The Best Blogads of 2011

For what has been a very innovative year for us, we’ve published some of the best Blogads we’ve seen since 2002. Many advertisers jumped at the chance to add YouTube videos or “tweetability” to their ads — sometimes both — while others continued to produce killer creative that followed (and sometimes broke) all the rules.

Here are our favorite Blogads from 2011:

Current TV – Countdown and The Young Turks

Why we love them: When Current TV launched the revamped Countdown with Keith Olbermann, they embedded custom videos that spoke directly to the readers of specific blogs. For maximum reach, they also made the ads tweetable. The campaign was so successful that, 6 months later, they took a similar approach for their newest show, The Young Turks.

Here’s a sample of the videos that ran in the ads:
Keith gives a shout out to Alternet readers
Cenk says hey to Crooks and Liars readers

 

Lawyers.com
Agency: Definition 6

Why we love them: These are classic Blogads that do everything right. With simple and provocative (and funny!) images placed over link-rich text, they provide a lesson in Blogads 101.

 

Modcloth.com – “Dresses that Impress!”

Why we love them: With multiple text links and subtle animated GIFs that showcase different products (or sometimes just the front and back of the same dress), Modcloth are masters of creating Blogads that impress – and work. We especially love the text-as-navigation technique. Each link at the bottom of the ad goes to a very specific page.

For more ads from Modcloth and other fashionistas, check out our great fashion ads page.

 

Mizuno Wave Rider 15 – “What if Einstein Ran?”
Agency: Media Two

 

Why we love it: As the animation gets going, we’re captivated by the science-meets-sports aesthetics of the creative. Simple, but not too simple.

To see the full animation, check out our great sports ads page.

 

Julie Klam – “You Had me at Woof”
Riverhead Books 

Why we love it:  A recent study showed that a cute cat photo in an ad can get more clicks than one of a sexy model. This seems to hold true for cute dog photos, too. This simple ad did great, and the “tweet this” button helped the book reach new readers.

 

Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
Merge Records

Why we love it: This is a great case study in the quick turnarounds advertisers can expect with Blogads. Arcade Fire and Merge Records previously partnered with Blogads to launch The Suburbs album to the top of the Billboard charts.  Surprised by Grammy win for Album of The Year, they were able to quickly mount this campaign with Blogads to capitalize on the buzz with thousands of blog readers.

 

C.W. Gortner – “The Tudor Secret”
Ads by: AuthorBuzz.com

Why we love it: Subtle changes in an animated GIF are often more effective than busy flash ads. With multiple links in the text, and a call-to-action with a lot of options, this ad does GIF right.

To see the full animation, check out our great publishing ads page.

Looking for some creative inspiration? Browse our Great Ads from over the years!

 

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