40 Clever Print Ads That Are Creative, Sharp, And Weirdly Hilarious

Updated on January 30, 2026

Funny print ads are the rare kind of “marketing” that doesn’t feel like marketing. You see one, your brain pauses, and you do that little internal nod like, okay… you got me. If you’ve been craving clever ads that reward you for paying attention, this set is basically candy.

Some ideas are so clean they feel like a magic trick.

And yes, you will be tempted to screenshot these.

Clever Print Ads With Big “Who Thought Of That” Energy

The best funny print ads start with something familiar, then flip it in one move. Like the Van Gogh eyewear ad that uses a lens to “correct” the portrait into a crisp photo. It’s not just funny—it’s a perfect demonstration. You don’t need a paragraph. Your eyes do the reading.

LEGO’s two red bricks casting the shadow of an airplane is another classic example of smart advertising: minimal ink, maximum imagination. Clever ads often try too hard. This one barely tries at all, and that’s the point.

Then you’ve got the cassette telling the iPod “I’m your father,” which is such a clean pop-culture pivot that it almost feels unfair. Funny print ads love generational jokes because they come with built-in emotion: nostalgia, recognition, a tiny bit of “wow I’m old.”

The funeral home billboard telling people to text and drive is the kind of dark humor that makes you flinch first, then understand. It’s shock value with an actual message behind it, which is why it sticks. Someone needs to take the internet away for 10 minutes, but not this billboard. This one can stay.

The dentistry ad where you don’t notice the missing eyebrow because the missing tooth is so distracting is a sneaky psychological flex. It’s basically saying: we know what your brain fixates on, and we’re going to use it to sell you floss. Respect.

And the Imodium hot tub ad? That’s just high-stakes cringe done perfectly. It taps into a fear you didn’t know you had until the second you saw it. Funny print ads are at their best when they create a whole scenario without showing you anything explicit—just enough for your imagination to ruin your day.

Durex wishing Happy Father’s Day to people using competitor products is pure brand-on-brand violence. No explanation needed. It’s the kind of ad you laugh at and immediately forward to someone like “they didn’t have to do that.” They absolutely did.

Then there’s the construction barrier promising to finish faster than a celebrity marriage. It’s cheeky, it dates itself a little, but it works because it’s bold enough to make you look twice. Clever print ads don’t need to be timeless; they need to land.

Taskrabbit’s “I would caulk 500 tiles…” is also ruthless because now the song is in your head. And it’ll be there all day. Marketing: 1. Your brain: 0.

Finally, the cat treat billboard with 3D cats climbing it is just accurate. If you own a cat, you’ve seen them attempt a heist for something they want. Smart advertising isn’t always clever wordplay—sometimes it’s simply saying, “We know your pet is feral.”

If you want more like these funny print ads, check out 25 Vintage Ads That Made People Actually Laugh Out Loud, 30 Funny Signs With Perfect One-Liners, and 35 Design Ideas That Should’ve Won Awards.

Laura Bennett writes like someone who pauses to admire a clever sign, then tells you about it like a cozy story.