{"id":29798,"date":"2020-11-25T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T10:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/?p=29798"},"modified":"2020-12-03T16:51:45","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T14:51:45","slug":"the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns\/","title":{"rendered":"The Year in Review: 2020 | Top 5 Most Creative Ad Campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the last few months, the world has transformed in ways that many never thought possible.&nbsp;Some upheavals, like nationwide lockdowns,&nbsp;travel bans and social distancing measures, are only short-term. Others will likely continue far into the future.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The changes that are here to stay are a matter of speculation at this stage. But it\u2019s possible to get a sense of what\u2019s waiting over the horizon from an unlikely source: advertisements.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Big enterprises are among the most powerful drivers of transformation, with significant sway over consumer habits and perceptions. What\u2019s more, they are adept at pinpointing emerging trends and riding the waves of a shifting marketplace. Advertisements often reflect what is happening in broader society, and surreptitiously predict what\u2019s to come.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this post, we\u2019re going to look at five of the most creative ad campaigns of 2020, a year that will undoubtedly go down as one of the most important in history.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Facebook: Ready to Rock? (Super&nbsp;Bowl Ad)&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Facebook: Groups - Ready to Rock? - 2020 Super Bowl Commercial\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rpxqja0zD5Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Facebook\u2019s first <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Super_Bowl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Super Bowl<\/a> commercial is one of the most talked-about ads of 2020. Facebook used its sixty-second slot, which likely cost over ten million dollars, to promote its Groups feature. The clip features Sylvester Stallone and Chris Rock bouncing around to \u201cI Wanna Rock\u201d by Twisted Sister.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ad draws attention to the diversity of Facebook users and the many-themed groups, spanning craft cocktails to \u201cexperimental rocketry\u201d, to which they belong. The ad itself is part of a broader Facebook campaign encouraging people to connect in groups to explore their interests, and has been supplemented with an&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/facebook-first-super-bowl-ad-commercial-60-seconds-q4-cost-2020-2?r=US&amp;IR=T\" target=\"_blank\">array of marketing activities<\/a>, including high-profile digital ads on well-known sites.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Burger King: The Moldy Whopper&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Burger King | The Moldy Whopper\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oSDC4C3_16Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the last few years, the fast-food industry has been forced to adapt to shifting customer preferences. A growing number of people are opting for healthier alternatives, and there is much greater concern about the use of artificial preservatives and \u201cnon-natural\u201d ingredients.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Burger King took a counterintuitive approach to advertise its dropping of all artificial preservatives from some of its products. Rather than state this point directly, it leveraged both print and digital media to showcase how much mould grew on a Whopper over thirty-four days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Burger King\u2019s approach wasn\u2019t just a way of catching peoples\u2019 attention, though it certainly achieved that. It was also a mischievous swipe at McDonald\u2019s, which had recently been part of a&nbsp;news story&nbsp;about a hamburger that hadn\u2019t shown any signs of decay despite being twenty years old.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Greggs: Vegan Steak Bake&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"This is not flake news...\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2XKT-MhGucU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greggs, a British bakery chain well-known for its range of pastry products, launched its vegan sausage roll in 2019. The product&nbsp;quickly became a hit. High sales were driven by wide coverage in the media and a well-orchestrated online campaign.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hoping to repeat the success of its first vegan product, Gregg\u2019s launched a no-meat steak \u201cbake\u201d (or pastry) in 2020. The company used a range of innovative tactics in the run-up to the full rollout, including teaser videos on social media, in-store countdown timers&nbsp;and a one-off launch event at a flagship store in Newcastle. There was a lot of mystery around the campaign, which stoked further interest.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greggs also interacted directly with journalists by sending them vegan steak bakes in a special box, leading to significant free publicity in the media.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Volkswagen: The Last Mile&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Last Mile | Beetle\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uKuYXNLGlOc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part of the beauty of&nbsp;The Last Mile&nbsp;campaign, which signifies Volkswagen\u2019s full commitment to manufacturing electric cars, is its simplicity and evocation of feelings of nostalgia. It weaves a simple narrative of a man who travels through life &#8211; learning to drive, partying, getting married,&nbsp;having a baby&nbsp;and eventually growing old &#8211; with his trusty Volkswagen Beetle as a continuous presence.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The iconic Beetle, which most people will recognize and has now been discontinued by Volkswagen, is used as the focal point of the main video ad to emphasize the move to a genuinely new era of car production. There are also cultural references to Kevin Bacon, who drove the car in Footloose, and Andy Warhol, who made a painting of it. References to past ad campaigns were also included.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.Amazon: The Show Must Go On&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The show must go on\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gQdLD6kk960?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFlagship\u201d Christmas commercials tend to be released in early to mid-November. And many big companies pour significant resources into their main festive ad, working on the basis that it will likely receive large amounts of publicity and shape consumer perceptions during the busiest and most profitable time of the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amazon has already&nbsp;received praise from several media outlets&nbsp;for its story-driven and emotionally evocative Christmas ad, which deals with many of the feelings that people are experiencing as a result of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/industries-successfully-adapting-covid-19-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">COVID-19&nbsp;pandemic<\/a>. It tells the story of a young ballerina who is selected to be the lead in her academy\u2019s winter show, only for it to be scuppered by government restrictions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the ad is only one part of Amazon\u2019s broader Christmas campaign, it is an excellent example of marketing that is captivating, positive&nbsp;and highly relevant.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Immerse Yourself in the Art of Advertising at EU Business School&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you intrigued by the idea of a career in advertising? Perhaps as part of the marketing department of a well-known company or at the head of your own startup? If the answer is&nbsp;yes, then EU Business School can provide you with all the training, knowledge, and industry experience you need to thrive in your chosen field.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We offer several dedicated courses, including Bachelor\u2019s degrees in&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/en\/Programs\/Bachelor-s\/BA-Bachelor-of-Arts-in-Communication-Public-Relations-Barcelona\/Overview\/Overview.html\" target=\"_blank\">Communication and Public Relations<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/en\/Programs\/Bachelor-s\/BA-Bachelor-of-Arts-in-Digital-Business-Design-Innovation-Barcelona\/Overview\/Overview.html\" target=\"_blank\">Digital Business, Design, and Innovation<\/a>, Master\u2019s programs in&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/en\/Programs\/Master-s\/Master-in-Marketing-Barcelona\/Overview\/Overview.html\" target=\"_blank\">Marketing<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/en\/Programs\/Master-s\/Master-in-Digital-Business-Barcelona\/Overview\/Overview.html\" target=\"_blank\">Digital Business<\/a>, and a range of&nbsp;popular MBAs (Master of Business Administration). As a student at EU Business School, you\u2019ll also&nbsp;study in one of Europe\u2019s most exciting business hubs. We have campuses in&nbsp;Barcelona,&nbsp;Geneva, Montreux and&nbsp;Munich,&nbsp;as well as online.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/en\/Programs\/programs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Define_750x125_3.gif\" alt=\"eu business school define\" class=\"wp-image-28872\" width=\"969\" height=\"161\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the last few months, the world has transformed in ways that many never thought possible.&nbsp;Some upheavals, like nationwide lockdowns,&nbsp;travel bans and social distancing measures, are only short-term. Others will likely continue far into the future.&nbsp;&nbsp; The changes that are here to stay are a matter of speculation at this stage. But it\u2019s possible to get a sense of what\u2019s waiting over the horizon from an unlikely source: advertisements.&nbsp;&nbsp; Big enterprises are among the most powerful drivers of transformation, with significant sway over consumer habits and perceptions. What\u2019s more, they are adept at pinpointing emerging trends and riding the waves [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1771],"tags":[1170,725,4061],"class_list":["post-29798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-trends","tag-advertising","tag-communication","tag-marketing-trends","post--single"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>The Year in Review: 2020 | Top 5 Ad Campaigns | EU Business School<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this post, we take a look at five of the year\u2019s top ad campaigns and ask the question, \u201cWhat made them so successful?\u201d\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns\/\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EU Business School\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"EU Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business Trends\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/business-trends\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Year in Review: 2020 | Top 5 Most Creative Ad Campaigns\"}]}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Year in Review: 2020 | Top 5 Ad Campaigns | EU Business School","description":"In this post, we take a look at five of the year\u2019s top ad campaigns and ask the question, \u201cWhat made them so successful?\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns\/","author":"EU Business School","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/the-year-in-review-2020-top-ad-campaigns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"EU Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business Trends","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/business-trends\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Year in Review: 2020 | Top 5 Most Creative Ad Campaigns"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29798"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29852,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29798\/revisions\/29852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}