10 Of The Best Marketing Campaigns Ever

Marketing has become an integral part of business, regardless of the industry you’re in. Billions is pumped into a variety of campaigns yearly, although some hit a more viral note than others. Whether it’s to sell a product, revamp an image or win an election, marketing is everywhere and these are the campaigns that standout as some of the best…

NIKE: JUST DO IT

Launched in 1988, the slogan has been attributed to really establishing Nike as a juggernaut in the modern sportswear and shoe industry. The phrase has been popularised around the world and still remains the fulcrum of the company’s marketing today.

BUDWEISER: WHASSUP?

The award winning campaign from the American beer firm was originally run in late 1999 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. It ended in 2002 but has been parodied a number of times and was brought back in 2008 in a more politicised 2 minute short.

RED BULL: GIVES YOU WINGS

One of the world’s foremost energy drink company’s, Red Bull first aired the advert in which the slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” appears all the way back in 2000. It was changed to “no Red Bull, no wings” after the company was hit was a $13million lawsuit because, unsurprisingly, Red Bull doesn’t actually grant you flight facilitating appendages.

ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

The charitable craze that flooded social media last year was, from a marketing standpoint, genius. Reportedly raising over $100 million for a number of charities dedicated to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), it didn’t come from an agency or charity but has grassroots origins that still remain rather blurred. Regardless, a host of major celebrities took part, engagement was off the charts and above all, millions was raised for a worthy cause.

DOVE: REAL BEAUTY

Dove’s decade old advertising campaign has set out to change notions of female beauty and the socially responsible promotions have been hugely successful for the beauty firm. Their 2013 “Real Beauty Sketches” advert went viral and has racked up on 65million views to date.

COKE: SHARE A COKE

Coca-Cola are one of the masters of marketing, they’ve so many successful schemes in their extensive archives, this article could just be about them, easily. A recent one stands out though, and that is their debranding exercise that went multi-national after originally being rolled out in Australia in 2011. The campaign involved taking the ‘Coke’ name off of cans and bottles and swapping it out with peoples’ names, leading to a scramble as customers searched out cans with their names on. Simple, but seriously effective.

OLD SPICE: THE MAN YOUR MAN COULD SMELL LIKE

Deputing as a Super Bowl ad in 2010, Old Spice managed to boost body wash sales by an estimated 107% within 30 days of airing it. The company realised that women were buying their man’s body wash or he was simply using hers. Taking a leaf from mass-market underwear companies, they marketed their soap to women; the video now has 50million views and has meme’d countless times.

METRO TRAINS: DUMB WAYS TO DIE

As opposed to the usual dull and drab PSAs, Melbourne’s Metro Trains went down an entertaining direction with their safety message. The advert had a serious message but was also upbeat and incessantly catchy, the song was a top 10 hit and the video is closing in on 100million views on YouTube. Plus, Metro Trains also reported a 21% reduction in accidents and deaths after its release.

OBAMA’S 2008 ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Prior to the presidential race, Obama was an Illinois Senator and an almost unknown to the wider electorate. However, by utilising and mobilising social media, across all channels, he was able to secure the most funding of any other presidential candidate in history. He has arguably set a benchmark for political marketing that will stand for years to come with his clinical use of grassroots engagement and social strategy.

EVIAN: BABY&ME

The bottled water company has a habit of producing exceedingly successful adverts with their ‘babies’ campaign, from the 1998 commercial to the roller blading children and best of all their Baby&Me ad. The multi-faceted campaign was an unbelievably viral hit and their YouTube video has cleared 100million on the view count since its release; it also has absolutely nothing to do with bottled water.