A truly great video ad campaign can be defined by a few common factors. Some change the culture of advertising or pop culture. They create a new category or entrench a brand as the top of its category. Ultimately, the most successful videos are unforgettable. By the end of the year, video marketing will account for over 60% of all consumer traffic and landing pages with videos lead to 800% more conversions.
The best brand videos tell a story and evoke emotion in their viewers. Videos should also tell the story of a brand and demonstrate a company’s personality. The returns on successful videos are huge and brands can learn a lot from some of the top ad video campaigns of the 21st century.
Dos Equis – The Most Interesting Man in the World
The “Most Interesting Man in the World” made Dos Equis one of the fastest growing beer brands in the United States and spawned a viral meme with its tagline and suave spokesman. The videos were humorous and broke from tradition with a spokesman that was much older than their target demographic. The quirky videos became popular and boosted Dos Equis sales by 22% when other beer companies were struggling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6gdRqNYiSA
The videos successfully set Dos Equis apart from their competitors and encouraged viewers to seek out the ads and adapt the slogan for situations in their own lives.
Dove – Real Beauty
Dove launched the “Campaign for Real Beauty” 12 years ago and it has since become iconic. Dove created video content that focuses on their mission more than just their product. Emotionally charged marketing has been proven successful and connected customers are 52% more valuable than customers that are just satisfied.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE
The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” has created a community of women that reaches around the world and encourages real women to encourage one another and share personal stories. Their series of videos and ads has seen continued success and engagement.
P&G – Thank You, Mom
P&G launched their “Thank You, Mom” video ad campaign in 2010 for the Winter Olympic Games and refreshed it for the Olympic games in the following years. A large amount of Proctor and Gamble’s products have one target customer in common – moms. The ads showed strong mothers and their children, recognizing the many Olympic athletes that recognized others support in their success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SwFso7NeuA
This video ad campaign won a Gold Effie award and the top 2013 Advertising Research Foundation Ogilvy Award in a 2013 and added over $500 million to P&G sales. The campaign has also consistently build awareness for the brand along with its equity scores. The ads have a strong emotional pull, appealing both to moms and to children who relate to the relationships the ads portray.
Apple – Get a Mac
The “Get a Mac” video ad campaign from Apple started in 2006 and ran for 3 years, with over 60 videos. The long-running video ad campaign featured Justin Long as a Mac and John Hodgman as a PC in a witty and entertaining back and forth. The videos not only poked fun at PC, they also showcased Apple’s new products and features as they came along.
People wanted to identify with the Mac persona which was cool and with the times, whereas the PC persona was represented as incredibly uncool. The repartee between Long and Hodgman was lighthearted and didn’t have the mean-spirited quality of an attack ad. Apple didn’t want to insult or alienate PC users. However, it did show the clear differences between the two computers in what became an extremely effective selling tool. After the first series of videos aired, Apple sold 1.6 million Macs by the last quarter of 2006 – a 39% increase — and overall sales rose by 12%.
Old Spice – “Smell Like a Man, Man”
Old Spice deodorant and the Old Spice Guy sparked an online phenomenon when it aired the first video of their “Smell Like a Man” campaign in 2010. In the hours after it aired during the Super Bowl halftime show, the video had been viewed over 222,000 times on YouTube and the views continued at about 100,000 per hour. The ad helped Old Spice capture 75% of conversation in their category after it launched at the Super Bowl.
The brand’s target audience was men, but the video ad campaign was successful in appealing to women, too. The humor and relevance of the ads resonated with customers and drove online engagement as well as offline conversation about the brand. After the popularity of their first video, Old Spice did a response video where the star, Isaiah Mustafa, answered fan questions. Sales were already rising after the first ad, but the Response Campaign shot them through the roof. By the end of July 2010, Old Spice sales were up 125% year over year and at the end of the year, Old Spice became the number one selling brand of men’s body wash.
So What Marks the Best Video Ad Campaign?
Despite the differences in content, these successful video ad campaigns have a lot in common. They are memorable, sparking conversation and driving awareness by word of mouth and online engagement. Many of them have an emotional hook that builds consumers’ feeling of loyalty to the brand. They have shaped popular culture and become household names in the form of memes and parodies. Although the brands range across industries and target different consumers, their video and campaign success lies in recognizing their audience and appealing to their interests.
Each one of these video ad campaigns were wildly successful in their own way. Which one do you think was the absolute best? Share your vote in the comments section below!
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