The top ten most creative job ads of all time

In today’s recruitment market it can be pretty tricky to stand out from the crowd on a standard job board. When the listings start to fade into each other, the roles responsibilities all look alike and the benefits can’t be distinguished from one to the next, it can be tricky to get a feel for a company’s company culture. Or even their sense of humor! It’s this personal element that many businesses sometimes miss in their advertising of job roles, so we thought we’d highlight our pick of ten creative job ad examples we found around the internet.

The below ads manage to successfully convey a sense of their business’s identity without disclosing too much at all about the job itself. Most of them rely on intrigue… And it works! Be sure to let us know your favorites!

1. Hungry Designers Wanted – Tonic International

At first glance you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s another clever Apple ad, but it’s Tonic International inviting designers (who use Apple products as standard) to think about how hungry for success they really are. A smart way to simultaneously appeal to a designer’s creativity whilst leveraging from their favorite brand.

2. We’re Looking For Dishwashers – Restaurant Binnen

This Dutch restaurant needed dishwashers – arguably one of the lesser glamorous roles out there. But what better way to appeal to someone’s penchant for cleaning than to distract them with (fake) lipstick marks on their wine and beer glasses? It accompanied the simple phrase ‘we’re looking for dishwashers’. Apparently it took them just one week to hire someone.

3. New Tattoo Artists Wanted – Bergge Tattoo

A very creative ad that encourages immediate engagement from its applicants whilst at the same time tests their technical abilities! In this ad, applicants must carefully fill in the QR code so as to be able to scan and upload the application form. Smart.

4. Problem Solvers Wanted – Microsoft

The ad below shows how Microsoft embraces the inner geeks with their software engineer job adverts. Bold, effective, and a nifty way to test their skills before they even have the chance to apply!

5. Life’s Too Short For The Wrong Job – Jobs In Town

This German job search platform ran a whole series of similar ads to the below to entice more users to use their service. Funny, engaging and visually arresting, we’re sure this one had people uploading their resumes in no time.

6. If You’re A Medical Transcriptionist Who Doesn’t Mishear ‘Prednisone’ – Accolade

It’s not too often job adverts in the healthcare sector are afforded the opportunity to be too creative, so Accolade did well to introduce some humor into this advertising campaign. We can’t imagine this Indian medical transcription company would have had too many problems sourcing new recruits.

7. McMistake – McDonalds

McDonalds decided to go simple for their ad campaign to hire students and those with little-to-no experience. To do so, they create a series of posters displaying the wrong menu item in their iconic packaging. The tagline was simple, everyone makes mistakes!

8. Big Shoes – Times Ascent

How do you get to fill those big shoes? By buying Times Ascent of course. This employment paper keeps it simple, manages to get a smile out of the reader and employs a subtle aspirational concept well.

9. This Agency Is Not A Sweatshop – Saatchi & Saatchi

It’s no secret that agency life can be challenging and we love how Saatchi and Saatchi play up to their reputation, even managing to crack a joke about it. This clever pun is likely to appeal to creatives in the know.

10. Don’t Mention The M – Burger King

It’s no secret that McDonalds and Burger King are arch rivals, so what better way to earn a giggle from potential applicants and show they know how to laugh at themselves? The concept implies a complicity that is as cheeky as it is entertaining.