line 3 of the Opéra metro station in Paris.

A display that combines 2D and 3D around the film's flagship car: the Dodge Charger Widebody. An optical effect that caught the eye of passers-by. This format was accompanied by four classic billboards in the Gallieni direction station from 7 to 20 July.

A surprising and playful first advertisement for the release of the animated film "Space Jam - new era". Catchy phrases such as "What's up dunker?" or "It's about time to stretch your legs" ... appealed to the general public.

The 12m² outdoor billboards were transformed into real basketball hoops for the occasion. A unique experience for an outdoor advertising campaign! Indeed, the fans of the film with LeBron James could not resist to put beautiful baskets!

An OOH (Out-Of-Home) display set up in July for the release of the film on 21 July 2021.

This campaign deserves its place in our top 2021 ads.

From 26 July 2021, and for a period of 6 weeks, Deezer has carried out a poster campaign in the major cities of France as well as in the country's main seaside resorts to promote its musical content. The platform was able to catch the eye of passers-by by displaying words such as "Apéro?" or "Karaoke night?", which refer to the titles of the playlists for the summer.

A catchy word and a giant QR code that redirects directly to the playlist in question: an original idea!

>>> How to measure the effectiveness of your outdoor advertising campaigns?

This Waze campaign, which began in September, took the form of geolocalised banners illustrating the uses made possible on the road or at the holiday destination thanks to very high speed.

The "Très Haut Debit" advert was produced at the request of the Ministry. The radio, poster and press campaign was tactical and offered a more educational angle on the revolution in our daily lives.

"3 million people gathered in one place is unheard of this year", indeed, so many people gathered in one place was more than improbable during this year of covid. Boursorama plays on this phrase because the company actually has 3 million customers. A record for the French bank.

An appearance in L'Equipe was therefore well deserved and well thought out in September 2021.

From 2 August until 12 September, the back of lorries was the new communication medium for the Gleeden brand. Motorists could discover the puns of the extra-marital brand's advertising posters on all the roads of France. Gleeden will always surprise us with creative advertising devices!

The brand was also invited on the small screen from September 6 on the channels of the M6 group, here is the TV spot of 40 seconds:

>>> Advertising offers on bus and tram formats.

Celio unveils an advertising campaign for 2021 that features "normal" men. An advert that shows embarrassing situations but above all normalizes men's bodies: jeans that are impossible to put on after three confinements? That's normal.

The campaign was visible from 19 September 2021, with two films available by the end of the year.

During Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga unveiled its new spring-summer 2022 collection with a special episode of The Simpsons.

The episode lasts about ten minutes and was broadcast at the Châtelet theatre in Paris. It featured the Spring-Summer 2022 collections worn directly by the Simpsons characters.

After 5 days, the episode had already been viewed more than 4 million times. An original device that has its place in our ranking of the best ads of 2021.

This is an outdoor advertising campaign that appeared in the Paris metro in October for the launch of Global Bioenergies' LAST make-up brand.

An eco-responsible make-up brand, made in France and vegan.

>>> Offers for an advertising campaign in the metro.

In October 2021, the Pumpkin brand used a provocative advertising campaign in Paris and Lille stations and metro stations to launch its new bank card: the Mastercard.

Haphazard terms such as "We're not very cool", "We're not worth a penny", and "We're firing all our customers" were used. A bold marketing strategy that caught the eye of passers-by.

Amazon wanted to show French singer Orelsan between Caen and Paris for the release of his series "Orelsan: montre jamais ça à personne" on its Prime Video service.

A stroke of genius for the web giant! Indeed, the city of Caen was not chosen at random, Orelsan is originally from Caen. This is completely in line with the film, which retraces the singer's career.

About thirty 12m² outdoor panels were displayed until October 17, 2021 while waiting for the release of the series on October 15.

This DOOH poster campaign by Xivo was displayed at the Lyon Part-Dieu train station in November. A company that offers Made in France telephony solutions.

>>> How to advertise outdoors in Lyon?

An advertising campaign to combat sexual harassment in public transport. A speech designed for the Keolis transport network on the occasion of the national day against sexual and gender-based violence on 25 November 2021.

The message is aimed at both victims and aggressors, encouraging outsiders to report any inappropriate comments they may hear around them.

The campaign is being rolled out in ten or so cities such as Chambéry, Châteauroux and Orléans, as well as in the Ile-de-France cities from November 2021.

To contribute to the respect of the environment and the cleanliness of the air in the city, Levi's has chosen to broadcast its advertising message on a 350m² depolluting canvas covering the Trinité church, from 3 to 30 November 2021 in Paris.

The particularity of this poster is that it is equipped with a technology called Anemotech The Breath, which absorbs pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur.

>>> Discover the green commitments of the media

>>> Discover the green advertising devices put in place

The 30 million friends foundation has come up with a poignant campaign on the living conditions of animals. The campaign "L'appel" shows the fate that is sometimes reserved for certain animal species.

The campaign was shot with real animals. The animals are confronted with stressful and frightening situations, but director Bruno Aveillan does not reveal any shocking images, on the contrary. This campaign "The Call" is committed to fighting against violence and the deplorable living conditions of certain animal species.

The campaign has been deployed mainly in digital since 9 November in long format and in 90-second format.

A committed advert, which we wanted to highlight in our top ads of 2021.

Advertisements made to empty the stock of the car brand Skoda. Puns and more puns ... but it's so effective!

A communication campaign, which started in the middle of November 2021, aimed to attract customers to its stock vehicles. An initiative that aimed to sell because of the semiconductor shortage affecting the automotive industry.

These advertising visuals were visible in the press and on social networks.

What the Hemp! the power of hemp

From 10 November 2021, What The Hemp! will be launching. In a pop and relaxed spirit, the brand is spreading its campaign in the print and digital media and on social networks to reveal all the nutritional and ecological virtues of hemp. To raise awareness of the benefits of hemp among the general public, the brand is proposing a campaign that invites consumers to take action.

With its slogan "Toujours debout" (Always on your feet), Danette offers humorous posters in the Paris metro. With this amusing slogan, Danette does not encourage passers-by to sit down and wait.

Danette's communication campaign was displayed on 15 November on the platforms of the Paris metro for a period of one week around 8 interactive visuals to the delight of passers-by.

It is more than ever the season to celebrate the reunion with our loved ones. Orange insists on this magical event that Christmas represents. The film follows the daily life of a snowman who is forced to stay inside his refrigerated house for several months until winter returns so that he can be reunited with his friends.

A 90-second mini-film was broadcast on 18 November on TV and digital. The campaign will be accompanied by an ecosystem including 60s, 40s, 30s, short in-flight formats, print and broadcast from 1 December, at point of sale and digitally.

On November 18th 2021, during a live broadcast on the Twitch platform, two teams (Team Brownie and Team Brookie) made up of 4 influencers (Junpei and Norman Genius vs Wari and Jiraya) faced each other around several interviews and quizzes.

The event was visible on Jiraya's live stream (one of the participating influencers), from 6pm to 8pm, and broadcasted on other social networks: Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook and Twitter.

Radio spots audible on NRJ in Poitiers at a reception in Buxerolles on 26 November 2021 at 5.45pm. Several spots for numerous brands: Intermarché, Kiabi, Canal +, SFR, Ikea, Lidl, NRJ, But, Intersport, Auchan, Red by SFR, Darty and Air France.

>>> Local radio advertising with NRJ

The Big Success group wins the communication of the BeautyMix brand. The advertising poster highlights the flagship robot of the cosmetic beauty brand. A success for their first poster campaign!

An 8m² window format has been deployed since the beginning of December on the main roads of French cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

"Sam, the committed driver", the new road safety film, has been available since 9 December on 1,470 cinema screens and in the air.

The one-minute film honours a generation that is protected by "Sam, the one who drives is the one who doesn't drink". 

>>> How to track the performance of a TV ad?

And you, what is your favourite ad of the year 2021?