The Outdoor Advertising Association of America’s (OAAA) annual OBIE Awards celebrated some of the most creative advertisers in the world for the 73rd time in May 2015. Let’s look at the OBIE Best of Show winners* and discuss what makes these the coolest American campaigns the year had to offer.

Mankind Fragrance by Kenneth Cole
The suggestions of good deeds and their results are not only messages well-suited for crowded public spaces, but the way they are numbered turns reading them into a scavenger hunt. The teaser text serves to support the campaign as do, obviously, incredibly handsome models. The message is clear: wearing the fragrance is equivalent to a desirable, even admirable, lifestyle.

Seattle Aquarium
These brightly-colored images include one fun fact about an underwater animal in a playful way that says much about what the aquarium has to offer. “Bring your kids. We’ll entertain your whole family, and by the way, you’ll all learn something together.” That’s a lot to pack into 11 words or less, not including the brand name.

Sonic
What makes people want a slushy? The sight of the brightly-colored liquid and iconic big red straw, of course. All this ad team did was put one in front of you to let it beckon you to Sonic. Is it working?

The takeaway here is that one universal principle: simple is better. If the most honored ad campaigns in the U.S. are white text on black background, cartoon animals and basically just a big picture of the product (admittedly with a little twist), don’t make the mistake of thinking you can do better with more text, more color, more whatever on your signage. One simple idea is all it takes to win.

*Link not working? Try here instead.