Rave’s Faves: Creative marketing we love (and wish we’d done)
Here at Rave HQ we know a thing or two about designing creative campaigns with punch, but that doesn’t mean to say we’re too proud to applaud and acknowledge sterling work from competitor agencies and brands. Far from it.
In fact, our Sleeping on the job and 5 other ways to boost your creativity post rates keeping an eye on what others are doing as a tried and tested way to keep the creative cogs whirring.
We asked around the office and pulled together a list of our favourite creative campaigns from the past few years. In essence, these are our ‘Rave’s Faves’, or, ‘we wish we’d had the chance to do that’ marketing moments, from experiential to TV, and digital to print. Enjoy.
Rave Fave: O2 - Giant washing line
In the run-up to the 2015 World Cup, England rugby sponsors, O2, activated its sponsorship of the national team with a clever piece of experiential marketing, giving rugby fans the chance to claim one of 50,000 England rugby shirts – fresh off the (giant) washing line.
O2 installed giant washing lines laden with England rugby shirts at famous English ‘rugby cities’ including London, Bath, Leicester, Manchester and Newcastle. The three metre high installations (the average rugby line-out height) required fans to use team work to reach the shirts and claim their prize.
The activation, which was part of the #weartherose campaign gave the operator a bold and visual way to help build – and capitalise on the pre-tournament excitement, reinforcing its credentials as a loyal supporter of the England team.
Powerful imagery and video gave the brand plenty of content to talk about on social and digital platforms, as well as creating plenty of buzz amongst rugby fans.
Rave Fave: Macmillan – Isolation Box
The simplicity of cancer charity Macmillan’s experiential isolation box was at the very heart of its success.
Designed to support the charity’s Not Alone campaign, the box, which was installed in busy locations including railway stations and shopping centres, was created to evoke the same feelings of loneliness and isolation that many cancer patients experience after a diagnosis.
One-way glass meant that people could see in, but prevented the person inside the box from hearing or seeing anything outside. Meanwhile, audio of real-life case studies played inside the box, to help people empathise and understand the emotional experiences of living with cancer.
Attention grabbing, powerful and persuasive, the isolation box gave Macmillan a great way of driving some extra momentum behind the Not Alone campaign and to reach new audiences.
Rave Fave: Always – #LikeAGirl
Right from its hard-hitting launch video, it was clear that the #LikeAGirl campaign from Always meant business.
Designed to start a conversation to boost girls’ confidence by changing the meaning of “like a girl” from an insult to a compliment (statistics show that 72% of girls feel that society limits them), almost 60,000,000 YouTube views is pretty compelling evidence of its success.
It’s a Rave Fave because it’s about more than product or sales*. It’s about changing a mindset. #LikeAGirl set out to challenge perceptions, smash limitations and build confidence for girls going through puberty and beyond, and with the momentum behind the campaign (the follow-up video, ‘Unstoppable’ has had close to 40,000,000 views), it might just be working.
*Needless to say, positioning the brand (a feminine hygiene manufacturer) as a brand that champions women is no bad thing either.
Rave Fave: Lego print ads
Simple, clever and effective, this series of Lego print ads from ad agency Blattner Brunner (2006) is a case study in the power of show-don’t-tell.
Rave Fave: Bodyform – The Truth
Swiftly created in response to a light-hearted post from a chap called Richard on the Bodyform Facebook page, the tongue-in-cheek, video apology went viral, earning the brand valuable kudos as being customer-focused and responsive, with a self-mocking sense of humour.
It’s a Rave Fave as much for the incredible work behind the scenes pulling it together as much as for its execution.
Rave Fave: Hovis – Heritage TV ad
Reported in Marketing Week as one of the IPA’s Top 10 most effective TV ads of all time (it was an IPA Effectiveness Awards Grand Prix Winner in 2010), the 122 second spot celebrating the brand’s 122 year heritage reportedly gave the brand a 14% sales increase.
Beautifully shot, with moments of poignancy and humour, and a captivating soundtrack including rousing audio from Winston Churchill, we love the ‘As good today as it has ever been’ ad because it’s about more than just the brand – it depicts the history of the nation.
With scenes from the suffragette movement, the Queen’s Coronation, World Wars I and II, England winning the World Cup, the miners’ strikes and fireworks for the Millennium celebrations, it overflows with the magic ingredient of nostalgia and unifying patriotism. Utterly brilliant.
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Can’t wait for our next post? You might find these previous blogs worth a read.
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This blog post was written in conjunction with Jo Quint. Click here for Jo's website