Whether it’s Mc Donald's slogan “I'm Lovin' It” or Apple’s “Think Different”, an effective brand slogan stays in consumers' minds for a long time.

A persuasive brand slogan not only invokes a spirit through their marketing campaign but also forms a strong connection with their audience.

It takes blood, sweat, and tears to execute a marketing campaign from scratch. With this in mind, you can soar up your marketing process by learning from the big players.

Yes, you heard that right.

“Big players” who already have their feet on the ground. Since they are experienced enough to capture the accurate emotions of their consumers.

The What, How, and Why of Marketing Campaigns?

Did you know the history of the first marketing viral campaign?

Back in 1996, Hotmail was one of the first internet businesses which went viral with a successful marketing campaign.

With an amazing tagline "Get your free e-mail at Hotmail" it went viral among its customers.

Today, the average person encounters between 6,000 to 10,000 ads every single day.

That being said, the figures are nearly double that of 2007.

The question is how exactly did we get here?

In simple words, a marketing campaign helps you promote products through different channels. It can be social media or television, radio, print, also any online platform.

Marketing campaigns are crucial in establishing trust between your audience and your brand. Since it educates your customers about your product and boosts your business sales.

In this article, we are going to uncover the best advertisements and marketing campaigns of all time.

18 Best Advertisements And Ad Campaigns of All Time

1. Nike: "Just Do It" Campaign

There is beauty in simplicity.

Nike understood it well. Back in 1998, this iconic campaign and Nike slogan was an instant hit in the market. Through this campaign, Nike uplifted people from varied ethnicities, races to world-class athletes like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

The campaign embodied real people, real stories. They encouraged their customers to see their potential and associate with the campaign while emphasizing sportsmanship and health.

The "Just Do It" campaign allowed Nike to make $877 million to $9.2 billion in worldwide sales from 1988 to 1998. That being said, the core value of this marketing campaign was all engraved in its emotions.

Even so, featuring stories like an 80-year-old man running 17 miles every morning wearing Nike shoes. Stories like these helped people to ask themselves, “If he can, then why can’t I?”

And that’s the magic of the “Just do it” campaign.

18 Best Advertisements & Ad Campaigns Of All Time

Image source: Statista

2. Dove: "Real Beauty" Campaign

Dove, in 2004 came up with a heartwarming campaign emphasizing the beauty of every individual.

In this campaign, a few women were asked to describe themselves to sketch artists. At the same time, the women were described to the artist in a third person.

The results showed that the women perceived themselves better than they act. Its main message was to celebrate women’s unique differences.

The advertisement garnered praise all over the world. Their sales increased to $4 billion from $2.5 billion in its opening campaign year.

3. Apple: "Get a Mac" Campaign

Apple has always been known for its tongue-in-cheek advertisement campaigns. The Get a Mac campaign was also on similar lines.

The advertisement was released in 2006 and was meager 32 seconds long. It personified the PCs and Macs and conveyed the message that PCs by Microsoft were susceptible to viruses whereas Macs were not.

The campaign was successful and led more customers to gravitate towards Macs. This 32 seconds advertisement was a mic drop moment that stunned its competitor Microsoft.

4. Budweiser: "Wassup?" Campaign

Humour sells if it is good.

The marketing team of Budweiser knew this. They came up with a simple yet humorous campaign with the tagline “Wassup?”.

The Ad displayed a simple situation of four friends being “bros”. Indeed, this captured the attention of the audience. These moments seem natural and part of everyday life for the audiences.

This Ad helped the Budweiser brand to rebuild itself as part of a younger generation. By the end of the advertisement, even the viewer could not resist saying “Wassup”!. In 2000 the company sales increased by 2.8 per cent, and in 2001 it approached a market share of nearly 50 per cent.

5. Absolut Vodka: "The Bottle" Campaign

18 Best Advertisements & Ad Campaigns Of All Time

Image source: Twitter

The Bottle campaign by Absolut Vodka is one of the best print-based advertising campaigns in the world.

In 1981, the Vodka industry was focused on the content of their Vodka but Absolut Vodka was busy capturing rich, quality stories and making that understandable on the bottle.

Absolut Vodka tried a different approach where the focus was on the design of the beverage bottle. The campaign was highly successful and raised Absolut Vodka's market share by 50%.

6. Pepsi: "Is Pepsi OK?" Campaign

In 2019, Pepsi came up with an advertising campaign with the tagline “Is Pepsi OK?”.

The advertisement featured Steve Carell, Cardi B and Lil John being extremely silly and carefree.

During the Ad, the conversation starts with all the questions. A woman consumer asks for a coca-cola, and the waiter says is Pepsi ok? And then Carell asks back is that okay? then cardi b and Lil Jon hold with Pepsi and start to rap.

The ad is funny and simple that’s the reason story fits the brand’s overall brand story.

Looking at the current market share of this carbonated water-selling brand, we guess it is more than OK! The ad accumulated at least a 29million views online.

7. Red Bull: "Stratos" Campaign

The Stratos campaign is one of the most inspiring ad campaigns in the history of advertising.
The campaign featured a skydiver by the name of Felix Baumgartner who jumped from the edge of the space and did a free fall from space.

The man landed back on Earth safely from space with the help of the parachute.

The advertisement led to the creation of the world record for the highest manned balloon flight.

Now that is something to show how Redbull gives you wings! Their mission of surpassing human limits led to an enormous sale of 7% to $1.6 billion in the sixth month of their campaign.

8. BMW: "The Hire" Campaign

18 Best Advertisements & Ad Campaigns Of All Time

Image source: Mbaknol.com

Everyone loves car chase scenes in movies.

BMW selected a bunch of short films from all around the world for its, “The Hire” campaign. The films featured BMW cars and showcased the features and the quality of BMW cars.

It is one of the most famous short films that featured a thrilling car chase and starred Clive Owen.

Soon this short film took advantage of the wide reach of the internet. There were celebrities involved like Madonna and Mickey Rourke, and the campaign grabbed eyeballs across all the parts of the world.

Now, that is some fast and furious marketing by BMW.

9. Aerie: "Aerie Real" Campaign

Every creation of god in this world is beautiful.

Aerie comprehended it well and decided to market this through their campaign “Aerie Real”.

The campaign featured women from different parts of the world who shared that they are beautiful just the way they are.

Their core message was to promote body positivity and push real voices and stories to the forefront.

The campaign featured women from the sports industry, the music industry and more, to prove that no matter what you do, you are beautiful.

10. Wendy's: "Where's the Beef?" Campaign

One should always be aware of the competitors.

In 1984, Wendy’s "Where's the Beef?" campaign was televised.

The advertisement focused on how the competitors were giving less beef in their hamburgers in comparison to Wendy’s burgers.

The ad was simple, to the point and humorous. It showcased the superiority of Wendy’s over its competitors which it holds to date. We can safely say, Wendy’s has been roasting things pretty well since its older days.

11. Coca-Cola: "Share a Coke" Campaign

Coca Cola, largely considered a synonym for carbonated water, came with a fun ad campaign called “Share a Coke”.

The ads were sweet and funny at best. They promoted the new packaging of Coca Cola. It focused mainly on building relationships between two people.

There were names printed on their cans such as sister, brother, mother, father. All in all, they showcased Coca Cola as a family consuming thing. More than 378,000 Coke cans were printed and overall their sales increased by 3%.

The campaign focused on sharing the coke with people you know and cared about.

12. California Milk Processor Board: "Got Milk?" Campaign

Milk is a commodity that never goes out of trend.

California Milk Processor Board’s "Got Milk?" campaign promoted drinking milk in the most imaginative manner possible.

The campaign started way back in 1993 and led to a more than a 5% increase in the consumption of milk.

The catchphrase “Got Milk?” became popular because of this campaign.

The campaign got a boost when it featured Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in its first-ever Super Bowl XLVII TV commercial. Their campaign core value was to encourage milk consumption.

13. Chipotle: "Back to the Start" Campaign

Chipotles’ “Back to the Start” campaign deserves a shoutout since it does touch hearts back in 2011.

The campaign featured a beautiful rendition of “The Scientist” song by Coldplay that was performed by Willie Nelson.

The advertisement showed how animals like pigs were force-fed for higher meat production. It discouraged the ill practices in the meat industry and focused on the basic and less cruel way for meat production.

The line from the song “Back to the Start” was used to represent and promote better ways of meat production.

14. American Legacy: "Truth" Campaign

Denying the truth does not change the facts.

The American Legacy’s “Truth” campaign was based on similar lines. The campaign discouraged smoking in the simplest way possible, by stating the facts.

The campaign showed how the youth of the country was losing their money by spending it on tobacco. It showed how the youth population consuming tobacco-based products were harming themselves physically but economically too.

It was a successful campaign. As a result, the number of people smoking in the US reduced in the entire history.

15. Old Spice: "The Man Your Man Can Smell Like" Campaign

Old Spice ads have always been funny and innovative.

“The Man Your Man Can Smell Like” campaign is yet another example of that.

While many deodorant brands focus on men, old spice did things differently and focused on women along with men.

The ads tried to please ladies in the funniest way possible and, indeed, it did.

The ads were more like a parody where Terry Crews focused on the men, and Isaiah Mustafa, on the ladies while competing with each other in the commercial itself.

And yes, that signature whistling tune at the end was the cherry on the cake.

16. Avis: "We Try Harder" Campaign

Avis was not that big name in the industry before it initiated the “We Try Harder” campaign.

The tagline of the campaign showcased the commitment of the company’s employees to work harder. This was an instant hit.

The ads in this campaign showed how Avis was working harder than its competitor to reach the top. Looking at the current position of the company, it is not wrong to say that, sometimes, working harder can also get you things you want.

17. McDonald's: “Have You Had Your Break Today?” Campaign

Before I’m loving it, McDonald's had another popular tagline up its sleeves.

The “Have You Had Your Break Today?” campaign by McDonald's was a super popular and catchy song that was used to promote their brand. The first commercial with this tagline was televised way back in 1995.

The catchy tune of the song made the brand super popular among young kids and adults. It also helped Mc Donalds to capture a big market share.

18. American Express Co.: "Don't Leave Home Without Them" Campaign

The"Don't Leave Home Without Them" talks about the future.

Who knew that an 80s ad campaign by American Express would be a reality in the 2000s.

The ad campaign by American Express focused on the advantages of having a credit card over real cash.

This campaign manifested the future since today we all carry our American traveler’s cards with ourselves before we leave home.

Key Takeaways

Here are a few key takeaways that can drastically alter the way your marketing campaigns work if you can apply them in your next marketing campaign.

Know your audience inside out.

Use emotions, not just logic.

Quality content never gets old.

Storytelling is the best way to engage your audience.

Integrate your brand values into your marketing campaigns.

Leverage curiosity. People want to know what’s in there for them.

Last but not the least, think about your own media consumption when creating your next marketing campaigns. Ask yourself will you watch this? Will you pay for the product?

Conclusion

To conclude, the best marketers don’t do anything unique but it’s always in the way they do things.

From choosing the simple, emotional slogan to using relatable stories, their marketing campaigns are capable of intensifying emotions in their customers. Now that you have a complete idea of all the ingredients you need to make your next marketing campaign successful, it's time to gear up for the big game.

Happy executing, testing, and building the next successful marketing campaign!

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