The ten winners of the first TED Ads Worth Spreading competition have just been announced. Three of the ten were created by Wieden + Kennedy.

The ten winners of the first TED Ads Worth Spreading competition have just been announced. Three of the ten were created by Wieden + Kennedy. With this competition, TED were seeking to reverse the trend of online ads being aggressively forced on users. They say:

"We want to nurture ads so good you choose to watch. On TED.com, ads run after our talks, not before. This means they can run longer than the TV-standard 30 seconds. And that's the key! In 2-3 minutes, there's enough time to really tell a story, share an idea, make an authentic human connection, become unforgettable. Instead of ambush, they offer pleasurable, intelligent engagement. We invite you to view, comment, rate — and share!"

Here are the three winning Wieden + Kennedy ads, with comments by TED: 

In this spot, a classic American car-maker repositions the luxury automobile — and, at the same time, re-brands a troubled city. Our judging panel loved the powerful, authentic tone of this love letter to the city of Detroit.

(Now over 9 million views on YouTube.)

This ad uses animation brilliantly to make clear the benefits of investing in a single worthy cause. It sheds light — and hope — on one of the most overlooked, yet promising, assets on this planet: 12-year-old girls.

We love how this ad brings showcase and entertainment together, demonstrating a new smartphone's imaging capabilities through a magical, microscopic animation. (Fun fact: this ad holds a Guinness World Record as the smallest stop-motion animated film.)

(Over 2 million views on YouTube.)

We are delighted to announce that Emma Simmons, who has been here freelancing for a couple of months on Nestea, has decided to join us permanently.