This year’s top performing Oscar ads proved that tying your brand to key cultural moments is a trophy-worthy strategy. Whether through direct ties like L’Oréal with its Devil Wears Prada ad, brands like Burger King riding the coattails of social media virality, or simply showing up at a culturally significant event with disciplined and well-executed creative like Tremfya — the brands that broke through were the ones that found a way to make the moment work for them. See the full list of top ads from the night below.
Tremfya lands at the top of the Ad Breakthrough list
Pharmaceutical brands have mastered the art of visual storytelling — making niche conditions feel universally human. Tremfya’s ad broke through at number 1 on the list with 42 percentage points above the norm for the night. It translates a clinical message into something visceral with its creeping vine to embody the relentless nature of Crohn’s disease. Prominent and persistent logo placement throughout the ad also helped the brand cement its place in viewers’ minds. The result is an ad that breaks through well beyond its core patient audience, proving that specificity of experience, rendered creatively and strategically, is its own kind of reach.
Burger King takes a bite with a social media win
On the heels of a social media firestorm where Burger King’s president plays a starring role in a real-life taste-test drama, the brand proved cross-platform impact is real. While its Oscars ad starring its president was already in production as part of a longer-term brand reset, the timing proved fortuitous. The ad came in at number two on the list with 27 points above the norm. It tapped into a real cultural conversation about fast food quality and leadership authenticity, and arrived on one of the biggest stages of the year. Brands that can connect to what people are already talking about — even when the timing is partly luck — consistently break through.
Allstate, Amazon, L’Oreal, and TurboTax all steal the show with movie-themed ads
Each of these four brands — Allstate, Amazon, L’Oreal, and TurboTax — found a way to make the Oscars’ film-obsessed audience feel right at home. Allstate’s Mayhem character stepped into an action-hero car chase, Amazon’s train robbers could have been lifted straight from a Western, L’Oréal leaned into the cinematic world of The Devil Wears Prada 2, and TurboTax cast fresh Oscar winner Adrien Brody mocking his own dramatic persona. The throughline across all four: good creative feels like it belongs, something MarketCast research has repeatedly confirmed.
Top 10 performing Oscar ads
Want even more breakthrough ads? See our list of February’s top ads here.
| Rank | Brand | Ad Title | Ad Breakthrough* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tremfya | Break Away: Relentless Weed | +42 pts |
| 2 | Burger King | There’s a New King, and It’s You | +27 pts |
| 3 | TurboTax | The Expert | +20 pts |
| 4 | CancerGuard | Good to Know | +19 pts |
| 4 | Disney Cruise Line | Midnight Magic | +19 pts |
| 4 | Dupixent | Stay Ahead | +19 pts |
| 7 | Miebo | Dry Eyes | +14 pts |
| 8 | L’Oréal | You’re Worth It. That’s All. | +13 pts |
| 9 | Allstate | Mayhem: Action Hero | +8 pts |
| 9 | Amazon | Essentials: Hair Scrunchie | +8 pts |
Ads measured by MarketCast Brand Effect
Backed by real-time data from MarketCast’s Brand Effect measurement solution, these standout ads earned top marks for breakthrough, brand linkage, and message communication — the core ingredients that separate good ads from great ones.
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