Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
The TED Conference is best known for its inspiring talks, but last year they expanded to recognize advertisements that fit into their "ideas worth spreading" mantra. This year's "Ads Worth Spreading" honors are out, and the top 10 include brands ranging from Expedia to Dell and Coke. What they have in common is that they communicate ideas with consumers in the same way that TED wants to communicate with its audience.
Neilsen reports that Americans now spend more than eight hours per day consuming media and watch watch roughly 10 billion video ads a month on the internet. That is a shit ton of ad consumption, and, per TED, the marriage of content with technology has changed the nature of how brands communicate with consumers. As they put it, "increasingly, we are seeing how brands have evolved as content creators. Some of the best advertising today reflects the narrative storytelling that used to be the sole domain of 'serious' content." See who they think it doing it best after the jump.
10. "Dumb Ways to Die." Brand: Melbourne Metro Rail
9. "Three Little Pigs." Brand: The Guardian
8. "The Farmer." Brand: Dodge Ram
7. "The Crowd." Brand: Glaxo Smith Kline
6. "Meet the Superhumans." Brand: Channel 4
5. "A Dramatic Surprise." Brand: TNT
4. "Follow the Frog." Brand: Rainforest Alliance
3. "Annie." Brand: Dell
2. "Security Cameras." Brand: Coka Cola
1. "Find Your Understanding." Brand: Expedia
· ADS WORTH SPREADING: SEE THE 10 MOST WORLD-CHANGING ADS, ACCORDING TO TED [FastCo.Create]
· Nasty Gal and 7 Other Startups Who Are Disrupting Fashion [Racked]
· The Top 30 American Designers, According to the Internet [Racked]