Whether it’s a Super Bowl spot or a viral video that never actually graced a television set, a clever hashtag campaign or a placement on the Metro, we’ve had our eyes on all kinds of ads this year. Some were bad, some were ugly, but today, we’re picking our favorites from 2013 and looking at what we can learn from some of the year’s most memorable campaigns. We could go on and on, but below we’ve compiled a few favorites as selected by members of the Delucchi Plus team. Click the images to see the ads!
“It might be unconventional, but I love what shows with strong fan bases did this year. Series such as American Horror Story and Game of Thrones put out super mysterious, vague promo videos, used image-heavy posters and ads and released on-set promotional photos that all heavily teased the next season without really giving away any details. This strategy — which evoked the emotion or essence of a story — was the basis for social media promotion to bolster conversations and hype.”
–Sam, Graphic Artist
“Borrowing some story equity from Anchorman, Dodge Durango used Will Ferrell in 70 different Dodge Durango/Anchorman 2 commercials —each one funnier than the last. They didn’t tout traditional features that one might expect to see in a car commercial (think Ron Burgandy exclaiming about how many packs of gum the glove compartment can accommodate) but the brand was able to use humor and already-established character associations to boost sales of the Durango 36% in November vs. last year.”
–Drew, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist
“Water is Life created a campaign that featured people of Haiti reciting people’s #firstworldproblem tweets and consoling the owners of those tweets for having it so hard. In essence, they used crowd-sourced content to tell a story by placing it in a new context: Sometimes a simple image is all your need to lend some global perspective and generate an emotional reaction.”
–Drew, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist
“AT&T’s ‘It’s Complicated’ commercials are my favorite of the year. So natural and unscripted (really! says Chief Marketing Officer David Christopher ). AT&T’s approach of filming children riffing on the meaning of features vaguely related to the telecom product (faster, bigger) proves that sometimes the most memorable ads are those that focus on just one simple word or concept.”
–Mike, Art Director
“Google commercials make you emotionally connect to something inanimate. Google is a great example of how marketers can tell stories — even if in the form of a quick ‘text message’ from mom — that resonate with elements of our own lives. I am not going to lie, I’ve gotten teary eyed at a Google commercial before.”
–Susanna, Graphic Artist
“Talk about telling an emotional story — GoPro’s ‘Fireman Saves Kitten’commercial is one of the best. It pulled at my heartstrings in less than two minutes, demonstrating the campaign’s ‘Be a Hero’ tagline through a fireman and the tiny kitten he revives. GoPro doesn’t need to detail all the features of its camera; it just needs to show the stories that they capture.”
–Miles, SEM Specialist
“The Gieco Humpday Commercial: By far my best of the year for 2013. Every time it came on I was cracking up laughing — humor can be a powerful way to create positive brand associations. I also loved the Subaru ‘Best Friend’ commercial: So simple and really sold the quality of the product in a nice wholesome way.”
–Ryan, Senior Art Director
“Am I allowed to say any Target commercial from this year? Because any Target commercial this year. If I had to pick, then I think choose the Target Red Card/My Kind of Holiday ad because of how they made it so digital — slipping in mentions of Pinterest as well as a dedicated holiday hashtag — without being obnoxious about it. Unlike some people.”
–Molly, Senior PR Account Manager
“The Guinness basketball commercial was BY FAR the best of the year. It pulled at your heartstrings, gave you the warm and fuzzy feeling and then blew you away because it was for beer. Instead of just telling people to drink Guinness, the brand exemplifies how personal choices reveal character by telling a simple story about what a group will do in the name of friendship. Personally, my friends and I then vowed that we’d do the same should tragedy ever strike one of us. This was impactful and a fantastic move by Guinness, which I already loved.”
–Whitney, Director of Digital Strategy
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