15 Advertisement Campaign Examples to Inspire You!

Advertisement is one of the best marketing strategies. Sometimes, we witness such iconic advertising campaigns that leave in our heads rent-free! We often wonder how they even imagined such a great idea.

Today, we'll talk about some of the greatest ad campaigns ever. 

So, let’s check out our legendary advertisement campaign examples!

Key Takeaways

Top 15 Advertisement Campaigns that Grabbed Our Attention!

Learn how marketing geniuses rack their brains to come up with the most creative & successful ad campaigns for their brands!

1. Nike’s “Just Do It” Campaign

From soft & fitness-oriented advertisements, Nike took a huge risk to make a bold statement in 1988. Curated by the Wieden+Kennedy agency, the Just Do It campaign encapsulates what Nike stands for: an inspirational brand for everyone to follow!

This single ad campaign took Nike to new heights, stacking over 25% of market growth within 10 years. A marketing campaign so effective that Nike is still using it, and marketers are studying this legendary feat to learn a unique perspective!

Related Read: How to Increase Brand Awareness

2. The Dollar Shave Club “Intro” Campaign

Michael Dubin says,

As a CEO, you can’t do everything anymore.

However, it’s tough to believe that he's the one who made DSC viral with one video!

A YouTube video in March 2012, made with $4,500, instantly went viral just because of the direction & innovative concept. Throughout the ad, Michael Dubin highlights why customers need to spend so much on a razer every month when all they need to pay is $1.

After the ad went viral on YouTube, the website received more than 12,000 orders in 48 hours, eventually crashing the website!

A simple ad has become as memorable as possible because DSC has become a billion-dollar company with more incredible products in its line-up!

Related Read: Small Business Marketing Ideas

3. Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Campaign

We can’t simply highlight any one of the Old Spice ads because all are so bizarre yet humorous! The stunning visuals and the contrast between the multiple locations in most of their ads are quite striking. 

The most outstanding ad is definitely The Man Your Man Could Smell Like campaign. 

However, the marketing genius behind Wieden Kennedy quickly realized the ad had more scope and that it was one of the first interactive ad campaigns ever. There are many interactions between reactions to the ads and responses from the actors!

While the company thought that the unique campaign would increase their sales by 15%, in just 4 months, the ad boosted the sales to 60%!

Indeed, it was a sensational advertisement campaign that took 2010 by storm!

4. Xbox “A Beautiful Combination” Campaign

Xbox has been known more for its unique marketing campaigns, but for us, A Beautiful Combination definitely takes the win, which was launched back in 2017. 

While most brands focus on the in-game footage and digital gameplay to show the prowess of a console, Xbox decided to take real players to highlight in-game controls. It's a great brand marketing strategy. The advertisement is only a minute long, and Real Madrid players show all the major controls of the game!

The ad was even expanded to the Real Madrid Vs. Juventus match report in a unique controller button moves. This ad aimed to increase the recall value of Xbox through EA Sports FIFA games.

It is one of the nicest football game ads we have seen, and the famous McCann London takes all the credit.

5. Wendy's “Twitter Roast” Campaign

Being a multinational fast-food chain, Wendy’s is very popular for its delicious meals. However, what made Wendy’s a cultural phenomenon was the roasting campaign on Twitter (currently known as X).

On the eve of National Roasting Day in 2017, Wendy’s started to roast anyone on its Twitter handle left & right! From its competitors to its loyal customers, no stones were left unturned.

This simple interaction pushed Wendy’s ahead of any competition by making it one of the most engaging Twitter handles in the Fast-food industry.

While roasting can be quite a sensitive topic, everyone on Twitter embraced the playful banter, and it’s still by far one of the most funny ad campaigns out there.

6. Dove's "Real Beauty" Campaign

How has Dove become synonymous with representing women of all races and sizes? The answer lies in its beauty redefining campaign of Real Beauty. 

Back in 2004, when everyone went crazy with the slender figure of women, Dove paved the way for a new beauty standard. Every woman is beautiful, regardless of her shape and color. It was printed through every media possible, and that’s how Dove got so much widespread praise. They were successful in their brand reputation management. 

From winning international Cannes Lions Grand Prix awards to increased sales, Dove has achieved everything they wanted through this one campaign.

The ad campaign has made Dove an icon of women's empowerment & redefining beauty standards!

7. Sally Hansen “AR Nails Try-on” Campaign

A beautifully crafted marketing campaign that bonds both beauty & technology together is the AR Nails campaign. 

Holition created a perfect app named ManiMatch, which gave users a virtual manicure to know how their nails will look! 

Sally Hansen’s Mr. Lowenstein stated when launching this app,

Mobile is a fast-growing channel through which consumers engage with brands.

It is the first AR app to introduce a gamification aspect of a daily beauty product. 

With this simple app, Sally Hansen’s add-to-basket conversion rate blasted to over 110%!

Ads like this also inspire us to do something brand-new that the world’s yet to see!

Related Read: Go to Market Strategy

8. Harley Davidson “Interactive Video” Campaign

To promote its new line of road bikes, Harley Davidson started its engine on a new road through interactive video ads! Focusing on high-quality visuals of its new range of V-motorcycles, Harley Davidson introduced an interactive mobile ad in the ad breaks of Hulu TV. 

In 2013, this campaign was definitely a huge thing for any brand to push out as an ad.

By using this small time, Davidson was able to push customers and viewers to know more about the bikes. With a simple swipe, customers could learn more about them!

That’s why this ad campaign alone earned an impressive 9.9% mobile CTR.

9. Snickers “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” Campaign

With the iconic Betty White in 2010, Snickers created a marvelous ad campaign to present viewers with what Snickers has to offer!

As a comedic genius, Betty White delivered phenomenally on that TV ads, and fans loved it all the way. That’s why, in the next 6 years, global sales of Snickers soared by 15.9% and grew the market share in 56/58 markets in which Snickers operated!

Snickers, to this day, still makes similar ad campaigns for its TV media.

10. IKEA “Pee on This” Campaign

If you can think of bold & creative ad campaigns, then IKEA definitely gets a mention. Yes, in 2016, IKEA told its women customers to pee on an advertisement leaflet to get discounts!

The catch is that the ad paper was actually a pee stick for pregnancy tests! Åkestam Holst and Mercene Labs collaborated on this project to develop such a unique product!

Before you think whether it was a gimmick or not, let me tell you that it was not! It was really a fun way to know whether a woman is actually pregnant and able to get a discount.

So, obviously, this innovative ad campaign was bound to get some heads turned around, and it definitely did.

11. Spotify's Personalized "Wrapped" Campaign

Upon the release of the Wrapped feature at the end of every year, Spotify has sparked a new connection with its users. Utilizing the universal language of music, this awesome campaign not only highlights the personal likings of a person but also encourages others to join in!

From total minutes played to favorite artists, Spotify even lets users match each other’s wrappeds to check how close their music tastes are!

Since its launch in 2016, Wrapped has grown strong. According to Spotify, Wrapped is increasing the company's sales by at least 25% annually!

This is one of the genius ad campaigns where a personalized marketing strategy worked like magic!

Read More: Top Social Media Marketing Strategy

12. ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” Campaign

Not all campaigns are driven by marketing purposes. Some ALS: Ice Bucket Challenge was done entirely on the premise of fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or motor neuron disease.

Co-founded by Pat Quinn and Pete Frates, the challenge was quite simple. Take a bucket of ice water and pour yourself into it. In case the challenge is not completed, the person will make a charitable financial donation to help fight ALS.

As a noble act, many celebrities like Bill Gates and LeBron James participated and made a substantial donation. In the last 10 years, 17 million people have joined the cause, raising more than  $115 million to support the mission to research more about ALS and care for people with the disease.

13. Alexa “Loses Her Voice” Campaign

Amazon has been making quite the buzz with its smart home appliances powered by Alexa, its AI assistant. However, what surprised many was the tech giant’s hilarious take on Alexa losing her voice!

With a star-studded ensemble including Gordon Ramsay, Rebel Wilson, Cardi B, and Sir Anthony Hopkins, the ad campaign sure made people excited about the Amazon Echo products again.

This ad made millions of Alexa users realize that Alexa's simple voice has become an integral part of their lives. With this, Amazon definitely pushed their sales by a significant margin as it was presented during the Super Bowl!

14. Tetley's “Now We’re Talking” Campaign

Tetley is a name to be reckoned with in the tea industry because of its wide range of products. However, where it uniquely radiates a different color is its take on some creative advertising campaigns. 

Putting up a cat & dog together where each is enjoying a nice cup of tea in heavy rainfall is intriguing, to say the least. Coupled up with the nice “Now We’re Talking,” is just icing on the cake!

This ad in 2019 cemented Tetley as the go-to black tea brand in the young audience!

15. Apple's “Think Different” Campaign

Apple has become a lifestyle brand because people don’t purchase Apple devices just because they are good. People want to have the aura that paved the way for our technological advancement!

That’s why, back in 1997, Apple first unveiled its motto, Think Different, in response to IBM’s slogan, Think.

Before the campaign, Apple lost money because of its billion-dollar project Newton and other commercial duds. However, Apple proved its worth as a marketing superhouse with this campaign.

In the next 5 years, Apple regained a solid market share and launched its widely acclaimed iMac!

Different Types of Advertisement Campaigns

We know that there are different types of marketing. Similarly, you will find different types of advertisement campaigns. Let's learn them in detail! 

1. Social Media Advertising

Basically, everything that you consume right now and more. Social media has grown exponentially, and so have the advertisements around it. Nowadays, you can’t scroll for 30 seconds without watching an advertisement.

While it can be pretty irritating when you don’t want to watch ads continuously, sometimes ads can be pretty fun & entertaining. Also, sometimes you get just the right product you’ve been searching for from an ad!

Social media marketing includes everything, such as influencer marketing, podcast marketing & so on.

2. Print Advertising

printed advertisement can be thought of as the first generation of advertisement. Heavily relying on newspapers & magazines, print media advertisement is still quite relevant as technology can only reach the hearts of so many.

For specific demographics, especially those above 60, print media is the go-to marketing strategy to get more engagement. Also, watching an advertisement on a physical paper feels different than seeing it virtually.

3. Television Advertising

Broadcast advertising on television is still very popular, and you can see a prime example of this in the Super Bowl commercials. Audiences & viewers alike eagerly wait for good commercials and get entertained ecstatically!

However, depending on the commercials' length (20-, 30- or 60-second), it can be quite annoying if not done right. That’s why TV advertising can either break or make your brand instantly!

FAQs

What is the main purpose of advertising?

The main three objectives of any advertising campaign are to inform, persuade & remind about the product you want to sell. Any ad campaign is made to aware people of the brand and innovative ideas.

How to write an advertising campaign?

To write a good advertising campaign, you need to understand your audience, understand the brand image & status, where to share the ad, and deliver an impactful message.

What are the advantages of advertising?

Good advertisements can help your brand attract more customers, increase sales, expand your target demographic, create substantial brand value, and so on. A great ad can help your brand grow organically once the awareness has been created.

Conclusion

Where our great list of advertising campaign examples ended, yours should start! Don’t be afraid to try experimental and wacky things because being crazy is often the way to success.

Hopefully, our examples will show you the path to create your own. Go out there and make your brand go viral with unique & compelling ads!