Flashback Friday: Campaigns We Miss

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The following are some of our favourite marketing campaigns in recent years and why we miss them.

If marketing were easy, every business would be successful. But it takes a lot of creativity, commitment, and an unprecedented knowledge of your customer base to truly get it right.

Over the years, we have been impressed by many successful marketing campaigns, some of which we wish would make a comeback.

Old Spice Smells Like a Man

2010 changed the way we viewed Old Spice forever when advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy enlisted handsome Isaiah Mustafa to portray “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”The commercial itself, which debuted during the Super Bowl, was a huge success, but Old Spice took their television success and moved it online with amazing results.

For two days, fans and consumers were able to ask questions of the Old Spice Man through social media, and receive personalized responses to their questions. Over 180 video responses were produced during those two days, the responses of which generated a social sharing frenzy that garnered millions of additional views for the Brand.

Because of their solid, creative, persona development and personal connection with consumers, Old Spice continues to gain substantial views year after year, of their commercials and their personalized responses. We miss the way this brand identified with its consumer by connecting directly with them over social media. And of course, who wouldn’t miss seeing Mustafa’s rock hard abs every evening?

4) Rock Like an Apple

Apple has long been applauded for its genius when it comes to marketing campaigns because of the impact and virality of their ads. Over the years Apple has taught us that you don’t need to be feature heavy, or even showcase your product at all in order to be successful.

In 2003 Apple turned out a campaign for their iPods that featured silhouettes of people dancing against bright solid backgrounds while holding iPods and listening through the iconic white earbuds. These ads were remarkable in that they never really showcased the product, but instead played off the cultural expression of music while keeping the images so simple they would make anyone take notice.

We miss the fun, lighthearted, simplicity of this campaign in an over-cluttered world of too much advertising. We also miss the clean, easy on the eyes billboards with bright happy colors and one silhouette human image that conveys more than 500 words ever could.

6) Riding in Ferris’ Wheels

In a brilliant bit of nostalgic marketing, Honda created a two and a half minute commercial starring Matthew Broderick in early 2012 that paralleled the iconic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Honda released teasers prior to the full ad run to generate buzz and the spots went viral.

The campaign rode on the coat tails of the beloved movie, generating instant support and intrigue from fans across the globe, causing some to even speculate on whether or not the teasers were going to introduce a sequel to the movie. Not only do we miss the movie, but we miss this campaign for making us miss the movie and taking us back 25 years to something all too familiar.

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