We see ads all day on all types of medium. But, there are few powerful marketing campaigns that take your breath away, make you laugh until your stomach hurts, and make you remember the ad long after its release.
Apple's "Shot on iPhone" ads in a subway station. PC: TechCrunch.
Surely everyone has heard about or seen this campaign... unless they've been living in an underground bunker. Apple already has a great product and a long history to boot. I think this is a big reason for the appeal of their minimalist brand image. Apple's products speak for themselves, so their ads don't need to be excessive or gaudy.
I love the "Shot on iPhone" campaign because there is power in the minimalism of a single photo. I know it's cliche, but this campaign solidifies the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words. Every campaign billboard, poster, and video carries with it a unique story. It helps that Apple has huge ad spend, so you'll see these ads literally everywhere you go (given you're probably in a big to mid sized city). The consistency is great because it keeps the campaign fresh in people's minds and also represents the spectrum of photo submissions from individual iPhone users around the globe.
Apple, along with their bespoke agency, TBWA/Media Arts Lab, continued the campaign that summer with "Shot on iPhone: On Tour". Renowned music photographers used the iPhone camera to capture sensational images of 16 different musical artists who were all on tour. This was pretty darn cool and reinforced the iPhone camera's power in capturing the beauty and simplicity of life.
THE official IHOb tweet. Give the copywriter a raise, would you? PC: Study Breaks.
This campaign is literally the poster child for the idea that old time brands can hang with the newer glitzy ones. IHOP understood the power of cultural influence through social media, and leveraged the appropriate social channels to keep its followers on their toes and eventually introduce their new line of burgers.
IHOP's marketing team, along with partner agency Droga5, deserve all the praise for taking such a small, yet potentially risky move (flipping the P) and seamlessly executing their campaign. As a result, IHOP stormed into the cultural conversation and, per Droga5's case study, pulled in $113M+ in earned media and 42.5B impressions. Oh yeah, and they sold a bunch of burgers, too.
As much as I rave about this campaign, I think IHOP could've thought longer and harder on the potential ramifications that would go into flipping the P. They went all out with IHOb and re-outfitted restaurants, merchandise, and social channels to reflect the name change. But once the hype died down and people decided Steakburgers were actually pretty good, IHOb inevitably changed back to IHOP and name changed all over again. All this effort into a burger... But hey, seems like it paid off!
Simple campaign. Powerful nostalgia. PC: Pinterest.
There's nothing like a little bit of nostalgia to drive an ad campaign home. Spotify UK and their partner agency, London-based Who Wot Why, drew up a campaign for (literally) the ages. The purpose of "Listen Like You Used To" was essentially to offer the reminder that although life changes, it doesn't mean that music needs to.
Most musical references came from the 80s and 90s, with even a 1979 hit. But hey, I knew the Spice Girls and Smashing Pumpkins! The references were deliberate, and Who Wot Why even mentioned a targeted age range of 35-45 in their case study. Spotify's idea to target this particular age group makes sense considering that only 16% of their users are ages 35-44. Compare that with 55% of their users ages 18-34...
I think Spotify really tapped into a gold mine by evoking nostalgia. Music unites us in so many ways, and it's a beautiful thing how this campaign drove awareness for the Spotify brand while tapping into a sense of nostalgia that is alive in everyone.
Popeye's infamous tweet that started the chicken sandwich wars. PC: Seeking Alpha.
What Popeye's did with their chicken sandwich draws a parallel to what IHOP did with IHOb– they inserted themselves into the cultural conversation. But, first things first. Popeye's most importantly put their $$ where their mouth was. They hyped up this sandwich. And it did NOT disappoint (at least for me... comment your thoughts on the sandwich pls).
We knew Chick-fil-A would hit back, right? They did, but then Popeye's pulled something like a mic drop when they tweeted "y'all good?". Absolutely love how the brand's voice shone through via these ten characters. This quick tweet was actually the result of "months of careful planning", said Angela Brown of GSD&M, Popeye's partner agency.
Unlike IHOP, Popeye's didn't need to undergo rounds of rebranding. This allowed them to focus both on serving a steady stream of chicken sandwiches AND on firing away well-crafted content on their social channels. Now, excuse me while I head out to get my Popeye's chicken sandwich...
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