B2B Adzact Awards 2024

The Creative Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in B2B digital advertising. These awards highlight ads that excel in creativity, message clarity, emotional connection, and audience relevance. With contributions from leading marketers and experts, this year’s awards honour the most impactful campaigns of 2024. The following sections offer detailed reviews of each ad, along with recommendations that showcase the potential for even greater excellence.

Participants

The Creative Excellence Awards 2024 featured a diverse panel of marketing leaders and experts who attended the session and provided invaluable insights into the reviewed campaigns. Their expertise and feedback played a pivotal role in shaping this year’s awards.

Chris Dalton – Director of Customer Marketing, Clari
Carol Howley – Chief Marketing Officer, Exclaimer
Emma Brooks – Marketing Manager, e2e-assure
Lisa Rom – Senior Manager of Field Marketing, GitLab
Zoe Kazmierski – Global Head of Digital Marketing, Pegasystems
Pratibha Jain – Demand Generation and Growth Marketing Advisor
Felicia Asiedu – European Marketing Director, Cvent

Their thoughtful analysis and recommendations ensured that the awards reflect both creative excellence and strategic relevance in the B2B marketing space.

Nominees

Salesforce’s entry into the awards captivated audiences with its cinematic portrayal of the "AI Wild West." The ad effectively addressed data security concerns, positioning Salesforce’s AI as a trustworthy and ethical solution. Featuring the recognisable Matthew McConaughey, the campaign delivered a compelling mix of creativity and clarity. Experts, including Pratibha Jain, commended the ad’s emotional impact and concise messaging, noting how it struck the perfect balance between narrative and brand value. Felicia Asiedu praised its creative execution and appreciated how the ad avoided over-explaining Salesforce’s reputation. Zoe Kazmierski found potential in expanding the campaign into a series but suggested aligning the celebrity choice more closely with the brand. Carol Howley highlighted the ad's cinematic appeal and the strong emotional connection it fostered, particularly with its clear and concise messaging.

Deel

Deel’s advertisement brought a unique perspective by leveraging the "This is Fine" meme to address HR challenges. The ad creatively demonstrated its product’s value, particularly in solving payroll and compliance issues. Chris Dalton recognised the effectiveness of the product demonstration, even as he felt the meme’s reference was slightly dated. Emma Brooks applauded the ad’s ability to deliver a strong message in a relatable format, though she suggested refining the comedic elements for greater resonance. Felicia Asiedu highlighted the ad’s clear focus on HR professionals, applauding its direct appeal. Carol Howley appreciated how the ad captured the complexities of HR management while keeping the message simple and relatable.

Workday

Workday’s humorous take on the overused corporate term "rock star" brought levity and charm to its campaign. High production values and appearances by notable celebrities immediately captured attention. Felicia Asiedu celebrated the ad’s humour and relatability, while Pratibha Jain appreciated the creativity and its appeal to corporate audiences. Zoe Kazmierski noted its success as a broad-reaching Super Bowl ad, with a strong emotional connection to corporate life. To enhance its impact further, clarifying Workday’s unique value proposition would strengthen its connection with audiences unfamiliar with the brand. Carol Howley praised the ad’s bold and playful approach, noting how it effectively poked fun at corporate clichés while engaging viewers.

AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer adopted a relatable approach by showcasing the challenges marketers face when proving ROI to CFOs. The ad highlighted AppsFlyer’s role in bridging this gap, delivering a clear and practical message. Felicia Asiedu praised the humour and effective storytelling, finding the ad’s clarity particularly strong. Chris Dalton appreciated its conclusion, suggesting a more contemporary approach to the creative elements for a stronger impression. Emma Brooks found the pacing slightly slow but recognised the clarity of its final message. Overall, the ad successfully communicated AppsFlyer’s relevance while offering room to modernise its execution. Carol Howley emphasised the ad’s relatability and its focus on addressing a key pain point for marketers, making it particularly effective.

ADP

ADP’s ad imagined a world with a 25th hour, creatively positioning the brand as an adaptable HR and payroll solutions provider. Pratibha Jain admired the thought-provoking narrative, which encouraged audiences to consider how ADP adapts to change. Lisa Rom highlighted the focus on adaptability as a differentiator but suggested emphasising more tangible solutions. Felicia Asiedu found the storyline engaging yet slightly hypothetical, leaving room for ADP to connect more directly with real-world challenges. The ad’s innovative concept showcased ADP’s forward-thinking approach, and incorporating practical examples could strengthen its impact further. Carol Howley noted how the ad effectively showcased ADP’s innovative mindset, even as she suggested adding more concrete examples of its adaptability.

Monday.com

Monday.com’s campaign explored the idea of migration, likening it to animals relocating in the wild. This creative metaphor highlighted the platform’s ability to centralise workflows and automate tasks. Emma Brooks appreciated the concept but noted a slight disconnect between the jungle imagery and the migration theme. Felicia Asiedu valued the practical focus, pointing out the clarity achieved through showcasing integrations such as DocuSign. Pratibha Jain praised the ad’s demonstration of product features, noting that aligning the visuals more closely with the theme would enhance its overall coherence. Carol Howley admired the ad’s straightforward approach to showcasing the platform’s functionality while acknowledging that the metaphor could have been more cohesive.

Nuvei

Nuvei’s ad took a playful approach, embracing Canadian stereotypes with self-deprecating humour to build brand recognition. Emma Brooks enjoyed its entertaining tone, finding it a standout in terms of emotional impact. Pratibha Jain considered the campaign a strong brand-building effort, ideal for introducing Nuvei’s identity to audiences. Lisa Rom appreciated the ad’s creativity but suggested balancing the humour with a clearer articulation of Nuvei’s offerings. The ad successfully captured attention, and refining its messaging could make its purpose even more impactful. Carol Howley found the ad’s light-hearted tone engaging and effective for creating brand awareness, while noting that a more detailed focus on Nuvei’s offerings could strengthen its overall impact.

And the Winners Are….

Salesforce emerged as the overall winner of the Creative Excellence Awards 2024, combining cinematic storytelling with a clear and emotionally resonant message. Its ability to address contemporary concerns about AI while showcasing its value proposition made it a standout choice.

Workday claimed the runner-up position, earning recognition for its humour and relatability. While its creative approach connected well with its audience, enhancing message clarity would help broaden its appeal to new viewers.

The Creative Excellence Awards 2024 showcased a diverse and inspiring range of B2B advertising campaigns. From Salesforce’s cinematic brilliance to Nuvei’s light-hearted humour, these ads demonstrated how creativity and clarity can drive engagement in the B2B space. Each campaign provided valuable lessons and highlighted the potential for continued innovation in 2025.