Need some inspiration for your next ad campaign? Check out these successful advertisement examples from the past year. I’ve included a mix of traditional and digital ads.
1. The Barbie Movie Ad Campaign
One of the best advertisement examples is The Barbie movie advertising campaign. It was a clever mix of fun experiences and cool product tie-ins.
Let’s break down what made this ad campaign so catchy.
Experiential Activations
Imagine staying in Ken’s Malibu DreamHouse for real – thanks to Airbnb, fans could!
This brilliant move let people rent this unique property, hosted by Ken, and experience the technicolor Barbie world.
By offering such an exclusive property tied to the Barbie universe, Airbnb reignited interest in the platform, which probably resulted in more bookings overall. Also, by having Ken listed as the host, they’ve encouraged people to explore hosting, potentially increasing the number of properties offered on their platform.
Product Collaborations and Gaming
Who wouldn’t want Barbie-themed Crocs or a Barbie Xbox? These cool collabs with big brands brought unique, must-have items to fans, and spread the movie magic into everyday life and fashion.
But it wasn’t just about products.
Many mobile games have used the hype around the Barbie movie to boost user acquisition and engagement.
For example, the popular game Stumble Guys had a special event called Barbie Malibu Mayhem, Lily’s Garden had a pink sale, and Candy Crush Saga had a Barbie-themed collection event.
Organic Marketing Support
The unexpected Barbenheimer buzz on social media was a game-changer.
With fans hyping up a fun double feature of the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies, this trend created a viral wave that really showed the power of fans getting involved and spreading the word themselves.
2. KFC: We Heard You, We Ignored You
KFC made a splash with their bold We Heard You, We Ignored You ad campaign – I just had to include on our list of best advertisement examples.
People on social media asked for a turkey menu item, but KFC doubled down on chicken, humorously saying no to turkey and promoting their chicken “Stuffing Stacker” burger for the holidays.
The ad copy emphasized the ad’s bold message: “We saw you. We heard you. And we ignored you.”
This ad campaign worked well for a few reasons.
It showed KFC was confident in sticking to chicken, which made the brand stand out during a time when other companies usually go for traditional holiday foods.
The ads were funny and surprising, catching people’s attention and making them more likely to share the campaign online. Some even called it the first anti-UGC campaign.
Finally, by responding to customer requests in a playful way, KFC created excitement around its brand without changing its main products. It showed it listens to its customers while staying true to its core.
This ad example shows you that you don’t always have to cave into all of your customers’ wishes and can actually stand out from other brands by sticking to your guns. It’s a brilliant marketing strategy!
3. Dunkin’ Donuts x Ben Affleck
The Dunkin’ DunKings Super Bowl ad features Ben Affleck forming a boy band with Matt Damon and Tom Brady.
It was actually a multipart episodic ad, the first one being shown at the Grammy Awards. The first ad revealed Ben Affleck, tackling rumors of boredom at the previous Grammy’s by aiming for pop stardom. In a climactic superhero-like scene, Ben, with Dunkin’ in hand, is hit by inspiration, ending with a “To Be Continued” cliffhanger.
The second part was shown at the Super Bowl.
The ad shows Affleck, urged by Harlow not to proceed with his plan, attempting to impress Jennifer Lopez by crashing her recording session with the DunKings band, where Brady plays the keyboard.
Despite Affleck’s humorous effort to join Lopez’s album, she only lets Brady stay.
Many viewers thought it was the best Super Bowl commercial.
This engaging ad campaign, marked by humor and celebrity appeal, effectively promoted Dunkin’s brand and products. The merchandise related to the ad, including colorful tracksuits and tumblers, sold out quickly.
4. Nicki Minaj’s Gag City Ad Campaign
Nicki Minaj’s promotion of Pink Friday 2 is a great example of mobile marketing. It resulted in a viral sensation that demonstrated the power of social media in modern album releases.
The campaign cleverly tapped into the communal and participatory nature of fan culture, with Minaj and her fans referring to the album’s release as Gag City.
Let’s break down why it was so successful.
First, a pink cityscape was teased as the album artwork. This pink metropolis, inhabited by Minaj’s fans (known as Barbz) and brands alike, saw a flood of AI-generated visuals across social media platforms, especially Twitter.
Quickly, it went viral and became a meme.
Minaj leveraged the campaign to create a viral moment that didn’t just resonate with fans but also attracted brands to participate in the promotional efforts, effectively getting free marketing for the album.
Brands like Spotify, Netflix, Bing, Amazon, and the Empire State Building showcased their own versions of Gag City, which contributed to the campaign’s expansive reach.
Clever Use of User-Generated Content
The campaign encouraged fans to express their creativity by generating their own content related to Gag City.
This not only heightened engagement but also allowed for a more personal connection between the album and its audience. This shows you the potential of user-generated content to amplify promotion and create a more immersive experience for fans.
The Roblox Collaboration
Expanding the campaign’s reach further, Gag City made its way into the Roblox universe. The goal was to engage younger audiences and broaden the campaign’s impact.
This collaboration is a great example of how virtual platforms can be an innovative space for product promotion and reaching new demographics.
5. Amazon: Joy Ride
Next up on our list of successful advertisement examples is another touching holiday ad.
Amazon’s Joy Ride ad, a 60-second hero spot directed by Wayne McClammy, is all about the special bond of friendship. It’s a simple yet moving story where three older ladies enjoy sledding down a hill just like when they were young, thanks to the seat cushions they got from Amazon.
The ad works well for a few reasons.
It reminds people of the fun of being with friends, brings out warm feelings and shows how the Amazon app can help create happy moments in a subtle way.
The background music, an instrumental version of The Beatles’ In My Life, adds to the ad’s emotional and nostalgic feel.
Tugging at Heartstrings
What sets Joy Ride apart is how it features older women having fun in a youthful way, which breaks the usual holiday ad mold and sparks conversations about joy and friendship no matter the age.
According to Jo Shoesmith, VP Global CCO, Amazon, “The stories we tell serve as a reminder that sometimes the joy you receive from doing something special, for those you love, can uplift us all at this time of year.”
With its touching story, familiar music, and an emotional message that friendship and happiness are timeless, the Joy Ride ad connected with many viewers and made a strong impact that goes beyond just the holiday season.
6. Dove: Detox Your Feed
Dove’s #DetoxYourFeed campaign, part of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, tackles the harmful beauty standards spread on social media. It encouraged teens to create their own beauty standards, avoid negative content, and included a short film Toxic Influence to start discussions on the negative effects of social media on self-esteem.
The campaign worked well because it addressed the widespread worry about social media’s effects on mental health and body image.
Dove used real-life situations to make the issue easy to understand and the solutions easy to apply. Getting support from famous people like Gabrielle Union and Zaya Wade made the campaign more visible. It offered simple advice, like unfollowing damaging content, to help people manage social media’s negative impacts.
Dove has always promoted a wider view of beauty and positive online experiences with other campaigns. #DetoxYourFeed continued this by fitting with Dove’s identity of supporting true beauty and body positivity.
It stressed that beauty should make people feel confident, not worried.
Innovative Billboard
One memorable advertisement from this campaign was a billboard made entirely of syringes, displayed in a Toronto mall. It confronted the issue of toxic beauty standards head-on.
The ad copy accompanying the billboard highlighted the troubling statistic that over 50,000 cosmetic injectable procedures were performed on teenagers in the past year.
7. Duracell Ad Example: Bunny Saves Christmas
The Duracell: Bunny Saves Christmas ad brought the Duracell Bunny back to holiday ads, after five years.
In 2023, the company Wunderman Thompson UK made this touching ad with the help of animation director Geoffroy Barbet-Massin and the team at Mill+ Paris. It targeted the big markets – EMEA and South America.
This ad tells the story of the Duracell Bunny helping out Santa’s when his sleigh crashes due to power loss. It cleverly shows Santa needing batteries for his sleigh, which highlights the importance of dependable power for holiday toys and decorations.
The idea behind the ad is quite simple – Christmas toys and decorations need batteries. It persuades people to choose Duracell batteries, which are presented as the most reliable option.
The TV ad ran in 20, 15, and 10-second versions. But there were also additional ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as a social media content strategy that accompanied the ads and in-store activations.
Saving Christmas
More than just selling batteries, the ad integrates Duracell into a joyful Christmas narrative. The bunny is the hero in this scenario and ensures no technical glitches dampen the festive mood. Its vibrant animation and storytelling advocate for choosing reliable batteries, wrapping this message in a fun tale full of holiday joy and adventure.
8. Nike: No Pride, No Sport
Nike’s No Pride, No Sport ad campaign, made with the help of Soursop in Amsterdam and directed by Abel Rubinstein, stands out for among these advertisement examples for several reasons.
Let’s break it down.
The campaign shares LGBTQIA+ stories and celebrates queer athletes all year, not just in June, during Pride month. This shows Nike’s support for diversity and that Pride and LGBTQIA+ rights matter every day.
The goal of the campaign was to accurately show the lives of queer people and pride in many ways.
Authenticity in Ad Messages
Just like Dove’s campaign I mentioned earlier, Nike also highlights important social issues in ads. Nowadays, consumers expect brands to take a stance and have a strong message so it makes sense for brands to in that direction with their campaigns.
But it’s crucial that it feels authentic because some brands use things like Pride to market and sell their products, but don’t actually support the community. A creative team that knows the LGBTQIA+ community’s experiences well makes sure the stories are true to life.
Nike did a good job with that.
This advertisement features real stories from LGBTQIA+ athletes in European cities using a mix of real and old footage. Stories from people like Jarred and Hany in Berlin, and Léone and Yassin in Paris.
It makes the ad campaign feel real and powerful.
Nike also stands up for the queer community against online negativity, showing a strong support system. This helps make the campaign more powerful, pushing for more acceptance and representation in sports.
9. Pepsi: New Visual Identity
Next up on our list of advertisement examples is the campaign that introduced Pepsi’s 2024 rebrand, the first big change in 14 years.
The new visual identity was designed to attract younger people with a fresh, bold look that’s still clearly Pepsi.
The update includes a new logo, a striking font, a distinctive pulse graphic, and a refreshed color scheme to show off Pepsi’s lively spirit. The aim was to keep Pepsi exciting and appealing, especially in the digital world, by focusing on the fun and flavor people love about cola.
Brand Advertising at Its Finest
The new look was introduced globally with impressive digital displays and big events in famous places around the world, like Australia’s Hosier Lane and cities like Warsaw and Ho Chi Minh City.
These high-tech presentations were meant to bring Pepsi closer to its fans by sharing common interests and the idea of always wanting more.
Pepsi wants to be seen as a brand that’s always on the edge of what’s new and interesting, appealing to young, culturally savvy consumers.
Marking Pepsi’s 125th year, this rebrand celebrates the brand’s long history while also pushing it forward. By blending parts of Pepsi’s past with modern design, the new look aims to grab the attention of people worldwide.
This strengthens Pepsi’s image as a leading name in drinks that are both stylish and focused on great taste.
10. Barilla’s TikTok Ad Campaign
I’ll end our list of advertisement examples with Barilla’s TikTok campaign – it won TikTok Ad Awards in 2023.
Barilla addressed food waste and leftover pasta by launching the #SecondLifePasta campaign on TikTok, a platform where pasta-related content has around 30 billion views.
They utilized TikTok’s Stitch tool to collaborate with food creators, who created new recipes from leftovers and contributed to a collection of inspiring videos worldwide.
Through strategic use of TikTok’s advertising features, the campaign achieved over 110 million views and helped save around 500,000 dishes annually.
The success of #SecondLifePasta on TikTok resulted in the creation of a digital cookbook, restaurant experiences, cooking shows, and masterclasses.
Advertisement Examples: Final Thoughts
What do you think about these advertisement examples – are they innovative and interesting enough? What’s your favorite ad example from the past year – let me know in the comments!
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