In consumer goods advertising, creativity is measured in popularity, share of voice and sales. It's getting harder to find a fresh insight when everything seems to be a remix of a remix. But the world keeps changing, and so do people's values, which opens new angles on communities, habits and consumption.
Remarkable campaigns change perceptions, solve a problem for a community, turn a brand into a love brand and, in the end, sell. Below are ten campaigns from 2018–2020 that we can all learn from.
01Nike – Dream Crazy (2018)
Thirty years after 'Just Do It', Nike showed the line still had the power to speak to a new generation: follow your convictions, whatever anyone else says. Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick and other athletes show the effort behind success, the moments of dreaming and of pain, and how apparent failures can be the base for undeniable wins.
- Challenge
- Make a 30-year-old line relevant to a new generation.
- Idea
- Athletes who chased their dream despite the obstacles, including Colin Kaepernick, a controversial choice.
- Result
- Nike sales peaked after the campaign, regarded as one of the most successful in the brand’s history.
02Not Just A Cadbury Ad – Cadbury Celebrations (2020)
Diwali, India's festival of lights, stands for the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, a strong insight for a purpose-led campaign. During the pandemic Cadbury's sales had fallen by 50%, and small local shops were struggling to stay afloat.
- Challenge
- Sales down 50% in the pandemic and local shops in trouble.
- Idea
- The Diwali ad became a gift to small shops: with the help of AI, anyone could create a personalised ad for their local store.
- Result
- Sales went up, plus buzz and free PR worth an estimated $1.5 million.
03A Dad’s Job – Home Centre (2020)
For Father's Day, Home Centre, a furniture maker in the United Arab Emirates, chose to talk about single mothers. Around 15% of families in the Middle East raise children without a father figure, yet single mothers are still a cultural taboo.
- Challenge
- A taboo subject, on a day devoted to fathers.
- Idea
- A campaign celebrating single mothers and their children, amplified by influencers, the press and TV, plus workshops for single mothers.
- Result
- 1.1 billion impressions.
04#ChickenWars – Popeyes (2019)
Popeyes, a US fast-food chain, launched its new chicken sandwich in a category dominated by Chick-fil-A. Research showed that many Americans were uneasy about Chick-fil-A’s donations to anti-LGBTQ groups and were looking for an alternative.
- Challenge
- A crowded category with a leader holding over 50% of the market.
- Idea
- A launch through PR and social media, peaking with a tweet replying to a Chick-fil-A post.
- Result
- 84,500 retweets, 318,400 likes, 5,000 comments and mentions on the news.
05Courtside – Michelob Ultra (2020)
During the pandemic, NBA games were played without fans, and beer sales had fallen by around 4%. Michelob Ultra wanted to win over young, urban basketball fans who drink beer.
- Challenge
- An NBA season with no fans in the arena and falling beer sales.
- Idea
- With Microsoft, fans who scanned the bottle could win a virtual courtside seat, and celebrities and influencers spread the word.
- Result
- Sales up 32% and millions of hours of exposure across more than 124 games.
06Skip the Rinse – Finish (2020)
Finish, the dishwasher detergent brand, wanted more market share in the US, where many people rinse their dishes before loading the dishwasher. Rather than only talking about efficiency, it asked people to change a habit.
- Challenge
- A deep-rooted habit: rinsing dishes first.
- Idea
- A 30-second spot, 15-second clips, audio, digital and social media showing the product cleans without a pre-rinse.
- Result
- Sales up 33% year on year.
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07A New Jingle, A New Era – Good Humor (2020)
At 100 years old, Good Humor, a US ice-cream maker, wanted to reach Gen Z. It chose to face an uncomfortable issue head-on: the tune its ice-cream trucks had played for a century, 'Turkey in the Straw', had racist roots.
- Challenge
- A century-old brand with an awkward legacy that wanted to speak to Gen Z.
- Idea
- The brand publicly condemned the tune’s origins and launched a new jingle by RZA.
- Result
- 3 billion impressions, with entirely positive reactions.
08Back-To-School Essentials – Sandy Hook Promise (2019)
Sandy Hook Promise, a US non-profit, wanted to show that school shootings can be prevented if people recognise the signs. At the start of the school year, its ad shows pupils showing off their new school supplies and using them to protect themselves from a shooter, an image that exposes how absurd that reality is.
- Challenge
- A hard subject people tend to look away from.
- Idea
- A back-to-school ad that slowly turns into something else, later picked up by influencers.
- Result
- 26 million views in the first 24 hours and 80 million in total.
09Looks Like You Need to Let It Out – Business Iceland (2020)
Tourism was Iceland's biggest industry, and the pandemic put it at risk. Business Iceland, a public-private partnership, started from the feeling the whole planet shared in lockdown: frustration. And frustration can be let out with a scream.
- Challenge
- Keep Iceland on travellers’ minds while nobody could travel.
- Idea
- People recorded their screams at home and sent them to Iceland, to 7 spectacular spots streamed live, with a dedicated website and a partner therapist.
- Result
- 828 media mentions, 2.6 billion impressions and $18 million in media value.
10The Charli – Dunkin’ (2020)
Dunkin' had been number one in iced coffee, but Gen Z, sceptical of advertising, had moved on to cold brew. To win young people back, the brand launched its first fan-created drink: The Charli, named after Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s most-followed creator at the time.
- Challenge
- A generation sceptical of advertising that preferred cold brew.
- Idea
- The Charli drink, a TikTok challenge, channel takeovers, AR and Instagram filters, stickers, vlogs and dances.
- Result
- Over 4 billion impressions, 250 million TikTok views, app downloads up 60% and more than 400,000 cold brews sold in the first days.
11What they have in common
They all changed the conversation, not just sales. The brands looked beyond the product and chose a bigger purpose:
- A cause brought into public view. A Dad’s Job, Back-To-School Essentials.
- An action that makes a difference. Skip the Rinse, Not Just A Cadbury Ad.
- A change that makes history for the brand. A New Jingle, A New Era.
- An old value seen from today. Dream Crazy.
Communication today is more about meaning and less about entertainment. Disruption comes from seeing society clearly and having the nerve to act, not from wordplay or huge budgets. And brands have the power to change the direction communities, and society as a whole, are heading in.
