Which banks made us laugh, or cry, or just think deeply this year?
As Bank Innovation does annually, we rate the Top 20 banking video ads of the year. The videos here are unscientifically ranked according to our personal preferences (hey, no one ever said this was fair). Is your favorite video not here, the all-time-greatest-and-how-could-we-possibly-have-missed-it? Don’t stew about it — tell us in the comments. Or send us a snarky tweet, we can take it.
We must say that there are some wonderful creative ads here. Congratulations to all those who made this wonderful ads possible. In total, they reflect some of what is great (and wildly underrated) about the banking industry.
20. Bank of America sponsored Ken Burns’s amazing miniseries on the Roosevelts — did you catch it? Well, at least you can say you’ve watched this ad about it.

19. Florence Bank out of Northampton, Mass. showed off some of its customers performing American Idol style — Massachusetts has talent.
18. Capital One has released a series of ads with Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and Charles Barkley. In this one, they’re headed to the Super Bowl.
17. In this spot, a PayPal account helps an otherwise hapless customer survive the Zombie Apocalypse. Dipping your EMV card will not save you.
16. Central National Bank (Topeka, Kan.) hits the mark with this mock-PSA about the truth behind “bank holidays.”