10 Best Advertising Campaigns
By James Dickey. Filed in Advertising |Tags: Advertising, Campaigns, Ideas, Sales
I’ve been party lately to a lot of discussion on ideas. Whether specific ones are good or bad, and the implications of those. Many great business ideas have been expressed in advertising campaigns, and a couple of weeks ago we had a lively discussion on Twitter about which advertising campaigns were “best” (see image). I want to make sure I save it permanently, so I’m doing that now here.
Which advertising campaign do you think:
- Was the most memorable?
- Stated something meaningful?
- Had a significant positive impact on the company’s bottom line?
It is of course likely that these will lean to the broad, mass-market campaigns as more of us will know of them to begin with, but I hope we’ll add a few lesser-known gems as well.
Here’s the starting list:
#BestAd Conversation on Twitter
- Apple’s “Mac vs. PC”. Funny, memorable, correspond to huge increases in Apple revenue in computer sales (not just iPhone/iPod), and so devastatingly effective that Microsoft had to directly respond with their own set of ads. (Hat Tip to Miss Charlie
- Coke’s “The Real Thing”. Striking back with their core advantage (history, nostalgia) after Pepsi’s incredibly effective “taste test” campaign, which arguably should also get a spot in this list. Coke won back market share with this campaign. (Note: While I still think this is a great campaign, it turns out most of what I said above is factually incorrect. See comment below.)
- Wendy’s “Where’s The Beef?” Another great example of the underdog in the industry using well-known, widely-felt annoyance/frustration with the industry leader as a powerful lever. Sales and Wendy’s franchise profile both increased substantially, and it’s still remembered today. (Hat Tip to John Shepard)
- BlendTec’s WillItBlend.com I’ve heard second-hand that BlendTec has presented that this campaign, while still little-known, increased sales of their high-powered blender over 700%. Even if that number is off by a factor of 10, it’s meaningful and creative.
What doesn’t go on the list?
Ad campaigns that were cute, clever, memorable, but did not in any way correspond to meaningful changes in the company’s revenue and/or market share. The best couple of examples I can think of that fall into this category are:
- Pets.com’s Sock Puppet. They spent millions and went out of business quickly.
- Taco Bell’s Chihuahua campaign. I still hear people say “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” and laugh occasionally, but franchisees at the time complained that while the ad campaign did improve sales of Chihuahuas (live and stuffed), it did nothing to help them actually build their business selling tacos.
Which ones did I forget? Which ones was I wrong about? Post your additions/changes to the list here, or respond on Twitter and I’ll add it here for you.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 8:17 am |
Ford Festiva was the most effective commercial I ever saw, in the late 80’s. I still remember the song.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:34 am |
I have to confess ignorance on that campaign. Clearly it was memorable for you, but given the product’s history/sales I’d have to wonder at how impactful the campaign was.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 8:24 am |
1. Kodak Disc campaign- funny & cute- old school
2. Aflac – that duck just kills me!
3. Men’s Wearhouse- What a Difference a Day Makes
4. Garmin- 2008 Christmas commercial- worth recording and watching over
There are more… thinking, thinking….
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:33 am |
I can’t believe I left the Aflac duck off the list. It was a super-effective campaign in terms of raising brand awareness of a previously unknown company.
From their own communications since then, though, the problem now is that it didn’t have a clear tie to the product/positioning. Everyone now knows of American Family Life Assurance Company (Aflac’s actual name), but few know that what they offer is optional payroll-deduction cancer, hospitalization and disability insurance or why you would want those products. They’re working on that now, but it’s a much harder sell.
In terms of reaching their objective of brand awareness, though, the original duck campaign succeeded mightily.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 8:27 am |
I don’t think you can have this conversation without including Budweiser and the success of many of their campaigns. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three: The Bud Frogs/Lizzards with Bud-Weis-Er, Waaaassssuup!, and the Clydesdale’s.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:28 am |
No question any ad discussion without beer or soda would be an exercise in tunnel vision. I have my doubts, though about at least two the three specific examples you give. The Frogs/Lizards at least mentioned the product’s name, but gave no value proposition or positioning at all, so while memorable, I’m not surprised that those campaigns were very short lived.
Waaaassssuup was even worse. Never mentioned the product or any positioning. Absolutely hilarious and memorable but no product tie at all. Much like Taco Bell’s Chihuahua, I’d be more inclined to put them in a list of “what not to do” in advertising than an example of a great campaign.
On the other hand, the “Real Men of Genius” campaign is just as funny but at least ties “we salute/toast you” and their target market (blue-collar “real” men) into the campaign. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this one correlates to some increased sales/share where the other two did not. (Hat Tip to Chuck Harris for the reminder on this campaign.)
The Clydesdale’s one is a harder one to peg. Goes so much with their history/brand/longevity, much like the Goodyear blimp. More a symbol/goodwill item than an effective advertising campaign feature in itself.
Does this make what I was thinking clearer? You’re absolutely right, though – it’s highly likely at least one Bud (or at least beer) campaign belongs on any 10-best list. How about the Lowenbrau “Here’s to good friends” campaign? Is there another that’s even better in terms of product/positioning tie, longevity and memorability?
Friday, January 16th 2009 at 8:27 am |
I realize now where I think the disconnect is, and now that it’s explicit in my mind, I want to revise the entire post.
I was trying to get at game-changing campaigns.
Budweiser has had many effective campaigns (effective at reaching their stated or presumed goals), but being number 1 for so long, it’s hard for them to have the kind of campaign I’m trying to get at that, like “Where’s the Beef” or “Will it Blend” or “Mac vs. PC” or “Eat Mor Chikin” really had a huge impact on a company (and in most cases, an entire industry), and was used successfully for a number of years. Of course, with that model in mind, my Coke example just keeps getting worse and Pepsi’s “Taste Test Challenge” or “Pepsi Generation” is the much more relevant example.
With this now explicit, are you comfortable with my resistance, and better yet, do you have an even better example than the ones I’ve listed?
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:38 am |
Thanks to Holt Murray for the correction on Coke. Their “Real Thing” campaign cannot have been a response to the Pepsi taste test challenge, as it pre-dated that campaign by several years.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:52 am |
Glad you included Wendy’s, but I’d say that was number 1 — it put an “Oh yeah, I’ve seen those places” to a place to go, while simultaneously knocking the portions of their other two competitors with humor.
Well, you did say arguably, and I’m of the mind that Coke stumbled into the solution of the Pepsi taste test.
To begin, I agree that Coke it’s the Real Thing was a great campaign, but not as far reaching as you say. It was not in response to the Pepsi Challenge — it came out in 1970. Remember the Christmas singing ad? That classic TV spot debuted for Coca-Cola in 1971 – while featuring the slogan, “I’d like to buy the world a coke” it threw in the previous year’s slogan, “It’s the Real Thing” (In the Christmas ad, “I’d like to teach the world to sing” you may remember the throw-in line “It’s the real thing’ in between stanzas).
Pepsi started the taste test in 1974 and broke them out nationally in 1975. Coke had no answer other that to ignore for a long time. There was Coke adds life in 1976. Then have a Coke and a smile in 1979. Then finally Coke started to address the growing problem of lost market share with the ever-subtle… Coke is it in 1982 (I remember thinking how presumptive bordering on needy that phrase seemed to me).
Then two things happened — the country trended far more conservative — from Reagan, to (ironically for Pepsi)) Alex P. Keaton, to just a general push-back to the 70’s. That, combined with the failed new Coke experiment, resulting in a huge outcry for Coke Classic kept coke in the forefront of everyone’s mind. The outcry was the best PR Coke – arguably – ever had. and, it was free! (I always wanted to think some genius at Coke had planned that New coke/Coke Classic thing from the very beginning — what they lost in money for the beginning and end of a new flavor, they more than made up in regaining market share and utter dominance).
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 9:54 am |
Oops – sorry for the repetition James – my mind wanted to be more verbose than twitter allowed – thanks for the great idea though for a “best of” list.
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 10:27 am |
non-profit ad #1 – This is your Brain (see: egg), this is your brain on drugs (see egg sizzle in frying pan) – as a quick ad (was it :15 or :30?… maybe two versions?), that ha got to be one of the most quoted ads I’ve ever heard — usually as some form of joke or another
Thursday, January 15th 2009 at 10:57 am |
I guess we can agree to disagree. IMHO advertising on the Budweiser level is more about holding the attention of the audience for 30 seconds and creating a buzz so that the commercials themselves are talked about and remembered. The frogs and lizards were on for years and I don’t think anyone would have trouble relating them to Budweiser. Waaasssup was targeting a new demo for Budweiser which has been more of a blue collar, good old boy brand historically. And the Clydesdale’s are similar to the frogs in that they are synonymous with the brand at this point.
If you’re looking for directly attributable calls to action, I would point to the current series of Bud Delivery Man ads, where he gets customers to pike Budweiser over alternative beers. But that’s a different type of ad all together . . . we won’t be talking about it in 10 years like we do the others.
Friday, January 16th 2009 at 8:53 am |
Now we’re good . . . you’re looking for breakout ads. How about the original Go Daddy campaign? I guess I’m gravitating towards Superbowl spots (it’s that time of year), but that ad put them on the map. Talk about a lack of product pitch, there’s an ad that worked because of the missing pieces. People had to go online to figure it out, great call to action.
Tuesday, January 20th 2009 at 5:21 pm |
I think a memorable and impactful campaign has been the MasterCard priceless campaign. Look at the number of good-natured spoofs it generated and, while largely coincidental (probably), it dovetailed with the exploding trend of experiencing life on borrowed money. The subtle genius in the campaign was the assembly of low-price items into the life-changing (priceless) experience; when you add up enough of these low-price items, you drive the merchant charges or, worst-case (from the consumer perspective), finance charges on which MasterCard thrives. The campaign just seemed to perfectly fit the mood of the times, much like the Coca-Cola “buy the world a Coke” campaign did in an earlier period.
Disclaimer – it didn’t impact me enough to make me switch from my American Express Platinum of Visa Signature cards.
Friday, January 23rd 2009 at 4:24 am |
The campaign and the competition I liked was of Pepsi and Coke. They were one on one. Superb competition..