10 Best Print Ads of 2024
As 2024 comes to a close and a promising new year approaches us, it’s time to think about what we should keep and what we should leave behind. While some aspects are uncertain, print ads are here to stay. According to insightful data from Forum Communications Company, almost 80% of consumers act on print advertisements immediately, compared to 45% of consumers who act on digital ads. Not only are printed ads more memorable, but their physical form makes it easy to revert to them once you’re ready to make a purchase.
If you like print ads, you’ll love this list of the 10 best print ads of 2024. See which one of your favorite ads made the cut below.
10. Pepsi: Make Your Gameday Epic
Ten years ago, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, and Pink starred in Pepsi’s groundbreaking “Gladiator” commercial. History repeats itself in the 2024 “Make Your Gameday Epic” advertisement in promotion of the world-renowned beverage corporation’s Pepsi Zero Sugar.
Megan Thee Stallion—also known as Empress Megan—leads the pack, joining forces with Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Derrick Henry, and Justin Jefferson to battle it out in a Roman-style coliseum. What makes this one of the best print ads of 2024? Nostalgia brings us back to a simpler time, while this modern sequel builds anticipation for the upcoming Gladiator II movie on Paramount.
9. IKEA: Likea
IKEA’s “LIKEA” campaign has produced one of the best 2024 print ads for several reasons. One being the genius play on words. This print ad, created by Ogilvy, bridges empowering actions with the everyday comfort of IKEA furniture, using the word “like a” to cleverly style it so we could see the word “IKEA” shine through.
From sofas to similies, IKEA’s genius print ad effortlessly leverages brand association, or a mental connection consumers make with a brand based on specific attributes, qualities, concepts, or experiences, as a strategic advantage.
8. McDonald’s: WcDonalds
McDonald’s welcomed audiences into its anime world with a manga-inspired 2024 print ad released in over 30 markets worldwide. WcDonald’s is a collaboration with Japanese artist Acky Bright and includes a four-episode anime series created in partnership with the animation studio, Studio Pierrot. Since the 1980s, the American multinational fast-food chain has frequently been depicted as a fictional fantasy restaurant in anime, so it only made sense to bring the dream to reality.
This award-winning campaign earned the spot of top campaign of 2025 by Ad Age, and its visually vibrant nod to Japanese style makes it one of the most eye-catching print ads of 2024.
7. Sweethearts: Situationships
He loves me… he loves me not? Just in time for Valentine’s Day 2024, Sweethearts launched its Situationship campaign, featuring a print ad for candies that make communication in these circumstances even more complicated. Multicolored hearts reveal smudged messages that give love-bombing a whole new meaning, with phrases like “true love” and “soul mate.”
Typically, the iconic candy brand’s classic Sweethearts are the perfect way to express yourself to a loved one, but this rendition was created to poke fun at Gen Z–style relationships. This 2024 print ad is a cultural reset, holding up a mirror to its target audience in a lighthearted way that everyone can enjoy.
6. Uber: Get Almost Anything
Uber Eats takes a humorous approach to this 2024 print advertisement for its “Get Almost Almost Anything” campaign. Since the company committed to prioritizing sustainable food deliveries, its insulated green delivery bags have become an emblem that reinforces brand psychology, or the strategic application of colors to influence consumer emotions, perceptions, and purchasing behavior.
In this campaign, green means go: order anything you want in the comfort of your own home, and Uber will seamlessly deliver it on a silver platter. Well… almost anything.
5. Verizon: Broken is Beautiful
Verizon is on a mission to get you to appreciate the wabi-sabi of your cracked phone screen in its 2024 print ad, “Broken is Beautiful.” This campaign emphasizes that the company values your damaged device and will allow you to trade it in for a new one if you can’t see its beauty.
What resonates most in this advertisement is the message “broken is beautiful,” which transcends the global telecommunications company’s call for users to trade in their phones under any condition.
4. Heinz x Barbie: Barbiecue
The release of the Barbie film has girls and women around the world bringing out their finest pink items. To capture the momentum, Barbie and Heinz have collaborated to give us something we never knew we needed before, Barbiecue. What gives this pink, Vegan ketchup that luscious hot pink color? It contains a hint of beetroot and BBQ.
If you’re anything like me and enjoy a little nostalgia, or associating a product, brand, or service to evoke memories from the past, every now and then, this clever 2024 print ad was probably one of the highlights of your year!
3. e.l.f. x Liquid Death: Drop Dead Gorgeous Corpse Paint
When affordable makeup and skincare brand e.l.f. Cosmetics and canned water company, Liquid Death, joined forces to promote its limited-edition coffin-shaped makeup set with a “Drop Dead Gorgeous Corpose Paint” campaign. It was a collaboration I never saw coming. Although this partnership seems like an early April Fool’s joke, you can’t help but be drawn to this 2024 print ad that aims to help its consumers look as dark on the outside as they are on the inside. This is what it looks like when black death metal style collides with cosmetics lovers–corpse-like pale face paint, heavy, black eye makeup, and chic dark lip color.
2. Dove: Real Beauty
In a world dominated by artificial intelligence, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign is a breath of fresh air.
Ten years ago, this leading personal care brand made waves with its “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty,” which featured a photography exhibit titled Beyond Compare: Women Photographers on Real Beauty. The exhibit was designed to combat the 2004 era of heroin chic, when celebrities flaunted dangerously thin bodies.
Today, the concept of real beauty reemerges—but instead of unrealistic body types, it’s AI-generated images that are distorting the average woman’s perception of what is considered beautiful. What makes this one of the best print ads of 2024? Its relevance, its reinforcement of body confidence, and Dove’s recommitment to advocating for the beauty of women of all shapes and sizes.
In its 2024 commercial for the campaign, Dove vs. AI Beauty Standards: Keeping It Real With The Code, Dove vows to do the following:
“Dove will never use AI to create or distort women’s images.”
1. Burger King: 70 Years Later The Fire’s Still Burning”
In celebration of its 70th anniversary, Burger King released this steamy 2024 print ad as part of its “70 Years Later, the Fire’s Still Burning” campaign. One of the biggest differentiators between the global American fast-food chain and its competitors is that all Burger King patties are flame-grilled, producing the distinct taste that customers have known and loved since 1954.
This ad combines clever one-liner copy with reaffirming imagery that centers on a senior couple who still find each other irresistible. Buenos Aires-based agency Room 23 and Trans collaborated to create this magical 2024 print ad, making it one of the most memorable of the year.
Why Print Ads Still Matter in 2024
Print ads are among the oldest and most effective forms of advertising. Because of their less intrusive nature, audiences can absorb the message peacefully, without distractions. Unlike digital ads, which often vanish once their time has passed, print advertisements represent a tangible moment in history that cannot be erased.