Looking back — Top Ad Campaigns of 2020!
In this article, I am covering the Top Ad Campaigns of 2020.
The methodology for selecting the ad campaign:
I looked at the virality of the campaign, understood the impact it created on society, gone through the expert opinions, and my understanding about the campaign. So, the list can be biased because there is a human element in it. I can’t deny that possibility🙃. But, I am sure you will have fun reading about it. And it will definitely feed your Curiosity.
◼ Top Campaigns of 2020
▶ Dove — Courage is Beautiful!
The campaign pays tribute to the front-line healthcare workers aka real avengers around the world fighting COVID-19. It was conceptualized and made by the Ogilvy team in London and Toronto. It was created in the early days of the pandemic when the whole world was in chaos!
And Dove did it again! — Total credit to the brand. Purpose-led marketing is the new normal. But, Dove was one of the first major brands to align itself behind a purpose when it launched its Real Beauty campaign in 2003. And from that point, they have stayed true to their purpose.
So, Courage is Beautiful is an organic progression to the brand’s established philosophy after the “Real Beauty Campaign”. This campaign shows us that there is no greater expression of beauty than compassion and courage.
Dove decided to run this campaign only in areas where the brand has made donations to Covid-relief efforts. Now, that shows us “How a brand can do purpose-led marketing”. And that’s the Real Beauty of Dove!
You can watch the ad here.
▶ Nike — You Can’t Stop Us!
Nike has made headlines once again for its latest 90-second ad titled “You Can’t Stop Us” which uses a split-screen to show the unity of athletes. It was conceptualized by Wieden+Kennedy, the film has garnered 58+ million views on YouTube alone. It was shared by many great athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Serena Williams, etc. This ad is an editing Marvel.
Some facts about the ad film -
- 24 sports represented
- 53 athletes
- 4,000 action sequences researched
- 72 final sequences selected
All these aesthetics aside, the film sensitively tackles the headlines of 2020 — Cleaners in hazmat suits disinfecting stadium seating, teams taking the knee in honor of George Floyd. And it interestingly blended into one big IDEA — You Can’t Stop Us!
Nike in a statement issued said
“Closed gyms and empty stadiums haven’t stopped athletes from pushing forward and using their platforms to help create change. Through those actions, sport shows us what an equal playing field looks like — and reminds us that a better future is possible.”
▶ “This is not just a Cadbury ad”
This ad was conceptualized by the Ogilvy team for Diwali 2020. I absolutely loved this campaign.
For many across the world, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years. The most affected part of the business was small local retailers. In the current situation, every other brand is talking about the purpose and social cause in their communication. But, very few of them actually do something for the community. So, rather than just talking about uplifting the communities, and helping people in an ad, Cadbury did something very special and unique.
The brand designed a truly unique real-time data experience in a Cadbury ad where it displayed small stores in the ad changed based on the location in which the ad was being viewed. Therefore, a person viewing the ad in Mumbai would be guided to small stores in Mumbai, in their vicinity.
Cadbury custom-designed hundreds of versions of the same ad, with the relevant geo-targeting based on pin codes. And developed an algorithm that served an ad customized to the viewer based on their geo-location. To execute this multi-platform activation campaign, Cadbury reached out to 1800+ local retailers across 260+ pin codes in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Indore & Pune.
The campaign inspires thought of generosity, being good in a chaotic and imperfect world with the message of ‘Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge’.
You can watch the making of the campaign here.
A truly ‘Vocal of Local’ initiative. Kudos to the team 🙌
▶ Burger King’s — Moldy Whopper!
There are only two eras in advertising: ads that came out before Burger King’s Moldy Whopper, and ads that came out after Burger King’s Moldy Whopper.
My absolute favorite on the list is this campaign. Three agencies worked on the campaign — Ingo, a Swedish shop owned in a partnership between Ogilvy and Grey, Ogilvy-owned David and Publicis. This campaign divided the strategies, creatives into two different groups where some saw it as a bold move and some thought it’s just award-worthy.
The work promotes the brand’s pledge to drop all artificial preservatives, which it has accomplished across much of Europe and 400 locations in the United States. By the end of the year, Burger King says it will have removed artificial preservatives from Whoppers in all U.S. locations. The campaign originated in Scandinavia, where the Whopper has already been stripped of such preservatives
It garnered 8.4+ Billion organic impressions. The ad campaign was a prime example of Burger king’s strategy to compete with larger, heavy-spending rivals through shock and excellent PR strategy. And it did its job. It doesn’t matter that you think the ad was good or bad but you did think about it — And that is the whole point!
And of course, they took a dig at their competitor’s past campaign like a boss — “The Last McDonald’s Cheeseburger in Iceland” 😎
▶ ARIEL — #ShareTheLoad
Is laundry only a woman’s job?
Procter & Gamble’s Ariel launched the fourth chapter of the ‘Share The Load’ campaign.
Ariel India has continuously sparked conversations around the unequal division of domestic chores within households and urging more and more men to #ShareTheLoad.
The research done by the third party for this campaign revealed a harsh truth — 71% of women in India sleep less than their husbands due to household chores.
Campaign Insight: Ariel realized that the impact of men not sharing the load is far deeper and stronger. Uneven division of household chores like laundry is coming in the way of women getting enough sleep and rest.
Ariel wants to move us all from intent to action by urging them to #ShareTheLaundry and take the first step towards #ShareTheLoad. Kudos to the team 👏
▶ Google Nest Mini — All of Google, for all of you!
Google has come up with an ad campaign for its smart speaker — Google Nest Mini. While ‘voice integrations’ through smart speakers are becoming an important tool for advertisers, Google used this opportunity to position it’s as a tool for the entire family and one which makes switching from one language to another when it comes to voice commands easier. And it is truly Indian!
The ad film was conceptualized by Lowe Lintas. The protagonist of the ad has an instant likeability factor that makes repeat watching of the ad enjoyable. Another interesting aspect of the story is that Google intelligently leverages its entire ecosystem be it YouTube, Google Calendar, and Google Maps through the ad for Nest Mini.
The moment Nancy’s family heard about her upcoming performance, they turned to their Google Nest Mini to help her not just prepare for the role but become Rani Laxmibai herself. The ad ticked all the boxes — Positioning, Value Proposition, Great Storytelling, and the Distinctiveness of the Idea. Well done team 💪
▶ Motilal Oswal — Skin In The Game
Mutual Fund ka ad, Kitna interesting ho sakta hai? — Itna 👆👆
Yeah, we all have seen the boring ads of ‘Mutual Funds’. But, Motilal Oswal Mutual Funds has launched a new ad campaign — ‘Skin in the Game’ and they absolutely nailed it. The ad campaign is conceptualized by Mullen Lintas.
According to the company, the value proposition helps demonstrate that the brand has its own skin in the game and a reason why investors should trust the brand — The owner also eats here.
Campaign insight — The creative idea was inspired by signs seen across various food outlets all over India. To infuse confidence and trust, many restaurants put up a sign — ‘The owner of this restaurant also eats here’. This acts as a testament to the conviction the owner has in the quality of the food he serves.
▶ CRED — A Cultural Phenomena!
Okay…I think 99.99% of people have been exposed to CRED ads. A lot has been said about the CRED IPL campaign. But, the campaign garnered enough attention and interest from the audience. We were hooked to the tune of “Download CRED baby, download CRED…”
‘Not everyone gets it’ is the caption of the three ads that feature Lahiri, along with Bollywood stars Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. Many of the experts said that “This campaign mocks the celebrities who are the idols to the 90’s public, they have wasted investor’s money and all.
But, hey…It did work for them. The company has registered a 6 to 7 times increase in daily sign-ups after the company released its IPL campaign. This campaign reminds us of the simpler time of 90s Hindi cinema when the takeaway was entertainment, laughter, and humor without much thought. They are getting noticed by their super consumer and that’s the whole point. I had fun reading opinions of BOOMERS (Just, chill guys!) — ‘Not everyone gets it’. 😉
Trupthi Shetty, lead — growth, and engagement at CRED, said,
“At CRED, we believe in rewarding good financial behavior and with this campaign, we are positive that our message of encouraging financial literacy and educating viewers on the rewarding benefits of responsible financial behavior would come through in an entertaining manner.
We will see in the future how they convert all this buzz into profits. But, for now, I think — Everyone gets it!
You made it till here. Pat on your back for being curious!
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Okay…
Signing off…Until next time with new stories. Take Care ❤
