Have you seen TED’s Ads Worth Spreading?  If so, you have seen 10 very well done ads that for the most part are very engaging.  They are also for the most part worth spreading, but are they any good as advertisements?  I am not going to review each ad, but the short answer is no.  I would use the following acronym for criteria:

Shareable
Emotional connection
Applicable
Response oriented

Shareable is more than whether the content is engaging enough to share, I think all of these ads meet that criteria, but also could someone share the ad and concept verbally as part of conversation.

Emotional connection is whether the ad registers with an individual emotionally.  These ads score very well here.

Applicable, do you know what the product is, how the story being told relates to you and the product, and how you will benefit from the product?  This does not need to be a hard sell, but it needs to be conveyed.  These ads are much less successful on this count.

Response oriented means that you are moved to take some action as a result of the ad.  Again not great here either.