Unforgettable B2B Ads That Prove Business Marketing Can Be Thrilling

B2B Isn't Boring: These Ads Prove It

This week, The Drum published The B2B Agency Hotlist, a definitive guide to the agencies making B2B the most exciting place in marketing right now. Now, creatives from some of those agencies share with us their all-time favorite B2B ads.

From clever print campaigns to cinematic viral hits, the sector has produced work that is both smart and memorable, combining creativity, humor and bold ideas in ways that rival the best consumer advertising.

Despite common perceptions that B2B is dry or purely functional, these campaigns show that it can be inventive, emotionally resonant and culturally relevant, sometimes even reaching audiences far beyond the business world.

As part of B2B Month, leading creatives from agencies including Stein, The Croc and Park & Battery (all three of which feature on The B2B Agency Hotlist, coincidentally) share their all-time favorite B2B ads, telling us why these campaigns stand out and continue to inspire.

Mark Lesniak, Creative Director, Lesniak Swann

"This FedEx ad has all the ingredients of a great ad: humor, character and story. It also completely changed how the sector talked about itself, shifting messaging from functional claims ('we've got more trucks, planes, etc') to a more emotional truth."

Tanya Smith, Business Development Director at Gain

"In a world of efficiency, data, logistics and other boring stuff, we've forgotten how to entertain and how a sense of humor can leapfrog the competition. This is an old ad from the 80s by legendary director Joe Sedelmaier. He made tons of ads over the years for FedEx when they were essential for businesses getting stuff to clients. This one is particularly good, but many are great."

Chase Grammer, Creative Director, Agency X

"I will say if you ask me this again in a week, I'll have a totally different answer. However, I will say that I never choose ads that feature a big celebrity because I think even a weak idea can go far with that relatability. I really like ads that ride off being both fun and clever in the right amount. But, even more so, they need to have kahunas.

'This is a Generic Brand Video,' both because it's ballsy to self-deprecate your own industry even if it is very funny, but also because it is totally right on why people use them. Everyone else says that they don't feel like stock footage, until, of course, they become the norm and then obviously look like stock footage. For Dissolve to pull the opposite was perfect and hit that spot in our heads that makes us laugh and think it gets what it is about without all the pandering.

And as a creative who has spent the past decade having to do 80% of all creative on the stock budget, this ad is very refreshing. It's the inside joke we all have and they were not afraid to play off it. It's not the small budget that holds a business back; it's their fear of trying something exciting. A good ad can secure a client, but a great ad can get someone you don't even know to secure a client before they even know who you are."

Michael Ruby, Chief Creative Officer, Park & Battery

"Many people forget that one of the most famous videos in the history of the internet is a B2B ad! Volvo's 'Epic Split' is the rare kind of work that turns a razor-sharp value proposition into something unforgettable.

At its core, it's a product demo, intelligently showing off the precision and stability of Volvo's trucks. But it's also audacious, cinematic and weirdly beautiful – Jean-Claude Van Damme's improbable stoicism, Enya's ethereal soundtrack, a surreal ballet between man and machine.

It roots technical prowess in human drama, humor and culture – and in doing so, it becomes more than a stunt. It becomes iconic."

Tamryn Kerr, Founder and Co-Chief Creative Officer, Hijinks

"I'm going with Volvo's 'Epic Split' because it's infinitely memorable, incredibly clever, perfectly crafted and epic in its execution. It was one of the first B2B ads (outside of Super Bowl spots) to cast celebrity talent and Jean-Claude Van Damme was such an inspired casting choice. I remember being jealous about it when it came out and I still am today."

Nick Watmough, Executive Creative Director, The Croc

"Choosing a favorite B2B ad is like choosing a favorite child – technically possible, emotionally chaotic. 'The Epic Split' deserves a standing ovation, but my heart goes to HP's 'The Wolf.' Only HP could make printer security feel like prestige TV.

Starring Christian Slater as a charm-soaked cybervillain, it turned network security into a slick, dystopian film noir. Smart, stylish and genuinely unsettling, it proved the point every marketer secretly knows: enterprise doesn't have to be boring. It can thrill. And it worked. The response was frighteningly impressive: HP's printer sales didn't just rise, they tripled the company's original target."

Ellie Morton, Art Director, Stein

"The 'I Love You, Acrobat' campaign from a couple of years ago nails it for me because it treats B2B marketing like something people actually want to watch! It's smart, funny and relatable in a way most software ads aren't, tapping into those all-too-familiar pain points of office life with Hasan Minhaj bringing the perfect mix of humor and credibility to land the campaign.

Like most people in the industry, I'm in Acrobat every day and this playful, empowering take made me laugh. Honestly, who hasn't felt like taking a baseball bat to a stubborn printer?"

Yousuke Ozawa, Creative Director, UltraSuperNew Tokyo

"My favorite B2B campaigns are Volvo's 'The Epic Split' and Country Time's 'Legal-Ade.' What I love about them is that although they are aimed at businesses, they still managed to reach a much wider audience. Watching these ads made me realize something important: business people are also consumers. After hours and on weekends, they are just regular people with emotions, preferences and impulses. They are not robots making purely rational decisions. The difference is simply that instead of buying for themselves, they buy for their company's efficiency and success.

For a product to succeed, it needs three things. First, the audience must know the brand or at least have heard of it. Second, they need to understand what the product actually does. And finally (maybe the most crucial step), the brand has to be liked. Even if people recognize the brand and understand the offering, they will not buy it if they do not like it, especially when it comes to a big and high-stakes purchase. In the end, decisions are made emotionally and justified rationally afterwards. These two campaigns do exactly that. They check every element needed to make a B2B campaign truly successful."

Reuben Webb, Independent Strategic Creative Consultant

"There are many modern contenders for all-time favorite B2B ad, but I'm going to eschew the epic split and rockstar wonders and choose this classic print ad by McGraw-Hill Publishing Co from 1958.

It's brilliantly terrifying. The message to B2B companies is very simple and still painfully relevant today: neglect brand investment at your peril. Many have still not learned that lesson.

Short-term, interruptive, lead-generation advertising is just the digital equivalent of the cold-calling salesman. My reaction to it is exactly the same as the man in the chair: how dare you walk into my digital browsing office unannounced?

For the fact that it's as relevant today as it was in 1958, and once seen, never forgotten, this ad gets my vote."