The Best Shampoo Ad I’ve Ever Seen

Even if the motive is purely commercial and it verges on the sentimental (this is a shampoo ad, after all), the story, production values and pay off in this Pantene spot from Asia somehow transcend those limitations. Shot as a feature and cut like a trailer by GREY Thailand for Proctor & Gamble, the ad follows the transformation of a young deaf violinist as she fulfills her dream. It was created four years ago but it’s still making the rounds online, thanks, more recently, to a popular Chinese social networking site. Think The Karate Kid in miniature—a kinder, gentler, musical, more hairtastic version, that is.