The 10 Best Marketing Campaigns of 2017
2017 was the year where advertising really got political, from moving commercials to truly great marketing moments. Here’s our list of what we consider to be the 10 best marketing campaigns of 2017:
10. Nike – Breaking 2
Nike’s #Breaking2 campaign attempted to break the two-hour barrier for running a full marathon. The event was live-streamed on social media to promote the record attempt, as well as the shoe that claimed to reduce energy needed by 4%.
In the end, runner Eliud Kipchogedid came closest, with an astonishing time of 2:00:25 – an impressive two minutes and 32 seconds faster than the official world record!
The two-hour barrier may not have been broken, but Nike re-positioned itself as a brand that wants to push boundaries:
9. The New York Times – The Truth is Hard to Find
“The truth is hard to find. The truth is hard to know. The truth is more important now than ever.”
The New York Times’ campaign for truth is just one of the many US ads that got political in the wake of Trump’s election and inauguration. In the era of post-truth, fake news and alternative facts, the brand asserted itself as the voice to cut through the lies.
The campaign ran during the Oscars in February, followed by a series of spots by Darren Aronofsky in April, showcasing the risks photojournalists face when working in dangerous environments.
8. 84 Lumber – The Journey
“The will to succeed is always welcome here.”
The Super Bowl is always a great watch, not only for sports fans, but for advertisers and marketers! This year, following the trend in American advertising, saw companies getting political. One of the “winners” of the advertising Super Bowl was the 84 Lumber ad, The Journey.
The controversial spot focused on Mexican immigration, a contentious issue in the US right now. The 90-second story depicted a Mexican mother and daughter leaving their country of origin in search of a better life in the US. The ad cleverly invited viewers to watch the conclusion of the story online (rumoured because the full version was too political for broadcaster, Fox).
84 Lumber’s Chief Creative Officer, Rob Schapiro, is quoted as saying: “[The message behind the ad] is that in this great land of opportunity, 84 Lumber is a company of opportunity. With this expansion will come an ongoing recruitment campaign, and on this journey we depicted characters who embody the traits and characteristics they are looking for in their people: strong will, determination, and hard-working people.”
The full uncut version can be seen here:
7. Samsung – Ostrich
Moving away from politics, Samsung’s adorable ostrich with the dream to learn to fly won the hearts of viewers and even picked up an award at Cannes. The famous ostrich commercial shows a bird who learns to fly after accidentally trying out a Samsung Gear VR headset and launching a virtual flight simulator.
Samsung’s message is clear: they push the boundaries of what can be achieved and want to encourage their users to do the same, to ultimately live their dream. We’d argue that the use of Elton John’s Rocket Man is no accident either – a tap into nostalgia that makes you remember your own dreams growing up.
Plus, ostriches are super-cute, am I right?
6. Apple Earth – Shot on iPhone
Back to politics and Apple’s choice to feature short clips (shot on iPhone, of course) of nature at its finest was surely a pointed message prompted by Trump’s decision to back out of the Paris environmental agreement.
The clips and following billboards showed gorgeous landscapes of forests, beaches, mountains and animals, with calming commentary by astronomer, Carl Sagan.
5. Ancestry – Declaration Descendants
It’s hard not to be moved by Ancestry.com’s short ad; a simple format with an emotional reading of the United States’ Declaration of Independence for 4th July. It’s only as the clip ends that we learn that everyone featured in the video is a descendant of those that signed the original declaration.
The message is clear: join Ancestry.com and you too can unlock your past to learn more about your ancestors. However, as many marketers and viewers were quick to point out, the subtext speaks volumes; the descendants are diverse and America is multi-cultural. This is a very prevalent theme that fits well into the politicised ads of 2017.
“We’re all much more similar than you think,” said Ancestry Chief Marketing Officer, Vineet Mehra.
4. Audi’s “Daughter”
“What do I tell my daughter?”
Another winning Super Bowl ad was Audi’s feminist contribution “Daughter”. Another commercial that pulls at the heartstrings while tackling an important social issue, Audi took the opportunity of the Super Bowl platform to announce its commitment to equality.
“We want to relate to what America’s talking about. And this is certainly something that is true to Audi and to something that’s happening in our society,” said Loren Angelo, Vice President of Marketing for Audi of America.
3. Heineken – Worlds Apart
A personal favourite, Heineken’s “Worlds Apart” proves that it isn’t just the US that is politicising the world of advertising, or brand messages.
The idea of a social experiment is clever, but the smartest thing about this ad is that the viewer is already in on the joke. The participants seemingly don’t know they’re in an ad or that Heineken is involved and they definitely have no idea who they’re conversing with. We already know they will have their differences, but ultimately, it will work out.
At the end, they’re given the choice to walk away or have a beer and a chat with someone they might not usually choose to hang out. It turns out, clinking two beers together and installing some IKEA furniture is all you really need to be friends! And BOOM, Heineken just solved the world’s problems.
(A special mention goes to TV 2’s “All that we share” campaign, which we haven’t listed separately here due to its similarities to the Heineken ad. The message is much the same: we have our differences, but we also have more in common than you may think.)
2. Heinz – Pass the Heinz
We couldn’t understand the hype behind this ad, but then again, none of us here at HDK have even watched Mad Men. In the TV show, Don Draper pitched a daring ad campaign to Heinz executives that proposed not showing the product at all. Instead, they show close-ups of foods that go great with ketchup, with the tagline “Pass the Heinz.”
50 fictional years later, Heinz are now actually running the ads! It’s a great PR stunt that shows the brand’s sense of humour and creates an extra layer of meaning, an in-joke, for those in the know. Plus, it’s actually a pretty good ad idea!
Anselmo Ramos, Chief Creative Officer, joked that he actually met with Draper recently to discuss the logistics.
“We had a couple of Old Fashioneds,” Ramos said, “and he gave me the mechanicals from the original campaign.”
1. Mexico’s Ad to Canada
However, one of favourite examples of advertising in a year where marketing got political was Visit Mexico’s invitation to Canada:
There were some exceptional marketing moments and advertising campaigns in 2017 (as well as a few flops, fails and examples of truly bad marketing), so we’re excited to see what 2018 will bring.
HDK Marketing offer a full range of marketing services, from events organisation, to product launches, to business review and marketing strategy. Contact us for a 30-minute FREE consultation to discuss where you’d like your business to go and the steps you need to take it there.
