5 Amazing Ad Campaigns Around the Web

We know for a fact people love lists.

We also know that for marketers it’s always good to have some creative insights as to what other people are doing with their brands and how they put forth their campaign strategy. With that, you get stimulated and creative juices will start flowing.

That’s why we’ve gathered some recent ad campaigns over the web that we think are pretty cool to make our own list of 5 amazing ad campaigns for the month of March.

Most people should be familiar with this one. It’s been shared over and over again ever since the original video went live on youtube on March 12. Now reaching over 2.5 million views on youtube, this Carlsberg ad campaign put friendships to the test by setting up unsuspecting people and making them believe their friends were in trouble to see how they would respond. People received phone calls from their best friend in the middle of the night asking them to bring money to a poker game. The friend claimed they were in trouble and couldn’t leave until they’d paid. Friends who agreed to go and help had to make their way through some very shady situations in the building before reaching the poker game on the third floor.

If they went all the way and dropped the money on the table, they would  be cheered on by a crowd of people initially hiding behind a curtain.

Moral of the story? Stand up for a friend. You never know what you might get in return.

With the launch of the Z10, and also attempting to convince consumers that the BB10 Operating system is worth a closer look, Blackberry US launched a “takeover” ad that would literally transform any iOS and Android device into a Blackberry. This takeover ad showcases a simulation of the BB10 mobile operating system, thereby alerting users to what they’re missing out on by sticking with their outdated handsets. Intrusive as it sounds, users still have the option whether or not they want this takeover to happen.

The Audi quattro® Experience

In a different kind of test drive, Audi showcased the road handling capabilities of the A4 with a socially enabled and interactive installation. Using a couple of miniature Audis on a custom built 20ft x 7ft racing track, passerbys were able to race each other using a controller app on an iPad. Here’s the interesting bit. The iPad app was paired with an in-car camera which gave the driver the perspective from the right inside the drivers seat, a first for this kind of installation.

Innovative method, no?

Imagine this. You live in the middle of the desert, with almost no rainfall per year. Fresh, clean water is hard to come by. One day, a group of people come along and start installing a billboard. Hey, none of your business right? Until you realize that billboard produces clean water. Just what you needed.

The University of Engineering and Technology in Lima, Peru teamed up with DraftFCB to create this billboard in order to attract new students for their new school year. Working with the high level of humidity of air in the area, the billboard extracts water from the water that passes through the billboard, condenses it, cools it and then stores it so that people can come to the billboard to collect safe drinking water.

An ad campaign that provides for a community. So much win :)

Dove is at it again. In order to remind creatives that Dove encourages “True Beauty”, this campaign involves Dove seeding a pre-packaged Photoshop Action that was disguised as ‘Beautify Action’. When used, it reverts any retouching to bring the image back to its original form, along with a message reemphasizing that “True Beauty” doesn’t require any touch up.

Interesting. But once you starting thinking about it, aren’t those targeted bunch just middlemen who execute beautify requests from companies…..like Dove?