If your answer to both is yes then congratulations, you just let an ad touch the dark, inner recesses of your heart. A feeling of emptiness will wash over you and stay with you for a few minutes then followed by an urge to part with your soul cash and buy whatever the hell that ad is selling. Great marketing ploy, really. Brands pluck on your heartstrings with feelings of grief, sadness and happiness attached to an ad and next thing you know, you're buying sugar-free gummy bears . Maybe some of the ads that made or will make you feel human again cry are on this list.
1. "Giving"
It seems like the Thai know how to make half the world sob uncontrollably with their ads. Or they might just have the best PR agencies in the world for spewing one emotional ad after another. The latest one to go viral is from Wacoal Thailand. It's an ad from a women's underwear company about a story of a teen mom with a surprising ending. The video can make you tear up a bit but the one Thai ad that hits it out of the ballpark is Thai cell phone firm True Move H's "Giving".
2. "Real Beauty Sketches"
Dove may not have made you laugh or cry with this ad but it certainly became a hit in the female circles. This social experiment-turned-commercial hit a nerve with women globally as a small group were asked to describe what they look like to an FBI-trained forensic artist. Another group, strangers who just met these women, were also asked to describe them. The comparison between the two sketches, one from the women and the other from the strangers, make for a most compelling and uplifting moment in ad history.
3. "Origami"
Who knew chewing gum can make you so emotional? There's a first for everything and this Extra Gum commercial does that. This may even be the best gum ad out there.
4. "It's Time"
There's no faster and easier way to make someone cry than a good love story. In this case, Australia's GetUp! community advocacy organization released one of the most-watched and tear-jerking gay marriage ads of all time. The video shows a love story from a first person perspective with hints of who's it might be. It's only at the end do we learn that the tender story is between two men.
5. "Get Closer"
Just seeing people get hugs from a random stranger in a bear suit is already too touching. Good luck keeping your cool after the reveal at the end (and the twist isn't spoiled even if you're aware what the Swiss organization Pro Infirmis is all about).
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