Ranging from an out-of-this-world car launch to missing our mums, right the way through to political statements, take a look at some of our favourite marketing campaigns of 2018!
January
Weight Watchers – DJ Khaled Becomes an Ambassador
Probably one of the most symbiotic influencer-brand relationships seen recently, world renowned superstar DJ Khaled teamed up with Weight Watchers to become their official social media ambassador. A very smart partnership we say!
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LinkedIn – What are you in it for?
LinkedIn created a video campaign showcasing a wide variety of professionals in a number of different fields using the social networking platform. The campaign asked users why they pushed themselves professionally, and that no matter what the reason, they will always have a community on LinkedIn.
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Cadbury – Mum’s Birthday
Cadbury’s advert about a girl buying chocolate for her mum from a newsagent melted our hearts. The simple yet universal story showing unconditional love between mother and daughter resonated with the nation.
Amazon – Alexa Loses Her Voice
In this Super Bowl ad, Amazon’s smart assistant Alexa does the unthinkable – she loses her voice. Her voice is replaced by a host of different celebrities, including Gordon Ramsey and Cardi B – who all humorously struggle to match Alexa’s reliability. The ad has since gained over 50 million views on YouTube.
February
Tide – “It’s a Tide Ad”
Super Bowl is known to have showcased some truly amazing ads in the past and 2018 was no different. One ad in particular, the Tide “It’s a Tide Ad” stood out the most, because it teases the viewer and keeps them engaged right until the end when it is revealed that this whole thing was indeed just a “Tide Ad.”
Tesla in Space
Tesla and SpaceX worked together to send the first car into space, the Tesla Roadster, with their astronaut dummy “Starman” buckled safely inside. The campaign drew millions of views and generated over 500,000 conversations.
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Nike – LDNR
Nike launched the “Nothing Beats a Londoner” campaign, showcasing the talent and diversity of the city with cameos from Mo Farah, Harry Kane and many more.
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Range Rover Sport Dragon Challenge
Land Rover launched the new Range Rover Sport PHEV by driving it up a terrifying 999 steps towards “Heaven’s Gate” in China, the first vehicle to have done so.
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Covergirl – Stand Out
Covergirl launched the “Stand Out” campaign with model Amy Deanna, who has vitiligo. The advert shows her enhancing the lighter and darker shades of her skin, rather than covering up her condition. She asks the viewer “Why try to blend in when you can choose to stand out?” The campaign was hugely successful and sparked a number of conversations.
KFC’s Unforgettable Apology
KFC responded to the UK Chicken shortage disaster with a full page ad in The Sun and Metro reading “FCK, We’re Sorry.” The witty ad ensured the apology was sincere and not too serious, a very difficult task balanced perfectly. The campaign won a number of awards and was well praised for its creativity.
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June
Gatorade – Heart of a Lio
Gatorade released an animated film titled “The Heart of a Lio”, telling the inspirational story of Leonel Messi’s life leading up to the 2018 World Cup. The film reveals the many obstacles Messi has faced, but powered through with the motto “If you have a dream to chase, nothing can stop you.”
March
McDonalds – M to W changeup
McDonald’s flipped their famous golden arches signs outside some of their stores to create a "W" in “celebration of women everywhere” on International Women’s Day. A McDonald’s spokesperson told Business Insider it was a first in the brand’s history “in honour of the extraordinary accomplishments of women everywhere and especially in our restaurants.”
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Lloyds Bank – #GetTheInsideOut
Lloyds Bank launched the #GetTheInsideOut campaign to help remove the stigma of people talking about their mental health problems which effects one in four people in the UK. The campaign is part of Lloyds’ partnership with Mental Health UK, and has received an overwhelmingly positive response.
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CALM Project84
Every week, 84 men commit suicide in the UK. To highlight the fact, male suicide prevention charity CALM and shaving brand Harry’s launched Project84 – placing 84 male life-size statues on top of ITV’s This Morning Studio. The campaign resulted in 34% more people reaching out to CALM for help, as well as evoking a strong emotional response across the UK.
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April
Sea Shepheard – The Plastic Ocean
Marine conservation charity Sea Shepheard launched a campaign calling attention to the plastic pollution in our oceans. The beautiful and vibrant video highlights sea creatures swimming into plastic barriers and the subsequent struggle for survival. The campaign encourages younger generations to “recycle, reuse and reduce.”
June
Lacoste – Save Our Species
Lacoste replaced the distinctive crocodile logo with 10 endangered animals and donated the proceeds to the International Union for Conservation of Nature to help save the rare animals. The number of shirts available with each logo were limited to the number of each species left, serving as a reminder of the dwindling numbers in the wild. The collection was so popular that all 1,775 shirts sold out instantly.
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Billie – Project Body Hair
Shaving brand Billie became the first women’s razor brand to celebrate female body hair by showing actual hair on women on their adverts. Project Body Hair is a campaign against the unrealistic portrayals of women promoted in society.
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Consonant Store Launch
Skincare brand Consonant launched a store by utilising the rough textures of the buildings in the trendy streets surrounding their new branch. The Out of Home (OOH) campaign took over various surfaces which were used to represent different types of skin, with quotes stating “If your skin feels like this, visit us on June 30.”
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July
Stabilo – Highlight the Remarkable
Highlighter pen brand Stabilo demonstrated exceptional imagination with its ‘Highlight the Remarkable’ campaign. The campaign literally highlights the women in historic photos whose actions or successes may have not been mentioned, despite playing a key part in the event. One example includes Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician responsible for the calculations resulting in Apollo 11’s safe return to Earth.
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August
Turkish Airlines – Lego Safety Video
Turkish Airlines revealed an immensely fun and colourful in-flight safety demonstration video with the cast from The Lego Movie, throwing a massive party in the sky. Turkish Airlines commented “We are both brands that are enjoyed around the world, bringing together generations and cultures everywhere. We hope that our passengers can enjoy this new video, which has something for everyone.”
Audi – Escape
Audi’s wild and hilarious Hollywood-blockbuster styled ad showcases a martial-artist gang member fleeing a bulky henchman, only to find himself in the luxurious comforts of an Audi A8. The advert was completely different to the brand’s usual ads, and makes for one of the funniest commercials of the year.
September
Nike “Just Do it” – Colin Kaepernick
Nike shocked the world when they revealed Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. The NFL star famously knelt as the national anthem played before each game, using his platform to make a statement against the racial injustice and police brutality in America. The campaign was successful, with CEO Mark Parker stating “We’ve seen record engagement with the brand as part of the campaign.”
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Channel 4 #TogetherAgainstHate
Nationwide, Mars, and McCain took a stand against online abuse in Channel 4’s ad-break takeover. The takeover featured three of the brands’ recent campaigns overlaid with real racist, homophobic, sexist and discriminatory comments sent to the people involved in them. The impactful collaborative campaign encouraged viewers to question why online abuse is not taken as seriously as face-to face hate.
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Ralph Lauren – 50th Anniversary
Ralph Lauren celebrated the 50th anniversary of his brand in the grandest style: a star-studded party in Central Park, New York.
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November
Iceland’s Rang-tan Ban
Greenpeace’s emotional animated advert tells the story of an orangutan and the destruction of its rainforest habitat by corporations for palm oil. The campaign was shot into the spotlight when Iceland was banned from broadcasting the ad by Clearcast.
October
Department for Education – Every Lesson Shapes a Life
The Department for Education’s advert to get more people into teaching follows the heartwarming journey of a girl going through the school system. The ad emphasises the important role of teachers in helping develop a younger person’s skills and self-confidence.
December
Google Assistant – Home Alone Again
Macauley Culkin recreated iconic scenes from Home Alone for Google’s Christmas advert. 28 years after the events of the film, Kevin now enjoys a peaceful situation home alone with the help of his Google Assistant. The advert hits us with a wave of nostalgia, paying homage the most iconic scenes from our favourite Christmas movie!
That’s all for 2018, let us know your favourite marketing campaign of the year. We look forward to sharing more marketing, communication and digital digests in 2019 so stay tuned!
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