All viral marketing examples
A filterable library of campaigns that spread: what the brand did, why people shared it and what happened next. Filter by goal, season, product type, industry or tactic.
Category guides: Social Media Campaign Examples Experiential Marketing Examples User-Generated Content Examples AI UGC Examples Influencer Marketing Examples Out-of-Home Advertising Examples Guerrilla Marketing Examples Brand Collaboration Examples Digital PR Campaign Examples FOOH & CGI Ads Product Launch Ideas Cause Marketing Examples App Marketing Ideas Christmas Marketing Campaigns Black Friday Marketing Ideas Creative Marketing Ideas
By industry and season: Super Bowl Ads Halloween Marketing Ideas Easter Marketing Ideas Restaurant Marketing Ideas B2B Marketing Examples SaaS Marketing Examples Fashion Marketing Campaigns Beauty Marketing Campaigns Retail Marketing Ideas Nonprofit Marketing Ideas Publicity Stunts Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas Car Advertising Campaigns Movie Marketing Campaigns Public Health Campaigns
Our Blades Are F***ing Great
Founder Michael Dubin starred in a low-budget launch video, walking through the warehouse pitching $1 razors.
Result About 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours. Unilever bought the company for $1B in 2016.
Why it spread
A founder roasting his own category made the pitch itself the joke people passed around.
Ice Bucket Challenge
People filmed themselves getting doused with ice water, then nominated three friends to do it or donate.
Result The ALS Association reported $115M raised in about eight weeks.
Why it spread
The nomination built distribution into every single video.
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
A one-take ad with Isaiah Mustafa talking straight to camera, followed by rapid-fire personalised video replies to people commenting online.
Why it spread
The reply videos turned one ad into a live conversation people wanted to get pulled into.
Real Beauty Sketches
A forensic sketch artist drew women from their own description, then from a stranger's. The stranger's version was kinder.
Result Became one of the most-watched online ads of its time.
Why it spread
A simple reveal that gave people something to say about themselves when they shared it.
Dunk in the Dark
When the power cut out during the Super Bowl, Oreo posted a dimly lit cookie with a line about dunking in the dark.
Why it spread
Speed. Approvals were in the room, so it went out within minutes while everyone was watching the same moment.
#NuggsForCarter
A teen asked how many retweets he needed for a year of free nuggets. Wendy's replied: 18 million.
Result Became the most-retweeted tweet at the time, passing the Ellen Oscars selfie.
Why it spread
A clear, impossible target turned retweeting into a group project.
Spotify Wrapped
Every December, users get a personal recap of their listening, formatted as shareable story cards.
Why it spread
The ad is the user's own data. Sharing it is self-expression, not promotion.
The death of Duo
Duolingo announced its owl mascot had died, leaned into the memes for weeks, then brought him back.
Why it spread
Years of unhinged mascot content meant followers were primed to play along.
The car-fire Quencher
A creator posted her burnt-out car with her Stanley cup intact and ice still inside. Stanley's president replied offering to replace her car.
Why it spread
Real product proof from a customer, amplified by a fast and generous brand response.
Whopper Detour
The BK app unlocked a 1-cent Whopper, but only if you ordered while standing near a McDonald's.
Result The BK app climbed to the top of the App Store charts.
Why it spread
Trolling a rival gave the press a story and gave people a reason to download the app.
Moldy Whopper
Time-lapse ads showed a Whopper rotting over 34 days to prove it had no artificial preservatives.
Why it spread
Showing the product at its ugliest was the opposite of every food ad, so people talked.
FCK
During a UK chicken shortage that shut hundreds of stores, KFC ran a full-page apology with its bucket letters rearranged to FCK.
Why it spread
An honest, funny apology turned a supply-chain failure into goodwill.
Chicken sandwich wars
After Chick-fil-A tweeted about its sandwich, Popeyes replied with a short jab and the internet picked sides.
Result The sandwich sold out in about two weeks.
Why it spread
A brand rivalry framed as a fan debate. Everyone had an opinion to post.
#GuacDance
For National Avocado Day, Chipotle launched a TikTok dance challenge set to a song about guacamole, with free guac as the hook.
Result Chipotle reported a record day for guacamole orders.
Why it spread
A low-effort, copyable format on a platform built for copying.
Eyes Lips Face
e.l.f. commissioned an original song for a TikTok hashtag challenge that spelled out the brand name.
Why it spread
The sound was catchy on its own, so creators used it far beyond the challenge.
The Dreams skateboard video
A man skateboarded to work sipping Ocean Spray to Fleetwood Mac. The brand gifted him a truck.
Why it spread
The brand joined an organic moment instead of trying to own it.
Grimace Shake
A purple birthday shake for Grimace sparked a TikTok trend of mock-horror clips.
Why it spread
McDonald's let the joke run rather than correcting it.
Shot on iPhone
Apple put real customers' iPhone photos on billboards around the world.
Why it spread
Every featured photographer became a promoter, and every user a potential feature.
Free space for referrals
Users earned extra free storage for each friend who signed up, and the friend got bonus space too.
Why it spread
Both sides got paid in the one thing they actually wanted.
The email signature
Every email sent from Hotmail carried a line inviting the recipient to get a free account.
Result Millions of users within about a year and a half. Microsoft bought it in 1997.
Why it spread
Using the product was the distribution.
The share grid
A daily word game let players share a spoiler-free grid of coloured squares.
Result The New York Times bought it in early 2022.
Why it spread
The grid was a brag and a curiosity hook at the same time.
Dumb Ways to Die
A cute, dark animated song about silly ways to die, ending on a rail-safety message.
Why it spread
A catchy song carried a safety message nobody would share on its own.
#LikeAGirl
People were asked to run, throw and fight like a girl. Adults mocked it; young girls didn't.
Why it spread
It reframed an everyday insult, and people wanted to take a side.
Stratos
Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space, streamed live.
Result Around 8 million concurrent live viewers on YouTube.
Why it spread
A genuine world record the brand owned end to end.
Best Job in the World
A job ad for an island caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef, with applicants submitting videos.
Result Over 34,000 video applications.
Why it spread
A fantasy job gave media a headline, and applicants made the content.
Will It Blend?
The founder blended things like marbles and an iPhone in short videos.
Why it spread
A simple, repeatable format that proved the product every episode.
Draw Ketchup
Heinz asked people to draw ketchup. Nearly everyone drew a Heinz bottle, and those drawings became the ad.
Why it spread
A tiny experiment turned market dominance into proof viewers could test themselves.
The pink launch
A pink-everything launch: a Malibu Dreamhouse on Airbnb, a poster selfie generator and a flood of brand collabs.
Why it spread
The selfie template let anyone make their own version of the poster.
Found footage
The filmmakers marketed the film as real found footage, with a website and missing-person-style flyers.
Why it spread
Doubt over what was real made people argue and share.
Dream Crazy
A 30th-anniversary Just Do It ad fronted by Colin Kaepernick.
Why it spread
Taking a clear side on a divisive issue guaranteed debate.
Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday
Jet2's ad voiceover and song became a TikTok template for holiday-gone-wrong clips.
Why it spread
A recognisable sound became a format people could reuse.
Murder your thirst
Canned water sold with heavy-metal branding.
Why it spread
Absurd branding on a boring product made it a talking point.
Share a Coke
Coca-Cola swapped its logo for popular first names on bottles, starting in Australia.
Why it spread
People hunted for their own name and posted it.
The pooping unicorn
A unicorn that poops rainbow soft-serve explained why the stool helps.
Why it spread
Absurd humour made an awkward product safe to share.
Girls Don't Poop
A prim, well-spoken spokeswoman explained the spray with bathroom jokes.
Why it spread
The contrast between the delivery and the topic made it quotable.
Holiday Hole
During Black Friday week, CAH took donations to dig a giant hole with an excavator, for no reason, on a livestream.
Result Raised about $100,000.
Why it spread
Satirising Black Friday with a pointless stunt was on-brand and newsworthy.
The plane-face TikToks
Ryanair turned its planes into faces and roasted its own reputation.
Why it spread
Self-deprecation beat defending the brand.
Beans for beans
A pop-up store where you could only pay with cans of beans, which were donated to a food pantry.
Why it spread
A money-free shop was a headline on its own, with a good cause built in.
The squeeze bottle
Olive oil sold in squeeze bottles with a playful label.
Why it spread
The bottle itself was the content, easy to show off in any cooking video.
Crash the Super Bowl
Fans made their own Doritos ads, and the winners aired during the Super Bowl.
Why it spread
Entrants campaigned for votes, promoting the brand for free.
Taco Liberty Bell
April Fools' full-page ads claimed Taco Bell had bought the Liberty Bell.
Why it spread
Believable enough to anger people, so the press covered it.
Whopper Sacrifice
A Facebook app gave you a free Whopper for unfriending 10 people, and told them they'd been dropped for a burger.
Why it spread
The unfriend notification itself carried the campaign to new people.
The Epic Split
Jean-Claude Van Damme did the splits between two reversing Volvo trucks to show how precisely they steer.
Result Passed 59 million YouTube views within about a month.
Why it spread
A trucking spec sheet turned into a stunt anyone would watch. The product claim is the thing that makes the stunt possible. Source
Did You Mean MailChimp?
Mailchimp leaned into people mispronouncing its name, launching spoof brands and products built on the misheard versions, like MailShrimp.
Result Won a Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2017.
Why it spread
It took a small, common annoyance and turned it into a puzzle people wanted to decode and share. Source
The fake band
Zendesk invented an indie band called Zendesk Alternative, so people searching for alternatives to Zendesk found Zendesk's own joke.
Why it spread
It meets competitor-comparison searches with a laugh instead of a sales pitch, and the joke got written about. Source
The Windows Ugly Sweater
Microsoft releases an ugly Christmas sweater every year built on old Windows nostalgia. The 2022 one featured Clippy.
Why it spread
Nostalgia for old software is something people are happy to wear, and a yearly drop gives fans something to wait for. Source
Free watches for Instagrammers
Daniel Wellington gifted watches to Instagram creators of all sizes, each with their own discount code to share.
Why it spread
Lots of small creators posting the same simple product made the brand look everywhere at once, and the codes made each post trackable. Source
The Travis Scott Meal
McDonald's sold Travis Scott's usual order as a named meal, promoted to his fanbase.
Result Demand was high enough that some restaurants ran short of Quarter Pounder ingredients.
Why it spread
A celebrity's real order is cheap to produce, and fans could buy into it for a few dollars. Source
The £1 Fish Man, Chief Bargain Officer
London e-bike operator Forest hired the star of the 2012 One Pound Fish video to front its £1 ride offer.
Why it spread
A meme everyone already links to "£1" explains the offer in one look. Source
Susan Boyle's jingle comeback
Cornetto launched Cornetto Max with a Susan Boyle remix of its old Just One Cornetto jingle, teased with paparazzi-style studio shots.
Why it spread
Nostalgia plus a surprise celebrity gave people something to speculate about before the reveal. Source
The Testlist
Specsavers and Groove Armada ran club nights for over-50s, with entry unlocked by taking a free online hearing screener.
Why it spread
The reward (a night out) is tied directly to the action the brand wants (a hearing check). Source
Chicken Wine bar
Fans nicknamed La Vieille Ferme "Chicken Wine" because of the bird on its label. KFC and the wine brand opened a fried-chicken-and-wine bar in Shoreditch.
Why it spread
The idea came from fans, so it felt earned rather than forced. Source
The Brick Clog
Crocs and LEGO launched a $149.99 clog shaped like a LEGO brick, the start of a multi-year partnership.
Why it spread
Two instantly recognisable shapes combined into one product that photographs well. Source
Lip Embalm
e.l.f. and Liquid Death's second collab: lip balms in mini tallboy cans based on Liquid Death flavours.
Why it spread
Both brands share an irreverent tone, so fans of each are primed for the joke. Source
Not Just a Cadbury Ad
For Diwali, Cadbury used AI to generate versions of a Shah Rukh Khan ad that named small local shops, which the shop owners could use as their own ads.
Result Won India's first Titanium Lion at Cannes.
Why it spread
A celebrity endorsement that small businesses could personalise, released when those shops needed sales most. Source
The Man on the Moon
A girl sees a lonely old man on the moon through her telescope and finds a way to send him a gift.
Result Passed 6 million YouTube views soon after release.
Why it spread
The John Lewis Christmas ad had become an annual event people waited for, and this one gave them something to cry at together. Source
The Perfect Gift
A four-minute Christmas romcom starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, riffing on Love Actually, with food at the centre of the story.
Why it spread
It plays like a short film people choose to watch, and the Love Actually link lands with a Christmas audience. Source
Home But Not Alone
Macaulay Culkin returns as Kevin McCallister, now bubble-wrapping his ageing mum's front yard, for an in-home senior care company.
Why it spread
A famous Christmas character updated for a real worry adult children have about their parents. Source
The truck that doesn't stop
Save the Children recreated Coca-Cola's famous Christmas truck ad, then added a twist to make a point about what matters at Christmas.
Why it spread
Borrowing a very familiar ad gets attention immediately, and the twist lands because everyone knows how the original goes. Source
Secret wrapping rooms
Travelodge offered parents free 75-minute hotel rooms stocked with wrapping paper, tape and mince pies, so they could wrap presents in secret.
Why it spread
It solves a small, real Christmas problem, which makes it an easy story for the press. Source
Gingerbread S.O.S.
An emergency cookie delivery service on 23 and 24 December for parents who'd forgotten Santa's treats.
Why it spread
Built on a survey stat about forgetful parents, it gave the press a number and a funny service to write about. Source
The Scamvent Calendar
An advent calendar with chocolates shaped like the most commonly scammed products of the year, plus fraud tips behind each door.
Why it spread
It turns a dull safety message into a festive object people want to show off. Source
Owl on the Prowl
Duolingo released a four-track Christmas album built on its owl's reputation for guilt-tripping notifications.
Why it spread
It extends a character people already know into a new format, so fans share it as part of the running joke. Source
The turkey-sized meatball
IKEA sold a 4.5kg meatball as a Christmas dinner centrepiece, with lingonberry jam and cream sauce.
Why it spread
It's an absurd scale-up of a product everyone associates with IKEA, which makes it instantly shareable. Source
The hangover discount
Over the holiday season, a facial recognition tool gave people a Whopper discount based on how hungover they looked in a selfie.
Why it spread
A selfie mechanic people want to try and screenshot, tied to a feeling everyone has in party season. Source
Three Minutes
A Chinese New Year short film by director Peter Chan, shot on iPhone X, about a train attendant mother who gets three minutes with her son at a station.
Result Went viral in China.
Why it spread
It centres on a feeling millions of people have during the holiday travel rush, and proves the camera without saying so. Source
The Great Wall takeover
For the Year of the Tiger, Bottega Veneta put its signature green on a stretch of the Great Wall of China with a digital banner.
Why it spread
One unforgettable location did the work of a whole media plan. Source
Ramadan billboards
Tesco's first dedicated Ramadan campaign, run on digital billboards placed around the UK.
Why it spread
It showed a big brand paying attention to customers it had overlooked, which people noticed and shared. Source
Signs to Mecca
At the start of Ramadan, adidas and the walking group Muslim Hikers placed signs pointing to Mecca along a Peak District route.
Why it spread
A small, useful gesture made with the community rather than about it. Source
The Nasi Lemak Burger
McDonald's Singapore launched a burger based on nasi lemak in the run-up to National Day.
Result Sold out.
Why it spread
A local national dish in fast-food form was something everyone had an opinion on. Source
Singles' Day
Alibaba turned 11 November, an informal day for single people in China, into a shopping festival.
Result Grew into what TechCrunch called China's $25 billion shopping festival.
Why it spread
Owning a date gives a brand a sales event it controls every year. Source
#OptOutside
REI closed all its stores on Black Friday and paid employees to spend the day outside.
Result REI later made Black Friday closing permanent.
Why it spread
Walking away from the biggest sales day of the year was the loudest possible way to say what the brand stands for. Source
The living billboard
For Black Friday, rugby star Joe Marler lounged with a cocktail inside a glass-fronted billboard in Shoreditch.
Why it spread
A real person inside a billboard makes commuters stop, film and post. Source
Scary Clown Night
On Halloween, Burger King gave a free Whopper to anyone who came in dressed as a clown, a jab at McDonald's.
Why it spread
Customers dressed as the rival's mascot became the ad. Source
The Casket Cooler
A limited-edition, life-size cooler shaped like a coffin, launched ahead of spooky season.
Why it spread
Both brands' fans expect the absurd, and a coffin cooler is impossible not to share. Source
Halloween Essentials
IKEA in the Middle East recast cushions and throws as essential horror-movie gear, for hiding behind on the sofa.
Why it spread
It turns a real behaviour everyone recognises into a reason to buy soft furnishings. Source
Cry Me a Cockroach
An annual Valentine's fundraiser: donate to name a cockroach after your ex, then it gets fed to an animal.
Why it spread
Petty revenge is a very shareable feeling, and every donation creates a post. Source
McNugget Caviar
A free, online-only Valentine's kit pairing Chicken McNuggets with real caviar, made with Paramount Caviar.
Why it spread
High-low luxury is funny on its own, and a limited free drop makes people rush to get one. Source
Open-to-chat baskets
On Valentine's Day, Asda trialled red shopping baskets in three stores that single shoppers could pick up to show they're open to a chat.
Why it spread
A simple, low-cost idea that gives the press a light story and people a reason to visit. Source
The Relationship Aid
A Valentine's campaign that pitched hearing aids as couples' tech for rekindling romance.
Why it spread
It gets a serious health message through by borrowing a cheeky tone. Source
The BillBoard
For Mother's Day, a giant receipt hung in Melbourne Central itemising a lifetime of mothers' unpaid work, totalling $0.00.
Why it spread
A familiar object (a restaurant bill) turned into a point people want to share with their mum. Source
The meatball lollipop
An April Fools' joke about a meatball-flavoured lollipop got such a good reaction that IKEA made it for real with Chupa Chups.
Why it spread
The joke tested demand for free. Turning it real gave the press a second story. Source
The Crisp Egg
A milk-chocolate Easter egg studded with salted crisps, sold exclusively at Selfridges.
Why it spread
A strange flavour combo people want to try and talk about, timed to a gifting season. Source
The KitKat Heist
When a truck carrying 12 tonnes of KitKats was stolen a week before Easter, KitKat publicised the theft and asked the public to help find it.
Result Won the PR Grand Prix at Cannes Lions.
Why it spread
It turned bad news into a story people wanted to follow, instead of hiding it. Source
KegChup
A 114-ounce ketchup keg designed for game-day parties around the Big Game.
Why it spread
It plays on how obsessed some fans are with ketchup, at the one event built for sharing food. Source
World Cup shirts for dogs
Pet-sized versions of the Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Japan home shirts for the 2026 World Cup.
Why it spread
Pets in football kits are made for social feeds, and it gives fans one more thing to buy. Source
The halftime compact
During her Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna paused to touch up with a Fenty Beauty compact on stage.
Why it spread
A founder using her own product in front of the biggest TV audience of the year. Source
The jacket that becomes a bag
Aldi made a jacket that turns into a reusable shopping bag in 10 seconds, based on its research that 46% of Brits regularly forget their bags.
Why it spread
It solves a relatable annoyance, so the product itself is the headline. Source
The Phonetic Collection
At New York Fashion Week, Duolingo and designer Megan O'Cain showed a seven-piece collection that spells out how to pronounce names like Hermès and Givenchy.
Why it spread
It ties the app's core job to a place where people mispronounce things constantly. Source
Freezer pillowcases
Limited-edition pillowcases designed to go in the freezer, packaged in ice cream tubs.
Why it spread
It plays on the cool-side-of-the-pillow habit and takes the brand's ownership of cold somewhere new. Source
"Worst aquarium ever"
A museum turned a one-star review calling it the "worst aquarium ever" (it isn't an aquarium) into merchandise.
Result Became one of its best-selling product lines.
Why it spread
Owning the joke made the museum look confident and funny instead of defensive. Source
Guacabono
Buying anything with guacamole gave customers a chance to have up to a year's rent covered, a joke on the "avocado toast is why you can't afford a house" line.
Why it spread
It takes a generational in-joke and puts real money behind it. Source
Baleboards
Busch wrapped hay bales across Saskatchewan as giant beer cans, paying the farmers for the space.
Why it spread
Media that pays the audience it's thanking is a story in itself. Source
Expedition Impossible
Columbia dared flat earthers to find the edge of the Earth, betting the whole company that they couldn't.
Why it spread
A bet the brand knows it can't lose makes a bold claim about its gear without saying it. Source
The Markup Marché
Fake grocery stores selling everyday items at luxury prices, including a $175 banana, to call out beauty industry mark-ups.
Why it spread
It shows the brand's low-price stance instead of telling it. Source
Really bad photographer wanted
Icelandair advertised a paid 10-day trip for a photographer with no photography skills, to prove Iceland looks good anyway.
Why it spread
A job ad nobody expects gets shared by people who think it's them. Source
Chupa Chups Impossible
To launch an easier-to-open wrapper, Chupa Chups made a limited run of lollipops in the hardest wrapper it could design.
Why it spread
It answers years of online complaints with a joke, so the fix itself gets attention. Source
Break Mode
A limited-edition wrapper that blocks phone signals when you put your phone inside it.
Why it spread
It makes "have a break" literal and gives people a physical reason to put their phone down. Source
Eau de Croissant
A croissant-scented perfume in a croissant-shaped bottle, based on Lidl's 49-cent bakery croissant.
Why it spread
Luxury packaging for a cheap favourite is an easy joke that people want to own. Source
The Trolley Bag
Lidl and designer Nik Bentel made a runway-ready trolley bag for London Fashion Week, following its viral croissant tote in 2024.
Why it spread
Supermarket kit treated as fashion is funny, and a second drop builds on the first one's success. Source
Wedding Flavours
Couples can order McDonald's sauce pots with a personal message to use as wedding favours.
Why it spread
Guests actually use them and post about them, so every wedding becomes a small piece of content. Source
CokeSticks
Coca-Cola made chopsticks shaped like its contour bottle, to put the brand at Asian meal tables.
Why it spread
The brand's most famous shape becomes a useful object instead of an ad. Source
The Recap Cassette
Ahead of Stranger Things' final season, Netflix released an 80s-style radio drama recapping the first four seasons.
Why it spread
It helps lapsed viewers catch up, in a format that matches the show's 80s world. Source
The Supreme casket
Supreme's Spring/Summer 2026 collection included a steel coffin with leopard faux-fur lining.
Why it spread
Putting the logo on something absurd is how the brand keeps people talking about each drop. Source
The Beckham clause
On the Beach announced a refund policy for holidays ruined by family feuds, riffing on the very public Beckham family fallout.
Why it spread
It jumps on a story everyone is already talking about with a real, usable offer. Source
The floating Nutella
A jar of Nutella floated through NASA's live Artemis II broadcast with its label clearly visible. It wasn't a planned campaign.
Why it spread
Unplanned brand moments spread fastest, and brands that react quickly get the credit. Source
Punch the macaque
A baby macaque rejected by its mother at a Japanese zoo bonded with an IKEA soft-toy orangutan, and the internet made it a brand story.
Why it spread
A real, emotional moment with the product in it. The brand didn't have to do anything but not get in the way. Source
The flushable magazine
A limited-edition magazine printed entirely on Cushelle toilet tissue, meant to be read and then used.
Why it spread
A cheeky object that proves softness without saying it. Source
SG60 chips
Limited-edition house-brand chips in kopi, laksa and black pepper crab flavours for Singapore's 60th, with over 400,000 packs going into National Day Parade funpacks.
Result Close to half a million packs reached people through the parade.
Why it spread
Local flavours people argue about, handed to the whole country on the one night everyone is watching. Source
Sponge Man
A model in a gown made entirely of sponges walked down Orchard Road to push Lazada's pricing and trending fashion.
Why it spread
An absurd outfit on Singapore's main shopping street is made for phone cameras. Source
The Good Old Days sale
For SG60, a four-night flash sale on the Lazada app at retro prices of 10¢, 20¢ and 60¢, with a virtual queue.
Why it spread
Nostalgic prices tied to the national birthday give people a reason to open the app at the same time every night. Source
God of Fortune Milk Tea
A Chinese New Year drink with a glutinous rice paper cup cover that melts into the tea, plus snake-themed red packets for buying two large teas.
Why it spread
A cup that changes in front of you is made for a short video, and red packets are a CNY habit. Source
Milo breakfast plushies
For Milo's 75th anniversary in Singapore, collectible plushies shaped like local breakfast items: kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs, gem biscuits and Milo packets.
Why it spread
Nostalgic local food as collectibles taps a very Singaporean love of limited merch. Source
UTme! SG60 collection
Six Singapore-themed T-shirt designs with Ya Kun, plus UNIQLO Singapore's first in-store customisation option.
Why it spread
A beloved local breakfast brand on a global retailer's shelves makes both feel local. Source
UOB Plaza light-up
UOB turned its 280-metre tower into a projection-mapping display about the bank's history and Singapore's for SG60.
Result Set a Guinness World Record for projection mapping.
Why it spread
A record attempt gives the press a hook beyond "bank celebrates birthday". Source
SingaPop
Handcrafted popsicles shaped like the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, the Botanic Gardens and Kampong Gelam, in culturally themed packaging.
Why it spread
Landmark-shaped food is instantly photographable, and SG60 gave people a reason to post it. Source
The jade dragon
A CGI video of a jade dragon soaring over the Singapore skyline around Marina Bay Sands.
Result 5.1 million views.
Why it spread
Fake out-of-home looks real at a glance, so people watch twice and share to ask if it's real. Source
The floating mac and cheese
A CGI video of a giant bowl of mac and cheese hovering above a Singapore street.
Result 1.3 million views.
Why it spread
A convenience-store snack at monument scale is a cheap, attention-grabbing launch. Source
The emergency gameshow
SCDF worked with SGAG on a gameshow-style reality series teaching Singaporeans the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency.
Result 1.7 million views and nearly 300 fewer non-emergency and false-alarm calls.
Why it spread
Local creators made a public service message feel like entertainment people chose to watch. Source
#YouGrillWeSpill
CPF had influencers and experts take young Singaporeans' questions about retirement in a BBQ-themed series.
Result 10 million video views and over 300,000 interactions.
Why it spread
Letting the audience grill the institution made a dry topic feel like a conversation. Source
Vaseline Originals
With Ogilvy Singapore, Vaseline traced popular Vaseline hacks back to the creators who started them, named them Vaseline OGs and built real products from their ideas, sharing the revenue.
Result Built on more than 3.5 million Vaseline hack posts online. The earlier Vaseline Verified work won a Titanium Lion at Cannes.
Why it spread
Crediting and paying the people who made the trend turns a brand into a platform creators want to be part of. Source
Homesick
A short film set in Kuala Lumpur about an imperfect but generous moment between siblings.
Why it spread
A small, specific family moment lands harder than a big emotional speech. Source
Unsung Hero
A man does small kind things every day for no reward, until the film shows what they added up to.
Why it spread
It never mentions insurance until the end, so people share it as a story rather than an ad. Source
Kwentong Jollibee
A series of short love-story films released for Valentine's Day in the Philippines.
Result The videos went viral in the Philippines.
Why it spread
Relatable local love stories made people tag the person they were thinking of. Source
Ronaldo's 9.9 dance
Cristiano Ronaldo danced to Shopee's jingle for its 9.9 Super Shopping Day ad.
Result The video keeps resurfacing and going viral.
Why it spread
It was widely mocked as cringe, which is exactly why everyone shared it. Source
The Shanghai F1 metro
LEGO turned Shanghai's Metro Line 11 into a Formula 1-themed train for the return of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Why it spread
A daily commute turned into a race car is something regular riders post about. Source
The Poké Ball hotel
A human-sized Poké Ball sleeping pod you can stay in, set to land in Hokkaido.
Why it spread
It turns a sleep-tracking app into a place fans want to go and photograph. Source
Uber Drift
For a month, visitors to Tokyo could book a ride-along in a Nissan drifting sideways, through the Uber app.
Why it spread
A bucket-list experience inside a utility app gives tourists a story to tell. Source
Michael CeraVe
CeraVe spent a month seeding a fake rumour, with paparazzi shots and influencers, that Michael Cera had founded the brand, then paid it off with a Super Bowl ad.
Result 9 billion earned impressions before kick-off.
Why it spread
A believable conspiracy gave creators something to debate before the ad even aired. Source
The Charli
Dunkin' put Charli D'Amelio's usual cold brew order on the menu as "The Charli".
Result Sold hundreds of thousands of drinks and app downloads spiked 57% on launch.
Why it spread
Her fans could buy the exact drink they'd seen her order in her videos. Source
Mexican Pizza: The Musical
After fans campaigned for its return, Taco Bell brought back the Mexican Pizza, announced by Doja Cat at Coachella and promoted with a TikTok musical starring her and Dolly Parton.
Result It sold out, and Taco Bell made it a permanent menu item.
Why it spread
It rewarded a real fan campaign and let the fans be part of the launch. Source
The mochi TikTok trend
A TikTok trend of people buying and trying Little Moons mochi snowballed in early 2021.
Result Sales rose 700% at Tesco.
Why it spread
A small, colourful, satisfying product is perfect for a short video, and scarcity made it a treasure hunt. Source
The edible mascot
At the first Pop-Tarts Bowl, the mascot climbed into a giant toaster and came out as a giant Pop-Tart that the winning team ate.
Result 4x more engagement than all other bowl game sponsors combined.
Why it spread
It was so strange that it dominated the social conversation that bowl season. Source
The mascara buses
A CGI video of London transport wearing giant false lashes being brushed with mascara.
Why it spread
It looked real enough that people argued about whether it was, and shared it to ask. Source
The Bambino bag cars
Videos showed Jacquemus's Bambino bags as tiny cars driving through the streets of Paris.
Result 48.8 million views.
Why it spread
A fashion item at vehicle size is impossible not to film, and people argued over whether it was real. Source
Baseline
When a creator's video accidentally calling it "Baseline" became a meme, Vaseline mock-rebranded as Baseline and named her CEO.
Result Built on a creator video that passed 2 million views.
Why it spread
It moved within days and gave credit to the creator instead of taking over the joke. Source
Not A Nightcap
Kahlúa cast grandparents who were already viral online to move cream liqueur out of the bedtime slot, including a care home party.
Why it spread
Creators with a ready-made following give the brand an audience and a tone on day one. Source
Pints & Ponytails
A night above a London pub where dads learned to braid their daughters' hair over a pint.
Result Grew from 10 dads to 35 in under three weeks, and dads in other cities asked to host their own.
Why it spread
A practical, slightly vulnerable skill in a relaxed setting is exactly what people tag their friends in. Source
The pronunciation test
A back-to-school TikTok challenge asking people to prove they can pronounce IKEA's Swedish product names.
Why it spread
It turns a brand quirk everyone jokes about into a format people want to attempt. Source
Tanmaxxing
Burger King jumped on the TikTok "tanmaxxing" trend with "Leave the flame grilling to us", turning sunburn into ads.
Why it spread
Riding a trend people already know gives the joke instant context. Source
Camera Rolls
McDonald's built a campaign from real late-night photos found in fans' camera rolls.
Why it spread
Real photos of real nights out feel more honest than anything staged. Source
The Secret Menu
McDonald's officially launched the fan-made "secret menu" hacks people had been sharing for years.
Why it spread
Making fan hacks official rewards the community and gives the press a story. Source
World Menu Heist
Using social listening, McDonald's "stole" nine menu items fans wanted most from eight countries and brought them to the UK and Ireland, told as a heist story.
Result The 2025 edition was adapted by more than 40 McDonald's markets.
Why it spread
The fans chose the targets, so the launch felt like it was for them. Source
r/eal reviews
Dove flyposted New York with real Reddit reviews of its Intensive Repair mask, good and bad.
Why it spread
Showing a mixed review makes the good ones more believable. Source
Google Maps lists
Dua Lipa filled Google Maps with 12 shared lists of her own travel recommendations.
Why it spread
A celebrity's real favourite places are useful and personal, which makes fans save them. Source
Louis Theroux for Air Max 95
JD cast documentary maker Louis Theroux as the face of the Nike Air Max 95 OG Neon's return.
Why it spread
An unexpected face gets people talking in a way a usual athlete wouldn't. Source
USB002 files
Dropbox and Fred again.. released working creative files from his USB002 tour for fans to use.
Why it spread
It gives creators something real, and shows the product doing its actual job. Source
No Software
Salesforce hired fake protesters with "No Software" signs outside a rival's conference.
Why it spread
A startup picking a fight with the market leader got it press it couldn't have paid for. Source
Watson on Jeopardy!
IBM's Watson computer competed on Jeopardy! against its two greatest champions.
Result Watson won.
Why it spread
A quiz show made an abstract enterprise technology easy for anyone to understand. Source
The bursting billboard
Expense management app Perk built a billboard overflowing with receipts to show the chaos of expense claims.
Why it spread
Every office worker recognises the pain, so the ad sells the product without explaining it. Source
The see-through EV
Engineering group Sandvik built a full-size transparent electric car made without mined materials, to show how much green tech depends on mining.
Why it spread
Taking something away is a clear way to show why it matters. Source
The live-printed billboard
HP printed a whole billboard live on a Clapham street, one A4 sheet at a time, from 319 sheets.
Why it spread
The product builds the ad in public, which is its own proof. Source
The Haven platform
An insurer gave every one of Australia's 11 million homes a free risk report, told in the home's own voice, using its own data.
Result Won the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026.
Why it spread
It helps everyone, not just customers, which changes how people see an insurer. Source
The Laughing Cow stops laughing
The Laughing Cow removed its mascot's smile for the first time in over 100 years and refused to say why.
Why it spread
An unexplained change to something familiar makes people speculate and share. Source
The vanishing players
To launch FC 27, EA made its celebrity players disappear from their Times Square billboards, then revealed they were playing the game together.
Why it spread
An empty billboard creates a question the reveal answers. Source
The slipping billboard
A Tesco billboard appeared to slide out of its frame, dropping the weekly shop into an Uber Eats bag.
Why it spread
A billboard that breaks its own frame shows the partnership in one image. Source
The Widow's Bay billboard
After Widow's Bay won a record 14 Emmys, Apple TV floated a "definitely not cursed" tourism billboard around Cape Cod.
Why it spread
It extends the show's world into real life right when people are talking about it. Source
Lingerie shadows
For New York Fashion Week, a CGI campaign hung giant lingerie above Manhattan streets, casting huge shadows.
Why it spread
An impossible image in a real place is made for sharing. Source
KALLAX Storageborn
IKEA released a free Skyrim companion, voiced by Matt Berry, that solves the game's age-old problem of carrying too much.
Why it spread
It solves a real annoyance for gamers, in their world, with the brand's actual promise: storage. Source
Security tray ads
AG1 put ads for its creatine product inside airport security trays in Denver, Austin and Seattle.
Why it spread
It meets people at the exact moment the problem happens: travelling with loose powder. Source
Pee for data centres
With Jason Kelce, a satirical campaign asked Americans to donate their urine to cool AI data centres.
Why it spread
Satire about something people already worry about gets shared as commentary. Source
Niles the crocodile
Crocs brought the crocodile in its logo to life as Niles, a six-foot mascot for social media and live events.
Why it spread
A character can post, react and show up in ways a logo can't. Source
Tear-off posters
Spotify made its street posters perforated so fans could tear one off and take it home.
Why it spread
Fans were going to take them anyway, so the brand made it part of the idea. Source
The man in the billboard
Netflix put a live performer inside a furnished billboard above Sunset Boulevard to promote The Last House.
Why it spread
A real person living in an ad makes people stop, film and check back. Source
The Love Lid
A ketchup lid with three settings, Like, Love and Crazy Love, for how much you want.
Why it spread
It celebrates the fans who use too much ketchup, which they happily share. Source
Five lagers and a sub
A Heineken six-pack with the sixth bottle swapped for a Heinz ketchup.
Why it spread
Two big brands with the same first letters, sold as "the match we've all been waiting for". Source
The Ketchup Smoothie
Heinz and Smoothie King launched a tomato ketchup smoothie, asking if tomatoes are a fruit, is ketchup a smoothie?
Why it spread
A food debate turned into a real product people dare each other to try. Source
The flattened restaurant
A&W made a Toronto restaurant look squashed flat for a day to launch its first smash burger.
Why it spread
The whole building becomes a visual pun for the product. Source
Bucket For One
A single-serve bucket of chicken, launched with a campaign celebrating the urge to never share.
Why it spread
It says out loud what customers already feel about sharing fried chicken. Source
The Pickle Puffer
A see-through puffer jacket filled with pickle juice and gherkins, with a built-in straw, for KFC's Pickle Mania menu.
Why it spread
Absurd merch gets the menu talked about far beyond people who'd see an ad. Source
Sweden's sunniest spot
With Sweden's weather institute, IKEA found the country's sunniest square metre on Gotland and marked it with two stone IKEA chairs.
Why it spread
A data-backed fact gives the press a story and people a place to visit. Source
The loneliest seat
At the Champions League final, Heineken put a second seat next to the stadium's most isolated one, for a competition winner.
Why it spread
A small, human idea at a huge event shows the brand's "fans have more friends" line. Source
More than toys
Argos packaged a Smeg fridge and other premium home goods as oversized toys to fight the idea that it's just a toy shop.
Why it spread
It leans into the joke people already make about the brand. Source
The half-dirty vans
A US car wash wrapped its vans so one half looks filthy and the other half clean.
Why it spread
A before-and-after you understand in half a second, on media the business already owns. Source
World Cup stickers under labels
Official World Cup stickers hidden under the labels of Coca-Cola bottles in the US and Canada.
Why it spread
Sticker collecting is a ritual, and this makes every bottle a small lottery. Source
Tour dates for blood
Metallica's final UK tour dates were turned into a blood donation drive across all three UK nations.
Why it spread
Fans act on a request from a band they love faster than from a health service. Source
The bookstore with no books
Audible opened a permanent New York space for browsing and sampling audiobooks.
Why it spread
A physical place for a product with no physical form is a story in itself. Source
The Pac-Man Telecaster
A limited-edition Telecaster guitar covered in Pac-Man arcade graphics.
Why it spread
Two nostalgic icons in one object appeal to two sets of collectors. Source
Tickets vs flights
Air Transat ran live comparisons between the price of a World Cup ticket and a return flight to the country you'd support.
Why it spread
It uses a complaint fans are already making and turns it into a reason to travel. Source
The tissue truck
After England went out of the World Cup, Uber sent a branded tissue truck to console fans.
Why it spread
Being there with a joke at the exact moment fans feel it. Source
WeMite
Marmite renamed itself WeMite on limited-edition jars for England fans travelling to the World Cup in the US.
Why it spread
A playful rename ties a love-it-or-hate-it brand to national pride. Source
Goal Posters
Carlsberg turned flyposters in UK cities into playable football goals.
Why it spread
An ad people can actually use gets played with and filmed. Source
Made from girders
Irn-Bru turned its 1980s "Made in Scotland from Girders" jingle into a World Cup anthem for the Tartan Army.
Why it spread
An old jingle fans already know makes an instant singalong. Source
The Farmers' Choir
A choir of 34 working farmers, first assembled for a beer ad designed to be banned, entered Britain's Got Talent.
Result Became the first choir ever to win Britain's Got Talent, with the final watched live by 4.1 million.
Why it spread
The choir outlived the stunt and became a story people wanted to follow. Source
The handbag popcorn bucket
AMC released a popcorn bucket shaped like a structured handbag for the sequel's opening night.
Why it spread
Merch that matches the film's world gives fans something to show off before they've seen it. Source
Downgrade Now
Back Market pushed back against the pressure to keep upgrading your phone.
Why it spread
Arguing against the whole industry is an easy position to remember. Source
The huggable poster
giffgaff put a soft, huggable poster at King's Cross to promote a data boost.
Why it spread
A poster you can touch stops people who ignore flat ads. Source
Make it shitty
A comedy film about a professional whose job is to make digital products steadily worse, released with a report on "enshittification".
Why it spread
It puts a name and a face on a frustration everyone has with apps. Source
Baker's Street
For its 150th anniversary, Warburtons renamed London's Baker Street station "Baker's Street", with announcements voiced by Morgan Freeman.
Why it spread
A pun on a famous place is easy to share, and the voice makes it memorable. Source
Pick-your-own billboard
Before Mother's Day, Tesco turned a King's Cross billboard into a wall of real tulips commuters could pick.
Why it spread
A billboard you can take something from gets people interacting and posting. Source
Matrescence
A full-page New York Times ad campaigning to get "matrescence", the transition to motherhood, into the dictionary.
Why it spread
Giving a shared experience a name gives people a reason to talk about it. Source
No logo needed
McDonald's NZ ran outdoor ads with little more than menu item names, trusting people to know the brand.
Why it spread
Only a famous brand can do it, so the ad itself shows how famous it is. Source
Temperature-triggered pubs
Digital billboards that switched on when it got cold, directing people into nearby pubs.
Why it spread
The ad appears exactly when it's most relevant and points somewhere to go. Source
Swearword cans
Foster's replaced its wordmark with affectionate insults British men use with their mates.
Why it spread
Packaging in your own language is something people pick up and show friends. Source
The Fountain of Filth
To launch a drama about Britain's sewage crisis, Channel 4 built a 10-metre fountain on London's South Bank.
Why it spread
A physical, slightly disgusting object makes an abstract scandal impossible to ignore. Source
The battery livery
Duracell's F1 partnership showed up as a simple, clever integration on the new Williams car.
Why it spread
A sponsorship that makes sense at a glance gets talked about instead of ignored. Source
The All Conditions Express
Nike ran an all-orange branded train at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics to relaunch its All Conditions Gear line.
Why it spread
A striking object at a global event gets filmed by everyone there. Source
Will Shat
William Shatner fronted a Super Bowl spot with blunt jokes about fibre and going to the toilet.
Why it spread
Toilet humour on the biggest ad stage stands out from the polish around it. Source
Jurassic WiFi
Xfinity's Super Bowl debut asked what would have happened if Jurassic Park had decent internet.
Why it spread
A film everyone knows plus one small change makes an instant premise. Source
The Heinz Dipper
Heinz redesigned the fry box so it holds ketchup, launching in 11 countries.
Why it spread
Fixing a small, universal annoyance makes the product the headline. Source
Bakerl0.0
TfL temporarily renamed the Bakerloo line "Bakerl0.0" for Heineken 0.0, with free alcohol-free beers.
Why it spread
Renaming something everyone uses is an easy photo and headline. Source
Pie Society
While billionaires met in Davos, Oxfam ran a one-day pie shop in East London serving pies with a side of wealth-inequality facts.
Why it spread
A cheap, everyday food makes an abstract number feel real. Source
Grandma, the ambassador
Jacquemus named its first-ever brand ambassador: the founder's grandmother.
Why it spread
An unexpected, personal choice tells people who the brand is. Source
The 1p pop-up
To bring back its Saving Challenge, Monzo ran a 1p pop-up stunt for Coventry City fans.
Why it spread
An almost-free offer tied to a local club gets fans queuing and posting. Source
The snowstorm stunt
When over 60cm of snow fell in Toronto in one storm, Stella Artois ran a timely outdoor activation around it.
Why it spread
Reacting to the weather everyone is talking about makes the ad feel live. Source
Let's grab a pint
Häagen-Dazs put up a Toronto billboard saying "Let's grab a pint". Stella Artois replied, taking it literally.
Why it spread
Brand banter people can see in the street is shareable, and both brands win. Source
McSki
The world's only ski-thru McDonald's, at the Lindvallen resort in Sälen, Sweden.
Why it spread
A familiar brand in an unexpected setting keeps getting rediscovered and shared. Source
Tetris in the sky
The Red Bull Tetris World Final was played live in the sky over Dubai, with each move shown by 2,800 drones.
Result More than 7 million mobile qualifiers from 60 countries.
Why it spread
A game everyone knows at an impossible scale is made for video. Source
Red in rival stadiums
Coca-Cola used optical illusions to get into Argentine football stadiums where red, the colour of rival teams, has long been absent.
Why it spread
Working around a rule everyone knows makes a clever story. Source
The La La Hand fix
For La La Land's 10th anniversary, the studio retouched the poster to fix the hand pose Ryan Gosling has publicly regretted for years.
Why it spread
Rewarding an in-joke the star started gives fans a reason to share. Source
The Bike Thru
Oatly opened a drive-thru for cyclists in Amsterdam, so riders can grab a drink without getting off.
Why it spread
Redesigning a car format for bikes fits the city and the brand perfectly. Source
The drone match ball
Emirates delivered the match ball to Real Madrid's stadium by drone.
Why it spread
A sponsorship moment that is actually worth filming. Source
Lettuce footballs
For the World Cup, Tesco packaged iceberg lettuces as footballs.
Why it spread
A tiny, cheap change to a boring product gets picked up and posted. Source
Relax, it's iPhone
Billboards showing smeared, soaked and slobbered-on iPhones getting on with everyday life.
Why it spread
Real-life mess is more believable than perfect studio shots. Source
ChatGPT carved buildings
Trompe-l'œil outdoor ads showing ChatGPT image generations carved into the sides of buildings.
Why it spread
It shows the product's output instead of describing it. Source
Clutter behind billboards
IKEA hid people's household clutter behind its billboards, packed neatly into SAMLA storage boxes.
Why it spread
The ad literally does what the product does. Source
Art-free ads
The Warhol Museum advertised its collection without showing any of the art.
Why it spread
Holding back the thing people know creates curiosity. Source
The Trafalgar Trojan Horse
A giant Trojan Horse appeared overnight in Trafalgar Square for the release of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
Why it spread
A huge object that appears overnight in a famous square is a guaranteed photo. Source
The BOSS sewing machine
To launch its new Double B monogram, BOSS released a CGI video of a giant sewing machine stitching the logo on the Champs-Élysées.
Result 24.1 million views.
Why it spread
A familiar street plus an impossible object makes people watch twice. Source
The Alonso helmet bus
A CGI video of a red London double-decker unveiling a giant version of Fernando Alonso's BOSS-designed helmet outside Selfridges, for the British Grand Prix.
Result 21.9 million views.
Why it spread
Tying a CGI moment to a real event gives people a reason to share it that week. Source
The flying pterodactyl
A CGI video appeared to show a giant pterodactyl made of drones flying over Manhattan.
Why it spread
It looked just plausible enough, which made people ask whether it was real. Source
The Thames bottle
The Ordinary showed a 12-metre version of its reformulated product sailing down the Thames on a branded boat.
Why it spread
A product at monument scale on a famous river is made for a short video. Source
The giant lipstick
A CGI animation on Instagram showed an oversized replica of L'Oréal's liquid lipstick in a real street setting.
Why it spread
The product becomes the landmark, so every view is a product shot. Source
Switzerland Is Fake
A deepfake video by Zurich comedian Patrick Karpiczenko claimed Switzerland is fake, as a teaser for a photography museum's reopening.
Result Went viral and sparked debate.
Why it spread
A provocative claim about what's real fits a photo museum exactly, and people argued about it. Source
The flaming lion
To reopen its stadium, the Argentine football club had a CGI flaming lion leap out of the sky onto the pitch.
Why it spread
An impossible moment in a place fans know well is instantly shareable. Source
Christmas Miracle
Passengers told a video Santa what they wanted for Christmas before their flight. WestJet staff bought the gifts and had them on the baggage carousel when they landed.
Result Earned the airline millions of dollars' worth of free advertising, per Forbes.
Why it spread
Real reactions to real gifts, filmed in one day, beat any scripted Christmas ad. Source
#heimkommen
An elderly man fakes his own death so his busy family will finally come home for Christmas.
Result City AM named it the early winner over that year's John Lewis and Sainsbury's ads.
Why it spread
A shocking twist on a feeling many families recognise made people share it and argue about it. Source
Holidays Are Coming
The illuminated Coca-Cola trucks ad, later turned into a real truck tour that visits towns before Christmas.
Why it spread
Repeating the same ad every year turned it into a tradition people wait for. Source
Kevin the Carrot
Aldi's Christmas ads star a carrot called Kevin, who returns each year and sells as a plush toy.
Why it spread
A recurring character gives people something to look forward to and collect. Source
The Big Bad Wolf goes veggie
A Christmas film about a wolf tired of being the villain, who changes his diet to make friends.
Why it spread
A familiar villain with a new story is a fresh take in a season full of human tearjerkers. Source
Your Tree on Battersea
The public designed Christmas trees on iPad, and 24 winning designs were projected onto Battersea Power Station.
Why it spread
People share their own work, so every winner promotes the campaign. Source
It's Pixel, actually
Google recreated scenes from Love Actually with two of its original cast to show the Pixel 10's zoom.
Why it spread
It borrows the UK's most searched Christmas film at the time of year people rewatch it. Source
Best Christmas Ever
A holiday short directed by Taika Waititi about a girl whose Christmas doodle comes to life.
Why it spread
A short film people choose to watch, with a recognisable tune and a warm story. Source
The Bonnie Tyler twist
A schoolboy sings and dances to Bonnie Tyler until the reason behind his song is revealed: his family is in temporary accommodation.
Why it spread
A joyful start makes the twist hit harder, and it makes a statistic personal. Source
Where Love Lives
A teenage son uses a 90s club track to tell his dad what he can't say, launching John Lewis's new music offer in store.
Why it spread
The ad sells the thing it's about: music as a gift. Source
Snapper the tree
A boy grows a Venus flytrap as his Christmas tree, and it causes chaos.
Why it spread
A lighter, funnier take from a brand people expect to make them cry. Source
The tin on trial
Judge Rinder put Quality Street's new paper tubs "on trial" against the old tin, playing defence, prosecution and judge.
Why it spread
A packaging change people might complain about became the joke. Source
The Home Alone house
Fans could step into a recreation of the Home Alone house in London, with photo spots and props.
Why it spread
A set people know by heart becomes a place they want to be photographed in. Source
The Bouillon Bag
A mini designer-style handbag that holds exactly one Knorr stock cube.
Why it spread
It parodies tiny luxury bags and makes a stock cube a fashion accessory. Source
Foot Pints
Winter boots whose soles leave pint-of-Guinness-shaped footprints in the snow.
Why it spread
A small, clever detail people want to own and show off. Source
Naughty and nice cities
Uber ranked UK cities by average rider rating and gave £50 train credit to riders on the "nice list".
Why it spread
Its own data turned into a festive league table local media want to report. Source
Pigs in blankets bucket
Free sharing buckets of pigs in blankets for "Friendsmas", backed by research on the nation's favourite festive food.
Why it spread
A survey stat plus a free offer gives the press a light story. Source
Letters to Santa
Orange post boxes in airports so children flying at Christmas could post letters to Santa, after research found 71% worried he wouldn't find them.
Why it spread
A small worry children really have, solved in the place they'll be. Source
To Bounty or not to Bounty
A debate at the Oxford Union on whether the Bounty should stay in the Celebrations tub.
Why it spread
It takes a long-running argument everyone has and gives it an absurdly serious stage. Source
Clamp billboards
Paddy Power hijacked wheel clamps on cars across Dublin to promote its comedy festival.
Why it spread
It turns the most hated thing on a street into a joke drivers want to share. Source
The Cost of Bleeding
Clue published research putting the lifetime cost of menstruation at more than £20,000, reframing periods as a financial issue.
Why it spread
One big, surprising number gives journalists a headline. Source
Don't Buy This Jacket
On Black Friday, Patagonia ran a full-page New York Times ad showing its best-selling jacket with the headline "Don't Buy This Jacket", asking people to buy less and repair more.
Why it spread
An ad telling you not to buy is the last thing anyone expects on the biggest shopping day of the year, and it matched what the brand already stood for. Source
Buy Back Friday
Instead of a Black Friday sale, IKEA bought back used furniture in 27 countries, paying up to 50% of the original price in store vouchers.
Why it spread
It flips the day from buying more to selling back, and it still brings people into the store. Source
A moment of nothingness
The Ordinary's parent company closed its website and every store on Black Friday, and ran 23% off for the whole of November instead.
Why it spread
Switching off on the one day everyone else shouts is louder than any discount. Source
Boxes of bullshit
Cards Against Humanity pulled its games from sale on Black Friday and sold only $6 boxes of sterilised bull manure.
Result 30,000 boxes sold out in under two hours, per TIME.
Why it spread
It's a joke about Black Friday that people pay to be part of. Source
Pay $5 for nothing
For Black Friday, Cards Against Humanity took its store offline and let people pay $5 to receive nothing at all.
Result People paid $71,145 for nothing, per TechCrunch.
Why it spread
The absurd offer mocks the sales frenzy and becomes the story itself. Source
Raising prices for the planet
Allbirds raised every price by $1 on Black Friday, matched it, and gave the money to the youth climate movement Fridays For Future.
Why it spread
Going up when everyone else goes down is a headline, and the reason is easy to explain. Source
The Black Friday Fund
Everlane gives its Black Friday profits to projects for the factory workers who make its clothes, after closing for the day didn't work.
Why it spread
Customers still get to shop, but the purchase does something they can feel good about. Source
Prime Day
For its 20th birthday, Amazon invented its own members-only sale day in July, promoted as bigger than Black Friday.
Result 34.4 million items ordered, more than Amazon's Black Friday 2014, per CNBC.
Why it spread
A shopping day you own is a sales moment no rival can join on equal terms. Source
The Mean Girls reunion
Walmart's Black Friday ads reunited Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert as grown-up versions of their Mean Girls characters.
Why it spread
A cast everyone quotes makes a routine deals message worth watching and sharing. Source
The waitlist you climb
Before launch, Robinhood's sign-up page showed your place in the queue and how many people were behind you, and every friend you referred moved you up.
Result About a million people joined the waitlist before the app opened.
Why it spread
Showing people their position turns waiting into a game, and the only way to win is to share. Source
Invite-only Gmail
Gmail launched on April Fools' Day with 1GB of storage, but only to about 1,000 people, who could each invite a few friends.
Result Invites sold on eBay for $150 and more, per TIME.
Why it spread
Scarcity made an account a status symbol, and every invite was a personal recommendation. Source
A moment of Calm on election night
The meditation app sponsored CNN's "Key Race Alerts" during the 2020 US election count.
Result Rose to No. 1 in the US Health & Fitness chart, per TechCrunch.
Why it spread
A calming app next to the most stressful TV of the year is a joke people screenshot without being asked. Source
Cash App Friday
People had started posting their $cashtags on Fridays asking for money. Cash App joined in, giving away cash to random repliers every week.
Result One January 2020 giveaway drew more than 56,000 replies, per Money.
Why it spread
The brand adopted a habit users invented, and every entry is a post with the app's name in it. Source
The five-second butt
Duolingo bought a five-second regional Super Bowl slot showing Duo's cartoon behind, and timed a push notification to hit learners' phones as it aired.
Result Notifications reached 95% of eligible learners within 3.9 seconds of the ad, per Duolingo.
Why it spread
A tiny ad that joins up with the app on your phone makes five seconds feel much bigger. Source
UberKITTENS
On National Cat Day, Uber users in three US cities could request kittens to their office for 15 minutes, with the money going to animal shelters.
Why it spread
A silly new button in the app gives people a reason to open it and tell everyone they did. Source
A night at the Louvre
Airbnb and the Louvre ran a contest for one couple to spend the night in the museum, with dinner by the Venus de Milo and a bed under the glass pyramid.
Why it spread
A once-in-a-lifetime stay makes people enter, share and talk about the brand even if they don't win. Source
The athlete army
Gymshark grew by sponsoring fitness creators to wear and talk about its kit, and by 2020 was paying 125 influencers.
Result Valued at over £1 billion in 2020.
Why it spread
Real gym-goers wearing the clothes in their own videos made the brand look like part of the community. Source
Wild Thing for farmers
Hawkstone reunited its Farmers' Choir with Groove Armada's Andy Cato for a charity cover of Wild Thing, launched alongside a new regenerative lager called Wildthing.
Why it spread
A song, a cause and a product launch share one name, so each one promotes the others. Source
Bob the Builder goes back to school
E.ON Next brought Bob the Builder back in stop-motion and sent him to green skills training, with Neil Morrissey voicing him for the first time since 2011.
Why it spread
A character everyone grew up with makes a dry topic (green skills) warm and shareable. Source
The Counter
McDonald's took over a Shoreditch butcher's shop to show exactly what goes into its beef patties and introduce the people in its supply chain.
Why it spread
A real butcher's counter answers the "what's really in it" question better than any claim in an ad. Source
Belli organizzati
For 30 years of its blue FRAKTA bag, IKEA Italy documented what people really do with it after checkout, in a ten-image campaign.
Why it spread
Real, unexpected uses of a cheap bag say more about the brand than a product shot. Source
The Enshittificator meets Death
The Norwegian Consumer Council followed its Enshittificator film with a sequel that lands a serious sustainability message through comedy.
Why it spread
A returning comic character turns a policy message into something people choose to watch. Source
The school dinner restaurant
Chef Angela Hartnett fronted a fake restaurant that served unsuspecting diners real school meals, to show the state of school food.
Why it spread
Diners' honest reactions to the food make the problem obvious without a statistic. Source
Picklecore
KFC Australia swapped its red for pickle green and turned a limited gherkin menu into a fashion-style aesthetic called Picklecore.
Why it spread
Borrowing fashion's language makes a menu item feel like a trend people want to join. Source
The legwear taxi
For New York Fashion Week, Calzedonia turned a yellow cab into a moving tights ad and opened a SoHo pop-up.
Why it spread
An iconic city object dressed in your product is a photo people take for you. Source
Monks in trail shoes
Puma India dressed 40 Buddhist monks in running shoes for a campaign shot at Ladakh's Thiksey Monastery, linking meditation and marathon running.
Why it spread
An unexpected cast in a striking place makes a product shoot feel like a story. Source
The Barbie pink Aldi
Aldi turned its Barnet store Barbie pink to launch a Barbie doll inspired by its cult Middle Aisle.
Why it spread
A whole store in a partner's signature colour is impossible to walk past or not photograph. Source
The Wedgemobile
The Laughing Cow drove a full-size truck shaped like one of its cheese triangles through a Minneapolis art fair, handing out samples.
Why it spread
A product-shaped vehicle is sampling and a photo opportunity in one. Source
Equal pay in prison
For Equal Pay Day, a Belgian women's rights group pointed out that prison is one of the few workplaces where men and women are guaranteed the same pay.
Why it spread
A darkly funny fact makes people repeat the message. Source
The Freeze-Fit jacket
Desperados and designer Paolina Russo made a limited festival jacket cooled by frozen beer, with thermochromic fabric and hidden fans.
Why it spread
An absurd, wearable object gives the press a picture and a headline. Source
The 1.9 square-metre home
A Swedish housing developer built three micro homes that turn housing affordability statistics into spaces people can step inside.
Why it spread
Standing in the space you can afford makes a statistic physical. Source
What's in my bag, really
Vagisil hijacked the "What's in my bag?" trend, turning beauty bags into reminders of intimate health topics women rarely talk about.
Why it spread
A familiar format gets an awkward subject into the feed without feeling like an ad. Source
The unwritten rules merch
Lufthansa made a limited fashion collection about flying's social questions: armrest politics, seat reclining and standing up the moment you land.
Why it spread
Everyone has an opinion on these debates, so the merch starts conversations. Source
The XL Big Issue
The Big Issue printed 3,000 double-size copies to show the barriers to eye and hearing care faced by people experiencing homelessness.
Why it spread
Making the magazine itself hard to read makes the point in your hands. Source
Normal F***ing Sunglasses
DuckDuckGo and Knockaround released $35 sunglasses with no camera, microphone, AI or battery, as its answer to smart glasses.
Why it spread
A product that does nothing is a sharp joke about privacy, the thing the brand stands for. Source
The Pink Nel
7UP turned a Clapham pub pink for several weeks to launch an alcohol-free Pink Shandy.
Why it spread
A whole pub in your colour gives a new drink a place to be tried and photographed. Source
The Chiller Room
Suntory's vodka soda brand opened a temperature-controlled pop-up bar on Clapham Common as an escape from the London heat.
Why it spread
A cold room in a heatwave is useful, timely and on-brand for a drink named after a temperature. Source
Priced moments
IKEA Belgium priced the moment a product makes possible, not the product, while rivals cut prices.
Why it spread
Pricing a feeling makes an affordability message stand out in a price war. Source
The self-published library
Amazon opened a free open-air library in Victoria Park stocked only with self-published books, to mark ten years of its Storyteller Award.
Why it spread
A free library puts the product in people's hands and gives authors something to share. Source
Smell like Pepsi
Pepsi and cosmetics brand Glamlite launched a body care line built around Pepsi's soda flavours.
Why it spread
A drink as a scent is odd enough to talk about and easy to try. Source
Garlic and herb ice cream
Domino's stirred its cult Garlic & Herb dip into a limited-edition ice cream and served it on Brighton seafront.
Why it spread
A dip fans already love, in a form nobody expects, is made for a taste-test video. Source
Small beer, big billboard
Modelo launched a 210ml bottle, Modelito, on Mexico City's biggest billboard, with the tiny product as the joke.
Why it spread
Contrast does the work: the smallest product on the biggest site. Source
What Jay Kay was reaching for
Beefeater 0.0 partnered with Jamiroquai to finally "reveal" what Jay Kay was reaching for in the Virtual Insanity video, 30 years on.
Why it spread
It answers a question fans have joked about for decades. Source
Sun Shadows
Corona used the long sunset shadows in Cape Town to form the silhouette of a beer bottle for a few minutes each evening.
Why it spread
An ad made from sunlight fits a beer about sunsets, and it only lasts minutes. Source
The pickle nail bar
KFC France turned its pickle into a nail art collection with a pop-up beauty bar in Marseille and a pickle-heavy menu.
Why it spread
A beauty pop-up from a chicken chain is unexpected enough to share. Source
Crisps From Abroad
loveholidays opened a two-day Soho pop-up of the world's most unusual crisp flavours.
Why it spread
Crisps are the snack people bring back from holiday, so the pop-up sells the trip. Source
The Hawk for SKIMS
SKIMS fronted its menswear campaign with Will Ferrell staying in character as a washed-up golf pro from an upcoming Netflix comedy.
Why it spread
A comic character gives an underwear ad a reason to be watched and shared. Source
The armpit sponsorship
Rexona branded the fourth official's raised arm across all 104 World Cup matches, so every added-time call came with a deodorant logo.
Why it spread
It puts the product exactly where sweat and tension meet, in shot at every match. Source
The strawberries and cream van
Tesco turned an ice cream van into a strawberries and cream van and gave out thousands of free bowls in Wimbledon.
Why it spread
Free food at the right event at the right moment gets people queuing and posting. Source
Renamed Tube stations
During a record heatwave, Greenpeace used stickers to rename several London Underground stations to link the heat to the fossil fuel industry.
Why it spread
Changing something everyone reads every day gets noticed and photographed. Source
Supergirl holds up a billboard
To launch Supergirl, a London billboard became a 3D installation with the hero casually propping it up.
Why it spread
Escaping the frame shows the character's power in one glance. Source
Look Familiar?
Heinz pointed out that fry boxes around the world share the shape of its keystone label.
Result Won the Print & Publishing Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026.
Why it spread
Finding your brand in something everyone already sees makes people check for themselves. Source
The dragon over London
An eight-metre dragon flew over the Tower of London to launch the third season of House of the Dragon.
Why it spread
A dragon above a real castle is a clip fans film and post themselves. Source
Assemble the World
IKEA Canada turned its products into shoppable national flags for the World Cup's competing nations.
Why it spread
Fans want to show their team, and every flag is also a product list. Source
Logos drained of red
NHS Blood and Transplant removed the red from famous British logos to highlight a shortage of blood used to treat sickle cell.
Why it spread
Something missing from logos everyone knows is noticed instantly. Source
The Coney Island billboard
Polaroid put a billboard on Coney Island Beach using concern about data centre water use to encourage people to spend less time online.
Why it spread
A camera that makes physical prints is the natural brand to argue for offline life. Source
Guinness Binoculars
Guinness gave away limited-edition binoculars to help football fans see the action during the summer tournament.
Why it spread
A useful, collectable object keeps the brand in fans' hands during the matches. Source
Football's biggest question
As England's World Cup began, Women's Aid reframed a common matchday question to highlight the rise in domestic abuse linked to tournaments.
Why it spread
Borrowing the language fans are already using makes the warning land at the right moment. Source
The 1990s video shop
A 60-second film recreated a real 1990s video shop, reimagined for the smartphone and social media era.
Why it spread
Nostalgia pulls parents in before the point about phones lands. Source
Eau de Dave
Aldi parodied luxury fragrance ads with a stockroom and an employee called Dave instead of exotic locations and brooding models.
Why it spread
Mocking a category's clichés makes a cheaper alternative the joke everyone's in on. Source
The Honest Dad Unboxing
A six-part social series with comedian Tom Davis took aim at disappointing Father's Day gifts.
Why it spread
Everyone has given a bad Father's Day present, so the jokes are relatable. Source
Spa in a Car
For one day, Hyundai turned its IONIQ 9 electric SUV into a pop-up spa offering free 20-minute treatments in London.
Why it spread
It shows how roomy and calm the car is by letting people relax inside it. Source
Promise Codes
Lime gave riders free minutes for typing out a written safety pledge in its app, turning a promo code into a safety tool.
Why it spread
The discount people want is tied to the behaviour the brand needs. Source
The match ball balloon
A giant hot air balloon dressed as the 2026 World Cup match ball drifted over the central Mexican highlands.
Why it spread
A huge version of the ball everyone will be watching is an image made for sharing. Source
Barbers spot skin cancer
Melanoma Focus made a free handbook teaching UK barbers to spot early signs of skin cancer on the scalp and neck.
Why it spread
Barbers see the parts of your head you can't, so they're the right people to check. Source
Rave in a cave
Columbia's HikeFest sent hundreds of music fans on foot through the Peak District to a cave rave billed as the UK's most remote gig.
Why it spread
The walk is the product test, and the gig is the reward. Source
Shot on a photocopier
McDonald's France shot its Office Delivery campaign by placing products directly on an office photocopier.
Why it spread
A low-tech, office-y look matches the message: delivery to your desk. Source
Signing John-Lewis
John Lewis signed Boston United striker Lenell John-Lewis, whose name has long inspired a terrace chant about the shop.
Why it spread
Fans already made the joke, so the brand just made it official. Source
The 1990 ad revived
Guinness revived a classic 1990 World Cup ad for a new generation of US fans.
Why it spread
An ad that worked once can work again when the same moment comes around. Source
Shot on Faber-Castell
Faber-Castell spoofed the "Shot on" smartphone format to show that pencil drawings could outdo a phone camera.
Why it spread
Borrowing a famous ad format makes the comparison instant. Source
Billboards you can text
To promote horror film Obsession, billboards in Los Angeles showed an unsettling love note with a number people could text.
Why it spread
An ad that answers you back is creepier, and people share it for that. Source
One portrait for every year
Icelandic brand 66°North marked 100 years with portraits of one person born in every year since 1926, each with a link to the brand.
Why it spread
Real people across a century prove the brand's heritage without a claim. Source
Floating coffee cups
illy placed four oversized coffee cups on the water in front of Piazza San Marco for Venice's Biennale Arte.
Why it spread
Giant cups in a famous place at an art event get photographed by everyone there. Source
The Westminster Tap
Charity Independent Age opened a Westminster pop-up pub serving only tap water to highlight rising water bills.
Why it spread
A pub near Parliament that only sells water makes the point to exactly the right audience. Source
Specialbuy Hawaiian shirts
Aldi launched limited Hawaiian shirts printed with its best-loved Specialbuys, leaning into "dad fashion" for BBQ season.
Why it spread
Fans already love the Middle Aisle, so they'll wear it. Source
Swim instead
At the London Marathon, Speedo suggested to runners that the pool might be kinder than the pavement.
Why it spread
A playful jab at another sport, at its biggest event, puts the brand in front of a huge crowd. Source
Charlize climbs Times Square
Charlize Theron climbed a Times Square billboard to announce that APEX was streaming on Netflix.
Why it spread
A star doing the film's premise in public is a trailer people film themselves. Source
The cracked slogan
Autoglass used cracked windscreens in outdoor ads to give its famous jingle a road safety warning.
Why it spread
A slogan everyone can sing gets a serious twist that sticks. Source
The nipple sponsor
Vaseline took aim at runner's nipple, one of marathon running's least glamorous problems, at the London Marathon.
Why it spread
Naming an awkward problem everyone has gets a laugh and shows exactly what the product is for. Source
Whopper of a Finish
Burger King positioned the Whopper as the post-race reward at the UK's biggest marathons.
Why it spread
It speaks to how runners actually feel at the finish line. Source
Things that last two weeks
The Dad Shift compared the UK's two weeks of statutory paternity leave with everyday items that last just as long.
Why it spread
Comparing leave with a pint of milk makes "two weeks" feel short. Source
Pop-Tarts Carnage Iced Tea
Liquid Death and Pop-Tarts launched a limited low-sugar iced tea inspired by Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts.
Why it spread
Two brands with loud fanbases make one odd product both sides want to try. Source
O'Häagen's
On St Patrick's Day in Toronto, Häagen-Dazs opened a pop-up swapping Irish pints for pints of ice cream.
Why it spread
It borrows a drinking holiday for a product that also comes in pints. Source
Lime Guides
Corona used laser-etched limes to show drinkers exactly where to slice the perfect wedge for its bottle.
Why it spread
It turns the brand's ritual into a small object people photograph. Source
The chocolate F1 car
KitKat revealed a life-sized chocolate racing car at Silverstone to launch its Formula 1 partnership and a miniature chocolate version.
Why it spread
A full-size car in chocolate turns a sponsorship into a picture. Source
Endo Pants
Holland & Barrett made prototype underwear that visualises the painful symptoms of endometriosis to start conversations about it.
Why it spread
An object makes an invisible pain visible and easy to talk about. Source
Pints of view
For the Six Nations, Guinness built a social mechanic that put fans' own matchday perspectives at the centre of the action.
Why it spread
Fans share their own view of the match, with the brand in the frame. Source
Cigarette-style phone warnings
Mumsnet ran warnings styled on cigarette packets to push for a social media ban for under-16s.
Why it spread
A format everyone links to health risk makes the argument without saying it. Source
London St Pancake
For Pancake Day, Southeastern temporarily rebranded St Pancras station as London St Pancake.
Why it spread
A one-letter pun on a famous name is a photo commuters share. Source
The Vertical Pizza Box
Pizza Hut used actors in London to debut a so-called vertical pizza box as a social-first stunt.
Why it spread
An absurd product people half-believe gets shared to ask "is this real?" Source
Cuthbert the bobsleigh
Aldi turned its caterpillar cake Cuthbert into a bobsleigh as a nod to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Why it spread
A mascot people already love, dropped into the moment everyone is watching. Source
The noodle sub
Batchelors Super Noodles and cult sub shop Dom's Subs made a carb-on-carb noodle sandwich.
Why it spread
A food combination people argue about is made for comments. Source
Chubby Sticks x Crayola
Clinique relaunched its Chubby Sticks with Crayola, framing make-up as a playful tool for self-expression.
Why it spread
A crayon brand fits a crayon-shaped product and brings back childhood memories. Source
Copenhagen in flat-pack
IKEA Copenhagen turned the city into a life-sized unboxing moment with its outdoor campaign.
Why it spread
The brand's most recognisable object, the flat-pack box, works at any scale. Source
Absolut Tabasco
Absolut Vodka and Tabasco launched a spicy vodka globally.
Why it spread
Two icons combined make a product people want to try once and talk about. Source
The FingerMittens
Jägermeister made absurd mittens for shot glasses to fight lukewarm shots and push its -18°C serve.
Why it spread
A silly object makes the brand's serving rule memorable. Source
The giant delivery box
HelloFresh put a giant theatrical delivery box in Waterloo Station to remind commuters of the joy of sitting down for dinner.
Why it spread
A huge version of the product in a busy station is something commuters stop for. Source
The Traitors on the cliffs
BBC Creative projected a teaser for The Traitors finale onto the White Cliffs of Dover.
Why it spread
A dramatic landmark matches a dramatic show, and the photo travels. Source
Snow check
The Testicular Cancer Foundation used snow sculptures as a cheeky reminder for men to check themselves.
Why it spread
A joke in the snow gets photographed and delivers a serious message. Source
Benches for the living
For its 65th anniversary, the BHF put up benches that tell the stories of people saved by its work, twisting the memorial bench.
Why it spread
Flipping a familiar object from loss to survival makes people stop and read. Source
Tabasco lip gloss
Sephora launched a limited lip-plumping gloss inspired by Tabasco.
Why it spread
A hot sauce for a plumping gloss is a pairing that explains itself. Source
The 3km pen line
BIC's outdoor campaign highlighted the 3km writing capacity of its Cristal pen.
Why it spread
One concrete number makes an everyday product impressive. Source
Cuthbert visits M&S
Aldi paraded a 12ft topiary Cuthbert the Caterpillar and paid a visit to a rival M&S store.
Why it spread
Poking the rival that sued you over the cake keeps the joke alive for fans. Source
The Wandering Inn
Vocation Brewery launched a pint-sized travelling pub to celebrate the British pub.
Why it spread
A tiny pub on the move is a novelty people want to visit and photograph. Source
The engagement notice
A24 slipped a faux engagement announcement for Zendaya and Robert Pattinson into The Boston Globe to reveal a film.
Why it spread
A real-looking notice in a real paper makes fans do the detective work and spread it. Source
The Swiss Sounds track
Electronic artist Thylacine sampled over 200 Swiss sounds, from trains to glaciers, into a track for Switzerland Tourism.
Why it spread
People share music, so the ad travels as a song rather than a commercial. Source
The water billboard
Disney+ installed a live water-filled billboard in Hollywood to promote Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2.
Why it spread
Real water moving in a billboard is a clip people film. Source
Rolling paper warnings
A Danish campaign put drug-driving warnings on rolling papers, where young people would actually see them.
Why it spread
The message sits in the exact moment the risky decision starts. Source
Santa's Little Helper's appeal
The Simpsons' Santa's Little Helper joined New Zealand's largest dog adoption campaign to rehome over 2,000 greyhounds.
Why it spread
A famous cartoon greyhound makes the ask instantly recognisable. Source
The bedazzled pregnancy test
Clearblue launched a rhinestone-covered version of its test stick designed as a keepsake for pregnancy reveals.
Why it spread
It fits how people already share the news: with a photo of the test. Source
The pink LEGO Cadillac
LEGO brought a driveable pink brick-built Cadillac to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Why it spread
A real car made of toy bricks is a crowd-stopper at a car race. Source
The soup stall
Nike opened a pop-up Cantonese soup shop for runners on Guangzhou's Ersha Island, a running hotspot.
Why it spread
A local recovery ritual, served where runners already train, feels like care rather than an ad. Source
Cough drop scarves
Ricola launched scarves lightly infused with the same alpine herbs that flavour its lozenges, for flu season.
Why it spread
A wearable version of the product's smell is an odd, giftable idea. Source
Is Iceland AI-generated?
Icelandair riffed on AI anxiety with an ad suggesting Iceland's landscapes look too beautiful to be real.
Why it spread
It turns a cultural worry into a compliment for the destination. Source
Six pages for runners
The morning after the New York City Marathon, Nike took six full pages of The New York Times for runners.
Why it spread
Big, timely print for the people who just finished makes them the heroes. Source
Hawkins Fried Chicken
Ahead of Stranger Things' final season, KFC UK dropped a collaboration set in the show's Upside Down.
Why it spread
Fans of a huge show get something to buy and share in the final-season moment. Source
The Guinnbrella
Guinness launched a tiny umbrella to keep your pint dry in the rain.
Why it spread
A tiny, silly object that solves a very British problem. Source
Draw How You Feel
McDonald's UK removed the red from the Happy Meal box for the first time, leaving a blank box for kids to draw how they feel.
Why it spread
Taking away the brand's biggest asset makes the message about feelings impossible to miss. Source
The heaviest billboard
UAE fitness chain GymNation unveiled what it calls the world's heaviest permanent billboard, a one-tonne installation.
Why it spread
A record claim gives the press a headline, and it fits a gym. Source
Bathe in soup
Heinz Soup played up Brits' love of Cream of Tomato with sensual, bath-themed storytelling.
Why it spread
Overplaying a small comfort makes it funny and memorable. Source
Regret, Disgrace, Shame
South Western Railway swapped station names for feelings no one wants to arrive at, to deter fare dodgers.
Why it spread
Using the format of a station sign makes the message feel official and funny. Source
The sponsored wedding suit
A salesman announced he'd cover his wedding by selling ad space to startups on his wedding suit.
Why it spread
An absurd offer from one person gets shared as a story. Source
Resting Squint Face
Specsavers named a made-up affliction, Resting Squint Face, and urged Brits to stage a "squintervention".
Why it spread
A funny name for a real habit makes people tag friends. Source
Real friends vs AI friends
Heineken weighed in on AI companion tech with a campaign nudging people towards real friends over a beer.
Why it spread
It takes a side in a live debate in a way that fits the brand. Source
Reflections
British Airways turned the window seat into a canvas, with its logo subtly reflected in each image.
Why it spread
A logo you have to spot rewards people who look twice. Source
Pubs renamed The Office
As firms pushed return-to-office, Heineken renamed pubs across the UK "The Office" to remind hybrid workers what they're missing.
Why it spread
It joins a debate everyone is having and gives people a line to use. Source
The jacket with a will
Columbia sewed a legally binding last will into a jacket, transferring ownership when the owner dies.
Why it spread
It proves durability by assuming the jacket will outlive you. Source
The Jacket Potato puffer
Aldi launched a puffer jacket styled on a baked potato for autumn.
Why it spread
A pun you can wear gets shared. Source
Beds for phones
IKEA UAE launched a miniature bed set for smartphones as part of its sleep campaign.
Why it spread
Putting your phone to bed is a cute nudge towards better sleep. Source
Backseat Bites
Hyundai opened what it called the UK's first restaurant inside a car.
Why it spread
Dining in the back seat shows off the interior space in a way people remember. Source
The Swedish Prescription
Sweden's tourist board made the country available "on prescription" from doctors.
Why it spread
A medical framing makes a holiday sound like good health. Source
The double-bound 1984
A Swedish library made a double-bound copy of Orwell's 1984 that can't be opened, as a metaphor for censorship.
Why it spread
An object you can't use makes censorship physical. Source
The ultimate glue test
Selleys glued a kayak, an arcade machine and a 2.8-metre marlin to an outdoor billboard to prove Liquid Nails holds.
Why it spread
Heavy, odd objects stuck to a billboard prove the claim at a glance. Source
The toothless Colonel
KFC Canada gave the Colonel a classic hockey smile, knocking out his teeth for hockey season.
Why it spread
One small edit to the logo ties the brand to the sport fans love. Source
Street Nipples
Breast Cancer UK launched its first creative campaign with a street stunt in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Why it spread
Something cheeky on the pavement gets photographed and starts the conversation. Source
The LEGO x Nike playground
LEGO and Nike built a modular playground in a Shanghai primary school, designed with ideas from children.
Why it spread
Kids designing their own play space makes both brands look like they listen. Source
Cap-Aldi
Lewis Capaldi played a surprise set on the roof of an Aldi in Nottingham, which was rebranded Cap-Aldi.
Why it spread
A name pun plus a surprise gig is a story fans film and share. Source
Fake transparency
A Canva billboard mocked fake "transparent" logos to promote its Background Remover tool.
Why it spread
A design in-joke shows exactly what the feature fixes. Source
The egg hunt show
Diesel swapped the runway for a citywide egg hunt in Milan for its Spring/Summer 2026 show.
Why it spread
Turning a fashion show into a game lets the public take part and post. Source
The Golden Flake Tavern
Greggs opened its first-ever pub, a limited-time concept inside Fenwick Newcastle.
Why it spread
A bakery chain opening a pub is surprising enough to make the news. Source
Paint tin handbags
At London Fashion Week, paint brand Coat turned recyclable paint tins into handbags in a guerrilla campaign.
Why it spread
Hijacking fashion week with a paint tin puts a challenger brand in the style press. Source
Not Made By Gordon
Burger King UK cast Gordon Ramsay not as a collaborator but as the man who didn't make the burger.
Why it spread
Flipping the celebrity chef format makes a famous face the punchline. Source
Water that goes to 11
For the Spinal Tap sequel, Liquid Death released canned water with the band that turned amps up to 11.
Why it spread
A 40-year-old joke fits Liquid Death's own sense of humour. Source
The Tube strike bikes
During a London Underground strike, Lime pitched its bikes to commuters scrambling for alternatives.
Why it spread
Offering the fix on the day of the problem is the easiest sell there is. Source
Postbox toppers
Netflix enlisted local knitters to make postbox toppers promoting The Thursday Murder Club.
Why it spread
A cosy, handmade medium matches a cosy crime story and gets photographed. Source
The Undropped Kit
ASICS, Inclusive Sportswear and Mind designed a PE kit with teenage girls to keep more of them in sport.
Why it spread
Designing with the people who drop out makes the fix credible. Source
The GOAT logo
Lacoste temporarily replaced its crocodile with a goat in a limited collection honouring Novak Djokovic.
Why it spread
Changing a famous logo for one athlete is a tribute fans notice. Source
The meatball plate
Designer Gustaf Westman made an elongated porcelain plate for serving IKEA's Swedish meatballs.
Why it spread
A designer object for a cafeteria staple is a playful status symbol. Source
Seagull poop posters
To open its Brighton store, IKEA ran posters playing on the city's seagull problem.
Why it spread
A local annoyance everyone recognises makes the brand feel local. Source
The Wealdstone Raider returns
itsu revived the Wealdstone Raider meme in its latest ad, after an earlier Ronnie Pickering parody.
Why it spread
A meme a whole country remembers does the setup for you. Source
The brutally honest billboard
AI startup Cluely ran a Times Square billboard that went the opposite way from the usual big-budget spectacle.
Why it spread
Being blunt among flashy ads is what makes people look. Source
Sausage rolls and gravy
Greggs and KFC made a limited comfort food collaboration of sausage rolls and gravy, starting with a three-day tour.
Why it spread
Two British favourites together is a combo people argue about and want to try. Source
Mind the Grab
Currys trialled purple pavement markings on Oxford Street to tackle rising phone theft.
Why it spread
A warning painted where theft happens is useful and newsworthy. Source
The Pose Box
Gymshark promoted its London LIFT event with a dumbbell-shaped postbox installation.
Why it spread
A familiar street object redone as gym kit is a photo spot. Source
Motherf***in' wind farms
Samuel L. Jackson, a former marine biology student, teamed up with Vattenfall to back wind farms.
Why it spread
A famous voice and catchphrase make an energy message entertaining. Source
Cutaway billboards
TD Bank used cutaway sections in billboards to show big brands in its ads promoting stock investing.
Why it spread
A clever loophole makes people look closer and get the point about investing. Source
Create Real Magic
Coca-Cola let people make artwork from its brand assets using GPT-4 and DALL-E. Selected pieces ran on digital billboards in New York and London.
Why it spread
Fans get to play with famous brand assets, and the best get a public stage. Source
A.I. Ketchup
Heinz asked DALL-E 2 to draw ketchup. The AI's images kept coming out looking like Heinz, building on the brand's earlier Draw Ketchup idea.
Why it spread
Even an AI "agrees" your product is the category, which is a claim nobody can argue with. Source
Million Dollar Whopper
Fans designed their own Whopper with a generative AI tool that made an image and a personal jingle. Three finalists went on menus and the winner got $1 million.
Result More than a million submissions, per Burger King.
Why it spread
Everyone gets a shareable result in seconds, and the prize makes it worth entering. Source
My Birthday Song
Cadbury Celebrations let people generate a personalised birthday song with AI-written lyrics, music and vocals, from a few details about the birthday person.
Result 20,000+ songs made on launch weekend, per Social Samosa.
Why it spread
A personal song is a gift people want to send and share. Source
Magic Avatars
Lensa's magic avatars turned users' selfies into AI portraits in sci-fi, anime and fantasy styles, which people posted everywhere.
Result 12.6 million installs from 1 to 11 December 2022, per TechCrunch.
Why it spread
Every post is a flattering picture of the user, with the app's look all over it. Source
The AI yearbook
EPIK turned a handful of selfies into 60 90s-style AI yearbook photos, which went viral on TikTok and Instagram.
Result Reached No. 1 on the US App Store, per TechCrunch.
Why it spread
Nostalgia plus a result about yourself is the most shareable combination there is. Source
The Ghibli moment
When ChatGPT's new image generator launched, users flooded social media with Studio Ghibli-style versions of themselves and everything else.
Result Sam Altman said "our GPUs are melting" and rate-limited the feature, per Fortune.
Why it spread
A one-line prompt gave everyone a result worth posting, so the product advertised itself. Source
The AI action figure trend
People used ChatGPT to turn themselves into boxed action figures with personal accessories; brands and public agencies joined in.
Why it spread
A fixed format with a personal twist is easy to copy and fun to share. Source
Messi Messages
Lay's let fans create a personalised video invitation from an AI version of Lionel Messi, in up to 10 languages, to share with a friend.
Why it spread
A celebrity "inviting" your friend by name is something people send straight away. Source
Jen AI
Virgin Voyages let people create personalised cruise invitations from an AI version of Jennifer Lopez to send to friends.
Result More than 1,000 bookings in the first month, per CNBC.
Why it spread
The invite is the ad, and it arrives from a friend. Source
Hrithik's local orders
Zomato used AI to change Hrithik Roshan's ad by location, so he named a real local restaurant and dish in each viewer's city.
Why it spread
Hearing a star name your neighbourhood spot makes the ad feel personal. It also drew criticism when one version named a temple as a restaurant. Source
Serena vs Serena
Nike used machine learning to simulate matches between Serena Williams in 1999 and in 2017, streaming the final on YouTube.
Result 1.7 million people watched the final on YouTube, per WPP.
Why it spread
A match that could never happen is something fans genuinely want to watch. Source
The ChatGPT-written ad
Ryan Reynolds asked ChatGPT to write a Mint Mobile ad with a joke, a swear word and the current offer, then read it out on camera.
Why it spread
Letting the AI write it was the joke, and early enough to be news. Source
AI-dubbed founder ads
App maker Mojo took its best ad, a product manager explaining a feature, and scaled it abroad with AI dubbing and a custom AI avatar.
Result In Brazil, the dubbed ad had a 40% lower acquisition cost than native creators, per RevenueCat.
Why it spread
The winning script stays the same. Only the face and language change, so testing is cheap. Source
AI avatar video ads
Audio brand 1MORE replaced influencer and agency videos with AI avatar ads made from product page links.
Result Purchases up 200%, per Creatify.
Why it spread
Many cheap variations let the brand test what works instead of betting on one shoot. Source
AI-voiced TV ads
trivago ran TV ads in more than ten languages with the same actor, using AI to create a localised voiceover for each market.
Why it spread
One shoot can serve many countries, so the brand can test more ideas. Source
Lil Miquela
A computer-generated influencer launched on Instagram without announcement, then worked with brands including Prada, Calvin Klein and Samsung.
Result 2.2 million Instagram followers by 2020, per Variety.
Why it spread
People follow a character's story, whether or not she's real. Source
Lu do Magalu
Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza's virtual assistant Lu became the face of the brand across social media.
Result 31.2 million followers across platforms in 2022, per LBB.
Why it spread
A brand-owned character never leaves, never costs more, and can appear everywhere. Source
Aitana López
A Barcelona agency created an AI model with pink hair and a full personality after losing work with human influencers.
Result Earns up to €10,000 a month, per her creators via Euronews.
Why it spread
The agency controls the character, the schedule and the brand fit. Source
IKEA Harajuku with Imma
For three days, virtual influencer Imma "lived" in a storefront apartment in Harajuku, cooking, cleaning and doing yoga on screens.
Why it spread
A virtual person using real furniture blends the fantasy with the showroom. Source
The AI Holidays Are Coming
Coca-Cola remade its 1995 Holidays Are Coming ad with generative AI.
Why it spread
It tested well with audiences, but many people felt AI stripped the warmth from a tradition they loved. Source
The Sora brand film
Toys"R"Us premiered a brand film about its founder made with OpenAI's Sora at Cannes Lions.
Why it spread
Being first got attention, and much of the reaction was about how the AI looked. Source
The AI model in Vogue
A Guess ad in Vogue's August 2025 issue featured an AI-generated model, disclosed in a footnote.
Why it spread
Readers and creatives objected to AI replacing models and crews, so the story became the backlash. Source
The pulled AI Christmas ad
McDonald's Netherlands released an AI-generated Christmas ad about festive chaos, then made it private three days later after backlash.
Why it spread
Audiences disliked both the heavy AI look and the cynical take on Christmas. Source
The AI-powered sports ad
A director billed an Anthony Joshua ad for Under Armour as the first AI-powered sports commercial. Critics noted it reused footage from an earlier shoot without credit.
Why it spread
Calling it "AI" drew attention, then scrutiny of how it was really made. Source
Dear Microsoft
The day Microsoft announced a rival product, Slack ran a full-page open letter in The New York Times "welcoming" it, with advice on what it would take to compete.
Why it spread
Welcoming a giant rival makes the challenger look confident and gets the story written from its side. Source
Website Grader
HubSpot launched a free tool that scored any website's marketing out of 100.
Result Over 2 million websites graded by early 2010, per HubSpot.
Why it spread
A free score about your own site is irresistible, and every user is a qualified lead. Source
One, Ten, One Hundred
Wistia had the same agency make three ads for its product at $1,000, $10,000 and $100,000, then filmed a documentary about it and published the results.
Why it spread
The experiment is the marketing: every video maker wants to know if budget matters. Source
MailKimp
Mailchimp's short ad on the Serial podcast featured someone mispronouncing its name as "MailKimp", and listeners made it a running joke.
Result An 81% spike in Twitter mentions when Serial returned in 2015, per Marketing Dive.
Why it spread
An odd, repeated line on a show people binge becomes part of the show. Source
Ask your developer
Twilio put three words on a red billboard on Highway 101: "Ask your developer."
Why it spread
Executives who didn't understand the product asked their developers, who already loved it. Source
Intel Inside
Intel paid part of PC makers' ad costs if they showed the Intel Inside logo, turning a hidden component into a consumer brand.
Result Over 500 PC makers joined by the end of 1992, per Intel.
Why it spread
Partners did the advertising, and every PC ad became an Intel ad too. Source
Stop calling them rock stars
Workday's Super Bowl ad had Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Paul Stanley and Gary Clark Jr. object to office workers being called "rock stars".
Why it spread
A B2B brand used a mass-audience joke about office jargon everyone recognises. Source
The New Frontier
Salesforce's Super Bowl ad had Matthew McConaughey reject space and the metaverse and argue for fixing Earth instead.
Why it spread
Taking a side against the billionaire space race gave a software ad something to talk about. Source
The Future
CrowdStrike returned to the Super Bowl with a futuristic Wild West ad in which its AI character protects a town from cyber adversaries.
Why it spread
Turning abstract threats into a story gives a technical product a hero. Source
The bouncing QR code
Coinbase's Super Bowl ad was just a QR code bouncing around a black screen, like an old DVD screensaver, leading to free Bitcoin for new users.
Result Over 20 million visits in one minute, crashing the app, per Decrypt.
Why it spread
It was the only ad people could interact with, and curiosity did the rest. Source
5 to 9
Dolly Parton reworked 9 to 5 as 5 to 9 for Squarespace, celebrating people building side businesses after work.
Why it spread
A famous song rewritten for your customers makes the product the hero of their story. Source
The App Store fight
When Apple rejected the new HEY email app over in-app purchases at launch, its makers fought publicly until Apple approved it.
Why it spread
A public fight with a giant gave a new product days of coverage. Source
The de-location package
Zapier offered new hires $10,000 to move out of the San Francisco Bay Area, promoting its fully remote setup.
Why it spread
An offer that flips a normal perk becomes a headline and a recruiting ad. Source
Open salaries
Buffer published its salary formula and every employee's salary on its blog.
Why it spread
Radical transparency made a small company the reference point for a topic people search and link to. Source
Your everyday AI companion
Microsoft used the Super Bowl to launch Copilot, showing everyday people being told they can't do something, then using AI to try.
Why it spread
A human story about ambition makes a new tech product feel personal. Source
B2B that isn't boring
Scayle, an e-commerce platform, made a very funny promo to prove business marketing doesn't have to be dull.
Why it spread
Humour stands out in a category where almost everyone is serious. Source
Nobody cares that you used AI
Fiverr reminded people that AI is only as good as the people using it, with a campaign titled "Nobody cares that you used AI".
Why it spread
A blunt line on a live debate positions the brand on the side of human skill. Source
The data centre dress
Data centre company Equinix teamed up with designer Maximilian Raynor on a fashion creation.
Why it spread
An unexpected fashion collab makes invisible infrastructure visible and photogenic. Source
The expense-able music video
Expense app Expensify released an interactive music video in which 2 Chainz raps about his spending.
Why it spread
A rapper bragging about spending is the funniest possible way to explain expense reports. Source
CAPTCHA posters
Digital ID platform World turned one of the internet's most hated rituals, the CAPTCHA, into street posters.
Why it spread
Everyone hates CAPTCHAs, so the ad starts with a shared annoyance. Source
Seal as a seal
Mountain Dew's Super Bowl ad turned Seal into a literal seal.
Why it spread
A pun this literal is impossible to forget. Source
Wrexham at the Super Bowl
Channing Tatum brought Wrexham AFC, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, to the Super Bowl for STōK Cold Brew.
Why it spread
A story fans already follow gives the ad built-in interest. Source
Beckham's long-lost brother
In Stella Artois's Super Bowl ad, David Beckham discovers he has a long-lost American brother.
Why it spread
A simple comic premise with a famous face lands with both US and UK fans. Source
When Harry Met Mayo
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan recreated the famous diner scene from When Harry Met Sally for Hellmann's.
Why it spread
Nostalgia for one famous scene does the setup; the product is the punchline. Source
The Beckhams forget Uber Eats
David and Victoria Beckham recreated their viral "Be honest" moment in Uber Eats' Super Bowl ad.
Why it spread
A meme people already quote makes the ad feel like part of the conversation. Source
Wow wow no cow
Oatly aired its CEO singing badly in a field during the Super Bowl, then leaned into the criticism with T-shirts saying it hated the song.
Why it spread
Owning the backlash turned a disliked ad into a joke fans joined in on. Source
The five-second Reddit ad
Reddit's first Super Bowl ad was a static text image that flashed on screen for about five seconds.
Why it spread
A tiny ad in the biggest slot made people pause, rewind and talk. Source
Skittles: The Musical
Skittles skipped its Super Bowl ad and staged a one-night Broadway musical instead.
Why it spread
Not advertising, loudly, on the biggest ad day gets its own coverage. Source
The Dude and Carrie
Stella Artois brought back The Dude and Carrie Bradshaw, played by Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker, reaching for a Stella instead of their usual drinks.
Why it spread
Iconic characters switching their famous drink order is a small change fans notice. Source
The breathalyser bag
Tostitos made a Super Bowl chip bag that could detect alcohol on your breath and call you an Uber.
Why it spread
A useful, surprising pack solves a real problem on the night. Source
Pay With Lovin'
McDonald's let randomly chosen customers pay with hugs, high-fives or calls to their mums, and showed it in its Super Bowl ad.
Why it spread
Real reactions to a kind surprise are warm and easy to share. Source
The Doritos photobomb
At Super Bowl XLVIII, Doritos dressed about 30 people in bright orange to photobomb the event.
Why it spread
Showing up in other people's photos gets the brand into coverage it didn't pay for. Source
No Bollocks
Newcastle Brown Ale mocked Super Bowl advertising with an ad about the ad it couldn't afford to make.
Why it spread
Joking about not having the budget made the brand part of the Super Bowl anyway. Source
Puppy Love
Budweiser's Super Bowl ad told the story of a puppy's friendship with a Clydesdale horse.
Why it spread
A simple animal friendship story is the easiest thing in the world to share. Source
The polar bears watch the game
Coca-Cola's polar bears reacted live online to in-game events during the Super Bowl, each supporting a team.
Why it spread
Live reactions give a second-screen audience a reason to stay with the brand. Source
Ferris Bueller's day off
Honda's Super Bowl ad for the CR-V brought back Matthew Broderick in a tribute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Why it spread
A beloved film revisited decades later hits a nostalgic audience. Source
The ad in your dreams
Shut out of Super Bowl TV ads, Coors created what it called an ad viewable only in your dreams.
Why it spread
A playful workaround to a restriction becomes the story. Source
1984
Apple launched the Macintosh with a Ridley Scott-directed ad that aired nationally once, during the Super Bowl.
Why it spread
It treated a computer launch as a cultural event, and the single airing made it legendary. Source
The Force
A small boy dressed as Darth Vader tries to use the Force, and his dad starts the car remotely. Volkswagen released it online before the game.
Why it spread
Releasing the ad early turned a Super Bowl spot into a days-long online event. Source
You're not you when you're hungry
Snickers' Super Bowl ad showed Betty White playing football badly until a Snickers turned her back into a young player.
Why it spread
The line explains the product's job in one sentence, and it could be repeated with new celebrities for years. Source
It's a Tide ad
David Harbour appeared in Tide ads that made every other Super Bowl ad with clean clothes look like it might be a Tide ad.
Why it spread
It hijacked the whole ad break, not just its own slot. Source
Alexa loses her voice
Amazon's Super Bowl ad showed Alexa losing her voice and being replaced by celebrities including Gordon Ramsay and Cardi B.
Why it spread
A funny what-if about the product failing shows how much people rely on it. Source
Vacay or Decay
Travel company WeRoad used Halloween horror themes to scare people about unused holiday days.
Why it spread
Framing unused leave as a horror story fits the season and nudges people to book. Source
The spookiest sauce
Heinz and Walkers Monster Munch launched a pickled-onion flavoured mayo for Halloween.
Why it spread
A monster-branded snack meets a sauce giant for the one season it fits. Source
LEGO nightmares
LEGO released retro horror-movie posters about building nightmares, like stepping on a brick.
Why it spread
Everyone's real LEGO pain becomes a horror film. Source
Blood for a Halloween collection
Make-up brand Lottie London encouraged shoppers to donate blood for a chance to win its Halloween collection.
Why it spread
A Halloween blood theme is linked to a real blood shortage. Source
The ghost detector
Burger King added a ghost detector feature to its app for Halloween, offering a free burger to customers who found a ghost.
Why it spread
A game in the app gives people a reason to open it and order. Source
Tomato Blood
Heinz relabelled ketchup as fake blood for DIY Halloween costumes.
Why it spread
The product already looks the part, so the rebrand just names it. Source
The Kraken's Revenge
The Kraken Rum made Iwan Rheon the lead character in a live, playable Halloween video game.
Why it spread
Viewers control a real actor live, which makes it a shared event. Source
Cancelled clown
Saying "cancelled clown" three times in front of certain Burger King restroom mirrors in Scandinavia made Ronald McDonald appear.
Why it spread
A spooky ritual aimed at the rival is a Halloween joke customers want to try. Source
The spooky smart house
Samsung gave a 300-year-old house a high-tech Halloween makeover as the spookiest house in the village.
Why it spread
A haunted house run by your products shows them off in a memorable way. Source
The invisibility cloak
Poundland "sold" Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks for free, displayed as an empty hanger.
Why it spread
An empty hanger is a joke people photograph and share. Source
The Colonel costume
KFC and Spirit Halloween released an official Colonel Sanders costume.
Why it spread
A founder with a famous look becomes a costume fans wear, which is free advertising. Source
The monster spider
Fanta sent a giant creepy spider prowling the streets of London for Halloween.
Why it spread
A giant creature in a real street gets filmed by passers-by. Source
Spooky Marmite jars
Marmite released two collectable Halloween jars for a few weeks in October, playing on its love-it-or-hate-it line.
Why it spread
Limited jars that fit the brand's famous debate become collectables. Source
The haunted internet
Svedka's Halloween video played on the fear that the internet is haunting us, echoing The Ring.
Why it spread
Borrowing a famous horror film makes the ad instantly understood. Source
The scariest vending machine
Candy Kittens put a Halloween vending machine in Shoreditch that gave out free sweets with a trick.
Why it spread
Free sweets plus a scare is a reaction people film. Source
Monster Mirror
Pepsi Max and Odeon used a hidden screen and facial tracking in a cinema toilet mirror to scare moviegoers with monsters.
Why it spread
Real scares on hidden camera are made for sharing. Source
The elephant pumpkin
The Bronx Zoo commissioned a 400kg elephant carved from pumpkins to raise awareness of elephant poaching.
Why it spread
A giant Halloween sculpture carries a serious message to a wide audience. Source
Pepsi dressed as Coke
Pepsi's Halloween ad showed a Pepsi can wearing a Coca-Cola cape, as if dressed up as its rival.
Why it spread
Dressing as the rival for Halloween is a cheeky dig that flatters nobody and amuses everyone. Source
Anti-smoking zombies
Thirty zombie actors approached London commuters to show smokers what smoking could do to them.
Why it spread
A Halloween-style scare makes a health message memorable. Source
The world's largest Creme Egg
Cadbury revealed a three-foot Creme Egg, as heavy as a newborn horse.
Why it spread
A giant version of a seasonal icon is an instant photo and headline. Source
The garlic and herb Easter egg
Domino's launched a garlic and herb Easter egg, mixing its cult dip with chocolate.
Why it spread
An absurd flavour mash-up at Easter gets people talking and tasting. Source
The Creme Egg sandwich
Subway and Cadbury launched a limited SubMelt sandwich made with Creme Egg.
Why it spread
A sweet-savoury oddity is something people try once to post about. Source
£10,000 Creme Eggs
Cadbury hid 146 special Creme Eggs in UK shops, each worth up to £10,000 to whoever found one.
Why it spread
A treasure hunt turns buying the product into a game. Source
The Creme Egg video store
Cadbury sold Creme Eggs from an 80s-style video store pop-up.
Why it spread
A nostalgic setting makes a familiar product feel like an event. Source
The good egg hunt
The Co-op used hidden cameras to find and reward people doing good deeds at Easter.
Why it spread
Rewarding kindness on camera is warm and shareable. Source
The Loch Ness eggs
Cadbury started its Easter campaign with three giant eggs placed like the humps of the Loch Ness monster.
Why it spread
A famous myth recreated with your product gets photographed. Source
Marmite and Pot Noodle eggs
Marmite and Pot Noodle flavoured Easter eggs went on sale in the UK.
Why it spread
An odd flavour at Easter is a headline in itself. Source
Find The Eggs
Tesco ran an online Easter egg hunt on Google Maps.
Why it spread
A digital hunt lets everyone play, not just people near a store. Source
The live chick stream
The Happy Egg Co streamed chicks hatching live on Google Hangouts at Easter.
Why it spread
A live, gentle event people check in on fits the brand and the season. Source
The Big Egg Hunt
Fabergé placed 200 decorated eggs around London for a city-wide Easter hunt.
Why it spread
A city hunt turns the whole city into a campaign people join. Source
The Easter convoy
After more than 12 tonnes of chocolate were stolen, KitKat Canada staged an escorted delivery convoy through Toronto at Easter.
Why it spread
Turning bad news into a playful stunt keeps the story going in the brand's favour. Source
Ask for Ellen
Morrisons and Warburtons offered families free crumpets during the Easter holidays, when school meals stop.
Why it spread
A simple, useful gesture at a hard time makes both brands look generous. Source
The flat-pack bunny
IKEA released a build-your-own chocolate Easter bunny, in flat-pack style.
Why it spread
The brand's most famous quirk applied to chocolate is instantly recognisable. Source
Beer chocolate bars
At Easter, Carlsberg made chocolate bars to make sure people were thinking about beer as much as chocolate.
Why it spread
Joining a rival category's season with your own twist gets you into the conversation. Source
Aldeh for Oasis
Aldi renamed its Prestwich store "Aldeh" as a tribute to Oasis and the Manchester accent, ahead of the band's homecoming gigs.
Why it spread
A local pun at the moment a city is celebrating makes the brand part of the moment. Source
The Shanghai cruise ship
Louis Vuitton parked a 30-metre monogrammed cruise ship in the middle of Shanghai's Taikoo Hui.
Why it spread
A ship in a shopping district is a landmark people visit and photograph. Source
Dragons on bus shelters
Bus shelters carried XL dragon sculptures to promote How To Train Your Dragon.
Why it spread
A 3D creature on everyday street furniture turns a poster into a photo spot. Source
Blocking the Big Arch
Burger King posted a video of its van reversing to block a McDonald's billboard for the new Big Arch burger.
Why it spread
Crashing a rival's launch is a quick, cheap way into the conversation. Source
Lamppost dog health checks
Tails.com turned lampposts in Victoria Park into dog health monitors with a pH test in the poster.
Why it spread
The ad sits exactly where dogs already stop, and does something useful. Source
Be Superman murals
Interactive cape murals let fans photograph themselves as Superman and scan a QR code to win prizes.
Why it spread
Fans become the hero in the photo they post. Source
Infinite Ozzy
Liquid Death launched iced tea cans said to contain Ozzy Osbourne's actual DNA.
Why it spread
An outrageous claim fits both the brand and the rock star. Source
The dental drop
Kopparberg launched a fashion item to stop people breaking their teeth opening bottles.
Why it spread
A funny fix for a real party problem people know. Source
Burnable billboards
Digital billboards showed in real time how UV rays affect different skin tones.
Why it spread
Live data on a billboard makes an invisible risk visible. Source
Vaseline Verified
Vaseline tested the internet's beauty hacks and myths, verifying which ones really work.
Result Won top honours at Cannes Lions 2025, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
It meets people where the hacks are already spreading, and gives a trusted answer. Source
The water-throwing rider
A Just Eat rider went viral for throwing water up to passengers stuck on a sweltering train during a heatwave.
Why it spread
A real act of kindness by someone in your uniform is the best ad there is. Source
The F1 bucket
At the Canadian Grand Prix, KFC Canada rolled out a motorsport campaign in which its bucket design doubled as something from racing.
Why it spread
Seeing your icon in a new shape at a big event makes people look twice. Source
Kids' aliens animated
Ahead of Elio, Pixar artists turned children's drawings of aliens into animated characters.
Why it spread
Kids' own drawings made real are irresistible for parents to share. Source
Baked bean nails
Aldi created festival nail art inspired by its products, like baked beans and butter.
Why it spread
A silly beauty trend with supermarket products gets shared. Source
Phone Break
KitKat called out screen addiction in an outdoor campaign.
Result Won the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2025.
Why it spread
The brand's break message applied to phones fits a modern habit. Source
The 15-hour Capri-Sun
Capri-Sun made a huge pouch with an extra long straw to mark the longest day of the year.
Why it spread
A giant version of a childhood product for a calendar moment is easy to share. Source
Footballers vs an F1 car
Red Bull pitted three of Leeds United's fastest players against a Formula 1 car.
Why it spread
An impossible race between two worlds fans love is a clip people watch to the end. Source
The harbour balls
Men's wellbeing brand Noah towed a pair of giant inflatable balls through Hong Kong's harbour.
Why it spread
A cheeky object makes a health check hard to ignore. Source
Crayola soda
Jones Soda and Crayola made six limited bottles in classic Crayola colours.
Why it spread
Nostalgic colours on a product people collect. Source
The doughnut diss track
For National Doughnut Day, Krispy Kreme and rapper Lady Leshurr released a diss track aimed at rival doughnuts.
Why it spread
A diss track is a format people share to pick sides. Source
The house on the Wicked Witch
The Las Vegas Sphere showed a house landing on the Wicked Witch of the East, with 50-foot legs in ruby slippers.
Why it spread
A famous film moment at an impossible scale is shared by everyone who sees it. Source
Testicular cancer on the shorts
During a sold-out match against Barcelona, CD Leganés placed a testicular cancer awareness logo on the crotch of its shorts.
Why it spread
Where the logo sits is the message. Source
Park lockers
Decathlon put sports lockers in parks across the Czech Republic so people could borrow gear for free.
Why it spread
Free use in the right place turns the brand into a useful service. Source
The 90s Clubcard rave
Tesco marked 30 years of Clubcard with a two-night 90s club event in London.
Why it spread
Nostalgia for the decade the product launched gives people a reason to come. Source
The loo roll test
Kleenex and Bowel Cancer Australia turned the used loo roll into a bowel cancer awareness message.
Why it spread
The message appears exactly where the check matters. Source
The Giant BagMobile
DoorDash toured America in a 15-foot replica of its red delivery bag.
Why it spread
A giant version of a familiar object is a photo stop everywhere it goes. Source
Dads, not babysitters
For Father's Day, Stokke posted "Dads are dads, not babysitters" with real dads.
Why it spread
It names an annoying phrase many parents hear and takes a side. Source
The Finger Lickin' Fork
KFC had a jeweller craft a bespoke fork for its saucy rice bowls, taking fan feedback literally.
Why it spread
A luxury version of a small utensil is a funny, shareable object. Source
The crushed car
Hollywood Bowl left a car "crushed" under a two-metre bowling ball in an Uxbridge shopping centre.
Why it spread
A believable disaster scene makes people stop and film. Source
The fast food mosaic
McDonald's installed an ancient-style mosaic of fast food in central Rome.
Why it spread
A playful take on local heritage gets people arguing, and sharing. Source
The Thames charging cable
Uber's campaign for Uber Boat turned the Thames into a charging cable in its visuals.
Why it spread
A familiar icon mapped onto the city's river shows the service at a glance. Source
Body Royale
Philips OneBlade launched a Fortnite experience about grooming.
Why it spread
Going where young men spend time beats interrupting them. Source
The breakup bin bag
Tinder turned breakups into a collective therapy session and celebration to help singles move on.
Why it spread
Owning the moment people need you most makes the brand feel supportive. Source
Raye's golden Weetabix
After Raye ate Weetabix off her Spotify plaque, Weetabix covered Croydon with a golden tribute to her.
Why it spread
Responding to a celebrity moment in their home town feels personal. Source
The most valuable portrait
Specsavers and Carers UK created a portrait honouring the UK's unpaid carers.
Why it spread
Putting a value on unseen work makes it visible. Source
Arc de Triomphe projection
Nike celebrated PSG's Champions League win with an image projected on the Arc de Triomphe.
Why it spread
A landmark tribute at the moment of victory is shared by every fan. Source
A sausage roll at Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds London unveiled a Greggs sausage roll in its hall of fame.
Why it spread
A national treasure joke that newspapers love to run. Source
Flaming Grill Radio
Burger King turned radio static into a reminder of the sound of its flame grill.
Why it spread
Using the medium's own noise makes the ad clever and cheap. Source
The hash brown van
Aldi parked a hash brown van outside McDonald's, offering hash browns after McDonald's 11am breakfast cutoff.
Why it spread
Solving a rival's famous annoyance, next to the rival, is a cheeky headline. Source
Primer Donnas
Maybelline made a spoof reality TV drama starring Ariana Madix to launch a lash product.
Why it spread
Reality TV drama is a format fans already watch and share. Source
The pub moved to Lisbon
Heineken moved two superstitious football fans' local pub on wheels to Lisbon for a big match.
Why it spread
An absurdly generous gesture for real fans is a feel-good story. Source
The Peppa Pig birth
Over four months, Peppa Pig's team built real-world buzz for the birth of a new cartoon baby.
Why it spread
Treating a fictional event like a real royal birth makes it news. Source
Scratch and sniff armpits
Bodycare brand Billie put scratch-and-sniff armpit posters near Penn Station.
Why it spread
An interactive, slightly gross poster gets touched and talked about. Source
The weekly shop wedding list
Tesco offered a "realistic" wedding gift registry built from the weekly shop.
Why it spread
A relatable joke about what couples actually need. Source
The purple portaloo
A charity installed a purple portaloo in Glasgow to spotlight inflammatory bowel disease.
Why it spread
An everyday object in an odd colour starts the conversation. Source
Uber One Member Days
Uber launched a week of offers telling Brits they deserved a reward for everyday things, like breathing.
Why it spread
Over-the-top generosity makes a loyalty scheme feel fun. Source
Free taco bags for resellers
Taco Bell gave its paper bags to resellers as free packaging, joining the circular fashion trend.
Why it spread
Helping a community that already loves the brand spreads the logo for free. Source
The bus stop ice bath
To launch a £29.99 inflatable ice bath, Aldi put one in a London bus stop during a heatwave.
Why it spread
The product, in public, at the perfect moment. Source
The canine ambassador
ASICS signed Felix the Samoyed as its first dog ambassador.
Why it spread
A dog ambassador is a joke people love and share. Source
Hijacking a McDonald's opening
Burger King France hijacked the opening of a McDonald's in Firminy.
Why it spread
Showing up at a rival's big day steals the local headlines. Source
The Sweat Sheet
A garment that keeps a mother's scent and turns into a NICU mattress for premature babies.
Why it spread
A simple product solves an emotional problem. Source
Gravy Gelato
KFC and Hackney Gelato made a limited gravy ice cream.
Why it spread
A disgusting-sounding flavour people have to try once. Source
The rooftop tuxedo
Tom Cruise appeared in a tuxedo on top of London's BFI IMAX cinema.
Why it spread
A star doing the film's kind of stunt in public is a clip everyone films. Source
The overloaded taxi
A taxi loaded with IKEA goods drove around London to promote IKEA's new Oxford Street store and home delivery.
Why it spread
It acts out the chaotic trip home the service replaces. Source
Dial Dalí
The Dalí Museum let people phone an AI Salvador Dalí during his birthday week.
Why it spread
A surreal phone call fits the artist and gets shared. Source
Battle of the Balls
Subway gave away meatball marinara subs to welcome IKEA's new Oxford Street store.
Why it spread
A cheeky nod to a new neighbour's famous product. Source
Driveable LEGO F1 cars
LEGO took over the Miami Grand Prix drivers' parade with 10 driveable F1 cars built mostly from bricks.
Why it spread
Real drivers in toy cars is a clip people watch twice. Source
The Londrette
Gymshark opened a retro laundrette pop-up for the Hyrox community.
Why it spread
A real service for a community's real need builds loyalty. Source
UV-U-SEE
A wearable that helps builders on construction sites see their sun exposure, to cut melanoma risk.
Why it spread
A simple product meets a real risk where it happens. Source
You've been eating digestives wrong
McVitie's declared that people have been eating chocolate digestives the wrong way up.
Why it spread
A trivial debate everyone has an opinion on. Source
The giant kettle
Russell Hobbs put a giant kettle installation at Westfield to launch its Calm Kettle.
Why it spread
A giant product in a busy place is a simple photo stop. Source
The Secret Ingredient Store
The Ordinary opened a New York pop-up highlighting how much celebrity endorsements add to beauty prices.
Why it spread
It attacks the category's pricing in a way that proves its own point. Source
The poker chip sculpture
GambleAware placed a poker chip sculpture at Westfield London to show the hidden toll of gambling on children.
Why it spread
A striking object in a shopping centre starts a hard conversation. Source
MidiBalls
A charity made testicle-shaped MIDI controllers to raise awareness of testicular cancer.
Why it spread
An absurd object gets shared, and carries the message with it. Source
Sachet grillz
Heinz made custom tooth grillz designed to open tough sauce sachets.
Why it spread
A funny fix for a small, real annoyance. Source
The bored nightclub meme
Samsung brought back the woman from the "bored nightclub" meme to show off a photo editing tool.
Why it spread
Fixing a famous bad photo shows the product's job instantly. Source
Breadywear
Vogel's made fashion items to help New Zealanders abroad carry their bread.
Why it spread
Expats' real craving becomes a fun product. Source
The Irish exit
Aer Lingus launched its Nashville–Dublin route with a campaign built on the "Irish exit".
Why it spread
A known phrase becomes the reason to fly. Source
Black Mirror reality hack
Netflix launched Black Mirror season 7 with a campaign that blurred the line between the show and real life.
Why it spread
Making the show's premise happen to real people is the marketing. Source
Cheetos Pants
Cheetos launched trousers that double as a napkin for orange fingers.
Why it spread
A product that solves the most famous annoyance of eating Cheetos. Source
The Tube tap challenge
Google Pay turned London commuters' tap in and out into a challenge for Android users.
Why it spread
A game layered on a daily habit keeps the product top of mind. Source
The Flipper
Heineken launched a phone case designed to nudge people off their phones at the pub.
Why it spread
A product that supports the brand's message about real socialising. Source
Edible Soap
The Hygiene Bank made an edible soap to highlight people choosing between eating and staying clean.
Why it spread
A strange object makes a hidden choice real. Source
The Lumon Terminal Pro
Apple added a fictional computer from Severance, the Lumon Terminal Pro, to its online store.
Why it spread
A fake product from the show in a real store thrills fans. Source
Shredenhams
Bristol's old Debenhams department store became a skatepark called Shredenhams.
Why it spread
A pun on a closed high street name is instantly shareable. Source
Lynx with Catnip
Lynx launched a body spray with catnip, to win over your date and her cat.
Why it spread
A silly dating hack is exactly the brand's tone. Source
The egg shortage fix
The Ordinary and MSCHF responded to New York's egg shortage with a playful idea.
Why it spread
Jumping on a real news story with a twist gets coverage. Source
Minecraft New Zealand
Tourism New Zealand added its landscapes to Minecraft to attract visitors.
Why it spread
Meeting young travellers inside a game they already play. Source
Free period products
Aldi became the first UK supermarket to offer free period products in its in-store toilets.
Why it spread
A simple, useful change becomes a positive headline. Source
Kegs for Pregs
Liquid Death released a keg of water for mums-to-be.
Why it spread
A party object for people who can't drink is funny and on-brand. Source
The champagne cork balloon
Moët & Chandon flew a champagne-cork-shaped balloon over Melbourne before the Formula 1 race.
Why it spread
A giant cork in the sky links the brand to podium celebrations. Source
Pub Succession
Heineken launched a search for someone to take over a legendary pub on an Irish island to keep it alive.
Why it spread
A real job to save a real pub is a story people share. Source
The climate crest
Sunderland altered its crest to show the effects of climate change.
Why it spread
Changing a badge fans love makes them notice the message. Source
One-ingredient Corn Flakes
M&S launched Corn Flakes made with only one ingredient: corn.
Why it spread
A simple claim that's easy to repeat and compare. Source
The Schneaky glass
Kahlúa made an espresso martini glass that looks like a pint of stout for St Patrick's Day.
Why it spread
It lets people join the day without drinking stout. Source
Colonel vs AI
KFC Canada had AI generate a fried chicken recipe from top-rated recipes online, to prove no algorithm could out-fry the Colonel.
Why it spread
Pitting the product against AI taps a live debate. Source
Lily Parr's goals
Three UK told the story of Lily Parr, who scored around 960 goals, more than Ronaldo.
Why it spread
A surprising stat reframes history. Source
The shoebox street
adidas took over a Shanghai street with a giant shoebox build for its Shell Toe.
Why it spread
A giant version of the box fans collect. Source
The Kim balloon
SKIMS put a 60-foot balloon of Kim Kardashian in Times Square to promote swimwear.
Why it spread
A spectacle that divides opinion gets talked about. Source
The ice vault
Lucozade put a cryptic ice vault in London overnight to launch Ice Kick.
Why it spread
A mystery object makes people ask what it is. Source
The porridge dress
Quaker Oats showed a dress made entirely from porridge at London Fashion Week.
Why it spread
Food as couture is a strange photo newspapers run. Source
Mum, you're fired
An advocacy group literally shredded CVs to expose the motherhood penalty at work.
Why it spread
A physical act makes an abstract problem visible. Source
The headstone phone
Western Australia's road safety body showed phones as headstones to warn about texting while driving.
Why it spread
One image connects the habit and the consequence. Source
Arsenal and Dirt is Good
Persil's Dirt is Good platform teamed up with Arsenal to challenge period stigma in sport.
Why it spread
A football club gives the message reach and credibility. Source
Trash-Chic
Aldi showed a haute couture collection made entirely of black bin bags for London Fashion Week.
Why it spread
A cheap product on a luxury runway is a headline. Source
Garlic face cream
Nando's launched a garlic and black pepper face cream.
Why it spread
An absurd product launch gets people talking. Source
"u up?"
IKEA Canada DMed late-night scrollers "u up?" to offer sleep help.
Why it spread
A famous text reused by a brand is funny and on-topic. Source
Miffy on the carousel
Schiphol surprised Valentine's Day travellers with free Miffy toys on the baggage carousel.
Why it spread
A small, unexpected gift where people are bored makes them smile and share. Source
Bridget Jones Radio
Bauer Media launched a pop-up Bridget Jones radio station to promote the new film.
Why it spread
A themed station is a fun way for fans to spend time with the story. Source
Eau de Pepperoni
Domino's debuted a pepperoni-inspired fragrance for Valentine's Day.
Why it spread
A food scent as a gift is funny enough to share. Source
The roller disco supermarket
Joe Wicks hosted the first supermarket-themed roller disco.
Why it spread
A fun event makes healthy shopping feel playful. Source
The worst font
Cheetos designed the world's worst font, made from fingers covered in Cheetos dust.
Why it spread
A playful take on brand fonts, built on the product's famous mess. Source
The Big Mike order
McDonald's teamed up with Stormzy for its first UK Famous Order.
Why it spread
A celebrity's real order makes fans want to try it. Source
The shape-shift
Doritos announced it was changing its famous triangle shape, and people freaked out.
Why it spread
Threatening to change an icon makes fans defend it. Source
The castle hat dupe
Aldi offered its wooden toy castle as a dupe for Jaden Smith's Grammy headpiece.
Why it spread
A fast reply to a viral moment, with a real product. Source
The Out-Door
KFC removed the doors from some restaurants to show they're open 24/7.
Why it spread
A physical act proves a claim. Source
Ramsay's apology
Gordon Ramsay released a public apology to people he has shouted at.
Why it spread
A famous persona poking fun at itself gets shared. Source
Chipotle x Strava
Chipotle UK launched its first Strava Challenge with the fitness app.
Why it spread
Meeting runners in the app they use makes rewards feel earned. Source
Sabrina's espresso
Dunkin' teamed up with Sabrina Carpenter on a drink, playing on her song Espresso.
Why it spread
A song fans know is the perfect name for a coffee order. Source
Head of Security
Yorkshire Tea hired Happy Valley actor Sarah Lancashire as its head of security.
Why it spread
A beloved actor in character makes the ad feel like a show. Source
Snowed-in pub rescue
Aldi delivered supplies to guests snowed in at Britain's highest pub.
Why it spread
Real help during real news makes a feel-good headline. Source
The lockable pizza box
Domino's offered students lockable pizza boxes to protect leftovers from flatmates.
Why it spread
A real student problem, solved with humour. Source
Welcome to Melbourne
Specsavers put "Welcome to Melbourne" signs at Sydney Airport.
Why it spread
The brand's classic "should've gone to Specsavers" joke, placed perfectly. Source
Blinds as billboards
IKEA Sweden gave sleep-deprived customers free roller blinds in exchange for using their windows as billboards.
Why it spread
Customers get a useful product, and IKEA gets media in the street. Source
The IKEA dolls' house
IKEA and Shelter made a squalid dolls' house to show the reality of child homelessness.
Why it spread
A familiar toy in a shocking state makes the issue impossible to ignore. Source
The CPR bra
St John Ambulance created a CPR training bra to teach people how to perform CPR on women.
Why it spread
A simple object tackles a real, overlooked gap. Source
The logo made of groceries
Tesco replaced the letters of its logo with produce shaped like T, E, S, C and O.
Why it spread
The brand is so familiar that food can spell it. Source
The Greggs champagne bar
Greggs opened its first champagne bar with cocktails inspired by its bakes.
Why it spread
Posh versions of a humble brand are a joke everyone gets. Source
Celery clutch dupe
Aldi trolled Moschino's celery-shaped clutch bag with its own cheap celery.
Why it spread
A dupe of an absurd luxury item is a quick, funny win. Source
The Unsnatchable
JOAN London launched a phone case designed to stop phone snatching.
Why it spread
A product aimed at a common fear gets attention. Source
The carbon-negative pub
Uber opened a carbon-negative pub in London to showcase its sustainability work.
Why it spread
A pub makes a corporate commitment into something people can visit. Source
The Joker Heinz
Heinz channelled The Joker with the line "It Ha Ha Has to be Heinz" around the film's release.
Why it spread
Borrowing a villain's laugh makes a familiar slogan fresh. Source
Dogs on the pitch
Espanyol players walked abandoned dogs onto the pitch to find them new homes.
Why it spread
A warm image at a live match reaches everyone watching. Source
Blunt's name bet
James Blunt promised to legally change his name if his album's 20th anniversary edition reached number one.
Why it spread
A funny, public dare gets fans to act. Source
The giant Nurofen pack
Nurofen built a giant packet showing real dismissals women hear about their pain.
Why it spread
Real quotes on a familiar object confront the gender pain gap. Source
The Rewear Chair
Ecover made a chair to hold worn clothes, to tackle over-washing.
Why it spread
It turns a messy habit (the clothes chair) into the brand's message. Source
The IKEA restaurant
IKEA opened its first dedicated restaurant in London.
Why it spread
The famous meatballs become a destination in their own right. Source
The frozen pizza prank
Pizza Hut Middle East put its pizzas in supermarket freezers, baffling shoppers.
Why it spread
Showing up where the brand never is makes people look twice. Source
Tacommodation
Taco Bell turned a student flat in Leeds into a taco lover's dream.
Why it spread
A themed flat is a prize and a photo set in one. Source
Daisy the Granbot
O2 created an AI grandma that keeps scammers talking to waste their time.
Why it spread
A funny character fights a real problem people hate. Source
Lickable wrapping paper
KFC released gravy-flavoured lickable wrapping paper for Christmas.
Why it spread
A ridiculous festive product gets shared. Source
GreenWitch
Greenwich became GreenWitch for November ahead of Wicked's release.
Why it spread
A place-name pun ties the film to a real location. Source
The Pit Pack
Liquid Death and Depend launched an adult diaper for mosh pits.
Why it spread
Two brands with a sense of humour make an absurd product for a real crowd. Source
The pudding exchange
Aldi launched a Christmas pudding exchange service after finding Gen Z wasn't keen on the dessert.
Why it spread
A service built on a real insight about younger shoppers. Source
Kentucky Fried Carols
KFC Canada made a collection of Kentucky Fried Carols for the holidays.
Why it spread
Festive music people play puts the brand in homes. Source
BRAT mayo
Hellmann's ran a campaign tied to Charli xcx's UK BRAT tour.
Why it spread
Joining the summer's biggest cultural moment makes the brand feel current. Source
Sunflower minifigures
LEGO launched characters wearing sunflower lanyards to raise awareness of hidden disabilities.
Why it spread
A small design detail makes an inclusive message part of play. Source
The IE7 tax
Australian online retailer Kogan.com added a 'tax' at checkout for shoppers still using Internet Explorer 7, to 'recoup the cost' of supporting the old browser.
Why it spread
A cheeky rule aimed at a shared annoyance gives tech press an easy, funny story. Source
The make-up tutorial
Domestic violence charity Refuge worked with YouTube make-up artist Lauren Luke on a tutorial that showed how to cover the signs of abuse.
Why it spread
It borrows a format millions already watch, then turns it into something nobody expects. Source
The innuendo video
To show how easily the Galaxy S III shares videos by tapping phones, Samsung released a cheeky video built on a double meaning.
Result More than 2 million views in two days, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
A joke with a product demo hidden inside is easy to share and still sells the feature. Source
Zombies on Waterloo Bridge
LivingSocial released 50 blood-splattered zombies on Waterloo Bridge to highlight Britain's 'dead high streets' and promote its local deals.
Why it spread
A literal visual for a news topic (falling footfall) gives photographers a reason to turn up. Source
Welcome to our turf
Before the London Olympics, British Airways painted a giant image of heptathlete Jessica Ennis on playing fields under Heathrow's flight path with the line 'Welcome to our turf'.
Why it spread
Only arriving passengers see it live, which makes the aerial photo the thing people share. Source
Mass Effect 3 into space
EA promised to launch copies of Mass Effect 3 into space on balloons, with GPS trackers so fans could follow them. The launch did not go to plan.
Result The stunt was widely reported as a failure, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Live-tracked stunts build big anticipation, which also makes a failure very public. Source
The podium aisle
As a London 2012 sponsor, Gillette placed a winner's podium in the middle of a German store, leading shoppers to the ProGlide Golden Edition.
Why it spread
Stepping onto a podium is a small moment of fun that shoppers act out and film. Source
The two-mile wedding train
Bridal designer Gianni Molaro made a wedding dress with a train nearly two miles long and showed it on the Spanish Steps in Rome to open a new store.
Why it spread
A record-breaking object needs no explanation and fills a photo. Source
Physics from space
To launch Angry Birds Space, Rovio had NASA astronaut Don Pettit explain the physics behind the game from the International Space Station.
Why it spread
A real astronaut gives a game launch a news angle no trailer can. Source
Punch the billboard
Outdoor brand EVOC fixed its backpack to a German billboard and invited the public to punch, kick and throw themselves at it.
Why it spread
Inviting people to test the product themselves is more convincing than any claim. Source
Flying people over New York
To promote superhero film Chronicle, Fox flew three remote-controlled planes shaped like people over New York City.
Why it spread
People filmed what looked like flying humans, so the footage spread before anyone knew it was a film ad. Source
The invisible ad
To launch Lynx Anarchy, Lynx built 'the world's first invisible ad' in Sydney: hacked screens in a house window that could only be seen through polarised glasses handed out to a few people.
Why it spread
Something only some people can see makes the rest want to find out what it is. Source
Ladies Day ad complaints
Paddy Power's Cheltenham ad, a reply to a fan's comment about 'beauties at Ladies Day', drew complaints for its transgender joke.
Result The ad drew complaints and negative press, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Edgy humour gets attention, but jokes at a group's expense turn coverage negative fast. Source
The Ninja Task Force
Morphsuits and London's Prince Charles Cinema sent a team of 'invisible' ninjas in Lycra suits to ambush people who talked or used phones during films.
Why it spread
Punishing a universal annoyance is satisfying to watch and easy to share. Source
The fake changing rooms
Adidas and Ajax installed fake fitting rooms in the club shop where fans trying on the new home kit were surprised by the players.
Why it spread
A hidden-camera surprise with real fans produces genuine reactions people want to watch. Source
The Katie Price tweets
Snickers paid celebrities including Rio Ferdinand and Katie Price to post out-of-character tweets, then reveal them as Snickers ads. The campaign backfired.
Result The campaign drew criticism and regulator complaints, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Celebrity tweets reach millions, but undisclosed paid posts invite complaints. Source
#letsdolunch
Domino's UK cut the price of a pizza each time someone tweeted the hashtag #letsdolunch during a two-hour window.
Why it spread
Every tweet visibly lowers the price, so people share to get a better deal for everyone. Source
Floating people in New York
To launch its truWALKzero shoes, Rockport suspended performers in mid-air around New York to show how light they were.
Why it spread
A visual exaggeration of the product's one benefit is instantly understood. Source
Monsters University website
Pixar launched a detailed, straight-faced 'academic' website for the fictional Monsters University ahead of the film.
Why it spread
A fully built fictional world rewards fans who explore it and share the jokes they find. Source
The England manager job ad
When England needed a new football manager, Guru Careers posted a long, wordy job ad for the role on a jobs site.
Why it spread
A real-time joke on the day's biggest story gets picked up by sports and business press. Source
The Rafa Benitez suite
After Chelsea appointed Rafa Benitez as interim manager, the Premier Inn next to Stamford Bridge renamed a suite after him, 'perfect for a short stay'.
Why it spread
A one-line joke on the day's news costs nothing and gets quoted. Source
Never Mind the Anabolics
During the London Olympics, BrewDog released a limited beer it claimed contained banned substances, poking fun at official sponsors.
Why it spread
Ambushing a sponsor-only event with a cheeky product gets coverage without the sponsorship fee. Source
Gymkhana Five
DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block turned San Francisco into a stunt-driving course for the fifth Gymkhana video.
Result 20 million views in a week, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Each episode tops the last, so fans wait for and share every new one. Source
#workanywhere
O2 had a man work at a desk while dangling from the side of a London building to show its 'work anywhere' message.
Why it spread
Taking a product claim literally produces an image people stop to film. Source
The XXXX island
Australian beer brand XXXX leased a 15-acre island off the coast and turned it into a branded getaway for fans.
Why it spread
An island of your own is a prize people actually want, and the scale makes it news. Source
The twosie
Ahead of Valentine's Day, Asda launched the 'twosie', a onesie designed for two people.
Why it spread
A silly product tied to a trend and a date gets headlines and gift sales. Source
The Wi-Fi fries
To launch lower-fat Satisfries, Burger King put giant french fries on US streets that doubled as free Wi-Fi hotspots.
Why it spread
Free Wi-Fi gives people a reason to stand next to the ad and check in. Source
The PS4 OXO Tower
Sony took over London's OXO Tower for the PS4 launch, swapping the letters on the building for the PlayStation button symbols.
Why it spread
Turning a famous landmark into your logo makes a launch photo everyone recognises. Source
The wanted suspects prank
To launch Stress Protect deodorant, Nivea pranked travellers at a German airport into believing they were wanted suspects, then handed them the product.
Why it spread
A rising-panic prank keeps people watching to the release, which is where the product appears. Source
Speed dating on the London Eye
Dating site DoingSomething put 250 single men and 250 single women into themed London Eye capsules for a speed-dating event.
Why it spread
A famous venue makes a simple event worth reporting. Source
Stare at the phone
In Zurich station, Samsung offered a free Galaxy S4 to anyone who could stare at one, set into a board, for a full hour while staff tried to distract them.
Why it spread
A simple challenge with a prize draws a crowd and makes funny footage. Source
The $1m edition
Publisher Deep Silver offered a $1 million edition of Saints Row IV that included plastic surgery and a trip to space.
Why it spread
An absurd price tag earns coverage even if nobody buys it. Source
Rename the brand
Indian fashion brand Fastrack said that if its Facebook page reached 10 million likes in 40 days, fans could change the brand's name.
Why it spread
Handing fans real control of something big gives them a reason to recruit others. Source
The teleporter prank
For the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, streaming service blinkbox worked with an illusionist to 'teleport' people in a London shop.
Why it spread
A well-made illusion gets reactions that look real on camera. Source
The Magna Carta hunt
Jay Z revealed the track list for Magna Carta Holy Grail through a scavenger hunt across New York, as he had for his book Decoded.
Why it spread
Fans do the reveal themselves, so every clue becomes a post. Source
Telekinetic coffee shop
To promote the Carrie remake, a coffee shop was rigged so an actress appeared to throw a customer against the wall with telekinesis.
Why it spread
Real reactions to a fake supernatural moment are compulsive viewing. Source
WeBuyAnyToyCar
After a fake letter about the brand went viral, WeBuyAnyCar.com launched a spoof 'WeBuyAnyToyCar' site and charity tie-in.
Why it spread
Joining the joke turns a viral moment about you into a positive one. Source
The hidden message billboard
A Spanish billboard for child-protection charity ANAR showed adults one message and, through lenticular printing, showed children a helpline number.
Why it spread
The design itself solves the problem, so the story explains itself. Source
The Rooney moving van
As Chelsea chased Wayne Rooney, property site Zoopla parked a moving van outside Old Trafford offering to help him move house.
Why it spread
A cheap prop on the day's transfer story gets photographed by sports press. Source
Colgate-gate
After a Colgate brush-swap stunt at Waterloo went wrong, Philips quickly launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign mocking its rival.
Why it spread
Speed is the whole idea: a rival's mistake is only funny for a day or two. Source
Water slide tester
Tour operator First Choice advertised a £20,000-a-year job as a 'water slide tester' to replace its outgoing tester.
Why it spread
A dream job is a story people share with friends who should apply. Source
A Boy and His Atom
IBM made the world's smallest stop-motion film by moving individual atoms.
Why it spread
It explains invisible work in a way anyone can watch in a minute. Source
Mr Quiffy
Designer Henry Holland turned an ice cream van named after his hairstyle into a mobile pop-up shop.
Why it spread
A familiar vehicle used for something unexpected gets people queuing and posting. Source
The balloon voucher stunt
An LG event in Seoul released 100 helium balloons carrying vouchers for a free phone. The scramble left 20 people injured.
Result Twenty people were injured, seven taken to hospital, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Free-for-all giveaways can turn dangerous; safety has to be planned first. Source
Extreme Shampooing
To sell shampoo to men, VO5 filmed people washing their hair in extreme situations as a mock sport.
Why it spread
Turning a dull routine into an extreme sport makes it something men will talk about. Source
The Silk Bar
Hermès opened a pop-up 'Silk Bar' to show off its scarves and ways to wear them.
Why it spread
A pop-up built around one product line gives a luxury brand an approachable entry point. Source
The Dortmund flashmob
Puma sent a flashmob to Stansted Airport to cheer off Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund.
Why it spread
Celebrating the team that lost is unexpected and wins over its fans. Source
Coca-Cola Mini-me
Coca-Cola Israel invited fans to a 3D-printing lab inside its factory to be scanned and given a mini figurine of themselves, to launch mini bottles.
Why it spread
A personal keepsake connects the person to the product's own 'mini' idea. Source
VX Safety Dance
Virgin America replaced its in-flight safety instructions with a musical video full of dance routines.
Why it spread
People watch and share a safety video for the first time, which also gets the safety message across. Source
The man pram
To launch the Octavia vRS, Skoda built a two-metre 'man pram', the 'ultimate baby buggy' for adults.
Why it spread
An oversized, silly prop gives photographers an image and the car a talking point. Source
The Cell Phone Nullifier
Brazilian beer Polar made a beer cooler that blocked mobile signals around the table, to get friends talking instead of scrolling.
Why it spread
A product that solves a shared annoyance is a story in itself. Source
Sugarpova
Maria Sharapova said she would change her surname to Sugarpova during the US Open to promote her sweets brand.
Why it spread
A founder changing their own name is a quirky story sports and celebrity press both pick up. Source
The animal print ban
Chessington World of Adventures banned visitors from wearing animal print because it was 'confusing the animals'.
Why it spread
A silly rule with a plausible reason gets reported straight and then shared as a joke. Source
Europe to Asia tee shot
To promote the Turkish Airlines Open, Tiger Woods hit a golf ball from Europe to Asia across Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.
Why it spread
A 'world first' with a famous athlete and landmark makes the story write itself. Source
Habana vs the A380
British Airways raced South African rugby player Bryan Habana against an A380 on a runway to promote its new Johannesburg route.
Why it spread
A race between a person and a plane is simple and dramatic. Source
Eyes on the road
Volkswagen sent a text to every phone in a Hong Kong cinema just as an on-screen driver approached a crash, then showed the crash.
Why it spread
Making the audience do the dangerous thing themselves makes the lesson land. Source
The Man United consolation discount
The day after Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League, Hotels.com offered United fans 10% off European trips.
Why it spread
A discount tied to a team's bad news is a funny, shareable consolation. Source
Do it for Denmark
Danish travel agency Spies said Denmark's birth rate was at a 27-year low and encouraged couples to take a romantic city break to help.
Why it spread
A national problem with a cheeky fix gets press and gives couples a reason to book. Source
#nomakeupselfie
A trend of women posting make-up-free selfies turned into a fundraiser when Cancer Research UK asked people to text a donation.
Result £1 million raised through text donations in 24 hours, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
The charity joined a trend already happening and gave it a simple action. Source
The giant shoebox
For the 50th anniversary of an iconic trainer, Adidas built a pop-up shop shaped like a giant shoebox in East London.
Why it spread
Making the packaging the building turns the brand's own icon into the venue. Source
The sLablet
For April Fools' Day, Ocado Technology 'unveiled' the 42-inch sLablet, the world's largest tablet.
Why it spread
A believable fake product lets a tech team show personality. Source
The Sleeping Drunks Billboard
Japanese bar chain Yaocho turned passed-out drinkers into 'human posters' by placing alcohol-awareness signs around them.
Why it spread
The person is the ad, which makes the warning impossible to ignore. Source
Barketing
To promote dog-walker meetups, Match.com put up park posters scented with dog food so dogs would lead their owners to them.
Why it spread
Targeting the dog, not the owner, is a joke that also works. Source
Hulk raises Tower Bridge
A 36-foot projection of the Hulk appeared to lift Tower Bridge to let the new Disney Infinity game pass along the Thames.
Why it spread
A character interacting with a real landmark makes a shareable image. Source
Bald cartoon characters
For Cancer Awareness Month in Brazil, children's cancer hospital GRAACC had famous cartoon characters drawn bald to support children having treatment.
Why it spread
Loved characters looking like the children makes support feel personal. Source
The mast walk
Yachtsman Alex Thomson ran up the 100-foot mast of his Hugo Boss yacht in a suit and dived into the sea.
Why it spread
Doing something dangerous in the brand's product is memorable and shows it off. Source
The playable poster
Beck's in New Zealand made posters with conductive ink that played music when touched.
Why it spread
A poster that does something when you touch it gets people to stop and play. Source
The driveable deckchair
Car hire site Holiday Autos unveiled a motorised deckchair on Brighton beach.
Why it spread
A quirky invention linked to the product (driving, holidays) is easy press. Source
The Twitter vending machine
Walkers turned three London bus stops into tweet-activated vending machines featuring Gary Lineker.
Why it spread
Free crisps for a tweet makes each user an advertiser. Source
Hot Dogs
Dogs Trust's campaign said leaving a dog in a hot car was like leaving it in an oven, ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Why it spread
A blunt comparison makes a known risk feel urgent. Source
The train-blown hair ad
Swedish pharmacy Apotek put screens on a Stockholm platform where the model's hair blew around whenever a train arrived.
Why it spread
An ad that reacts to the world around it surprises commuters every few minutes. Source
Gabbi's Head
During the World Cup, Benefit Cosmetics opened a women-only pop-up pub for watching football and getting beauty treatments.
Why it spread
It gives women a space during an event that usually ignores them. Source
The tweeting couch
South African ISP MWEB built a couch that tweeted when people jumped up during World Cup matches.
Why it spread
It turns a fan's reaction into a live feed people follow. Source
Traitor Tony
During the World Cup, Paddy Power hung a fan who bet on Italy to beat England in a cage beside a billboard.
Why it spread
A silly 'punishment' plays on fan loyalty and gets photographed. Source
Axe in a New York taxi
To promote the Warlords of Draenor expansion, a giant axe was left stuck in a New York taxi in Times Square.
Why it spread
One huge prop from the game in a real place makes a quick photo story. Source
Ghostly Miss Havishams
TV channel Drama put five ghostly Miss Havishams on London Tube carriages and buses to promote Great Expectations.
Why it spread
Costumed characters in daily life surprise commuters into sharing. Source
Yellow sheep
To promote its sponsorship of the Tour de France in Yorkshire, Yorkshire Building Society dyed 150 sheep yellow.
Why it spread
A cheap, local, visual twist on the yellow jersey gets photographed by the world's cycling press. Source
CoppaFeel on Page 3
Breast cancer charity CoppaFeel partnered with The Sun's Page 3 to remind women to check their breasts.
Why it spread
An unlikely partner reaches a huge audience and starts a debate. Source
We Are Connected
Diesel cast fashion editor Jillian Mercado, who uses a wheelchair, as one of the main models in its We Are Connected campaign.
Why it spread
Casting that breaks convention gets talked about as news, not just as an ad. Source
We believe in love
For Valentine's Day, Lush ran a 'We believe in love' campaign featuring same-sex couples, in response to Russia's anti-gay laws.
Why it spread
Taking a clear side on a news story at a romantic moment makes the brand's values visible. Source
#mycalvins
Calvin Klein asked fans and celebrities to post photos of themselves in its underwear with #mycalvins, and featured the best ones.
Why it spread
The waistband logo is the product, so every photo is an ad people chose to post. Source
District Three
For the release of a new Hunger Games film, mobile network Three 'renamed' itself District Three with a quick photo stunt.
Why it spread
A quick, low-budget nod to a huge film release puts the brand in fans' feeds. Source
The Alzheimer's Event
Alzheimer Nederland had Facebook users unknowingly tag photos of friends with the wrong names, giving them a taste of what Alzheimer's feels like.
Why it spread
Feeling the confusion yourself is stronger than reading about it. Source
Christmas Shopper Simulator
Video game retailer GAME released a free, tongue-in-cheek game about surviving Christmas shopping.
Why it spread
A free, funny game is shared because it's fun, and it's on-brand for a games shop. Source
#GetDressed
Fashion shopping app Grabble sent naked models around London to promote its app.
Why it spread
Naked models with an app to 'get dressed' is a simple visual joke photographers love. Source
#BrazilianNoShow
With World Cup games kicking off during US working hours, Heineken challenged American bosses to let staff watch.
Why it spread
Taking the fan's side against work is relatable and sparks office debate. Source
Mistletoe drones
TGI Fridays flew drones carrying mistletoe and a kiss-cam around its restaurants at Christmas.
Why it spread
A playful gadget creates moments diners film and share. Source
The subway fitness battle
After finding 74% of Korean office workers didn't exercise enough, Reebok put game screens in two Seoul subway stations where commuters raced each other.
Why it spread
A quick game with a stranger turns a waiting area into a playground. Source
No Label
BrewDog released No Label, which it called the world's first 'transgender beer', made with hops that had changed sex.
Why it spread
A strange fact about the product becomes a provocative headline. Source
The Instagram treasure hunt
Ted Baker ran a treasure hunt across its Instagram, with clues hidden in posts for followers to solve.
Why it spread
Hiding clues in your own posts makes people study and share them. Source
The blue avatars
Artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Madonna turned their Twitter profile pictures blue to promote Jay Z's streaming service Tidal.
Why it spread
A coordinated change by many stars is a visual story in itself. Source
Blood for tickets
Romanian festival Untold, held in Dracula's Transylvania, gave discounts and free tickets to people who donated blood.
Why it spread
The Dracula link makes a good cause funny and memorable. Source
Do it for Mom
Spies followed up 'Do it for Denmark' with a film asking Danish parents to send their children on holiday so they would have grandchildren.
Result Nearly 6 million views, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
A sequel to a hit, with a new character (grandma), keeps the joke fresh. Source
Wireless bungee jumping
To promote its wireless charging furniture, IKEA made a spoof 'documentary' about wireless bungee jumping.
Why it spread
Parodying the product feature makes a dull spec memorable. Source
#MissingType
To promote National Blood Week, brands, newspapers and street signs dropped the letters A, B and O, the blood types, from their names.
Why it spread
Hundreds of brands changing their logos at once makes the gap impossible to miss. Source
#TheChokeables
St John Ambulance made an animated ad voiced by David Walliams, David Mitchell and John Hurt showing how to help a choking baby.
Why it spread
Famous voices make a how-to that parents actually watch to the end. Source
The tourist window
Japan's largest cosmetics chain AINZ & TULPE made an interactive shop window that helped foreign tourists find products in their language.
Why it spread
It solves a real problem for a big group of customers, right at the point of sale. Source
Hearing Hands
Samsung secretly taught a whole Istanbul neighbourhood sign language to surprise a deaf man, Muharrem, for a day.
Why it spread
A real surprise for a real person creates genuine emotion people pass on. Source
The Isolation Box
Macmillan put an illuminated glass box in Paddington Station to show the isolation felt by people with cancer.
Why it spread
A physical metaphor in a busy station makes commuters stop and think. Source
Holiday Hypnosis
Virgin Holidays and hypnotist Paul McKenna ran 'holiday hypnosis' sessions in a pod at Bluewater shopping centre.
Why it spread
A celebrity experience in a shopping centre gets both footfall and press. Source
The discount John Lewis ad
As John Lewis launched its expensive Man on the Moon ad, MyVoucherCodes released a cheap 'discount' version made with students.
Why it spread
Spoofing the most-watched ad of the season puts a small brand in the same conversation. Source
Look at me
A Women's Aid billboard at Canary Wharf showed a bruised woman whose injuries healed as more passers-by looked at her.
Why it spread
The ad responds to attention, which is exactly the point it makes. Source
The 2 Euro T-shirt
A vending machine in Berlin sold white T-shirts for €2, then showed buyers a video about the workers who make them.
Why it spread
The cheap price draws people in; the video makes them rethink it. Source
Learn Spanish with Vinnie
Mobile network Three had hard-man actor Vinnie Jones teach Spanish in online lessons, to promote free roaming.
Why it spread
An unlikely teacher makes a useful video funny enough to share. Source
The Wait
NHS Blood and Transplant released a 14-hour film to show how long people wait for organ transplants.
Why it spread
The length is the message: nobody watches it all, which is the point. Source
Ava on Tinder
At SXSW, people matched with 'Ava' on Tinder, who chatted with them and then sent them to the Instagram for the film Ex Machina, about an AI.
Why it spread
The stunt makes people experience the film's idea: being fooled by a machine. Source
The election pie chart
Facebook lit up the London Eye as a giant pie chart showing how people were talking about the UK election on the platform.
Why it spread
Live data on a landmark makes the platform part of the news. Source
The billboard for women
German beer Astra made a billboard that detected women of drinking age and showed them targeted messages.
Why it spread
A billboard that 'sees' you is novel and talked about. Source
#alittlememory
Printing firm Solopress asked people to upload a photo and printed it in return for donations to a children's hospice charity.
Why it spread
A small business uses its own product to support a cause, which earns local press. Source
Foreign Shame
A man asked Lithuanians to translate racist messages he'd received on Facebook, filming their reactions as they read them aloud.
Why it spread
Making people say the words out loud shows how hurtful they are. Source
Choose Beautiful
Dove put signs above two doors in five cities, 'Beautiful' and 'Average', and filmed which door women chose.
Why it spread
A simple choice says a lot about self-image, so viewers ask which door they'd take. Source
The Dream Doghouse
As sponsor of Crufts, Samsung built a futuristic kennel with treadmill, hydrotherapy pool and tablet for the dog.
Why it spread
A one-off, over-the-top product for pets gets coverage from people who love dogs. Source
Global Greening
For St Patrick's Day, Tourism Ireland had famous landmarks around the world lit green.
Why it spread
Each landmark's own city shares the photo, so it spreads country by country. Source
The snow shovels
Subaru handed out branded blue shovels to help 500 drivers dig their cars out of snow.
Why it spread
Being useful at the moment of frustration makes fans of people who got help. Source
The Grease-less Spoon Café
Appliance brand Miele opened a pop-up café in Covent Garden serving free full English breakfasts with half the usual calories.
Why it spread
A free breakfast proves the appliance's benefit with something people taste. Source
The floating house
Airbnb floated a fully furnished 70-ton house down the River Thames.
Why it spread
A house on the river is a surreal photo the whole city sees. Source
The Ramsay Street listing
Airbnb listed a home on Ramsay Street, the set of Australian soap Neighbours, so fans could stay.
Why it spread
Fans get to live inside a show they've watched for years. Source
You vs. Sharapova
American Express let tennis fans return a Maria Sharapova serve in virtual reality at the US Open.
Why it spread
A chance to face a star turns a sponsorship into an experience. Source
The A380 and the Jetmen
Emirates flew an A380, the world's largest passenger plane, in formation with jetpack pilots in Dubai.
Why it spread
The biggest and smallest flying machines side by side is a striking image. Source
FlyBabies
For Mother's Day, JetBlue gave passengers on one flight 25% off a future flight every time a baby cried.
Why it spread
It flips a passenger annoyance into something people cheer. Source
The airlifted Aston Martin
Ahead of the World Endurance Championship, Aston Martin airlifted a £1 million car 300 feet over London.
Why it spread
An expensive car in the sky is an image newspapers print. Source
The naked sun terrace
To launch a contract-free TV and broadband bundle, Now TV opened a 'clothes-free' naked sun terrace in London.
Why it spread
'Free from clothes' is a cheeky way into 'free from contracts'. Source
The orange juice billboard
Tropicana put up a 5-metre digital billboard at Westfield London that dispensed free orange juice.
Why it spread
An ad that gives you the product turns passers-by into tasters. Source
The adults-only ice cream van
Adults-only hotel group Warner launched an ice cream van serving alcoholic ice cream.
Why it spread
A grown-up twist on a childhood treat fits the brand's adults-only promise. Source
The real views car
To launch the new Mégane, Renault fitted a car with cameras and facial recognition that counted on its rear window how many people looked at it.
Why it spread
The car proves its own head-turning claim with a live number. Source
Handmade tweets
innocent drinks made its tweets by hand, with craft materials, and posted the photos.
Why it spread
The handmade look matches the brand's friendly voice and stands out in a feed. Source
Calendário da Saudade
Ford in Brazil made a calendar to help truck drivers and their families count the days until they're reunited.
Why it spread
A small, useful object for the people who use your trucks shows you understand their lives. Source
Dog's milk
PETA offered Londoners samples of 'dog's milk' to make them question why drinking cow's milk feels normal.
Why it spread
The disgust reaction makes the point faster than an argument. Source
Scent of a Dream VR
Charlotte Tilbury launched its fragrance with a VR experience that took people into space with Kate Moss as guide.
Why it spread
Hard-to-show products like fragrance get a story people can step into. Source
The Sunslide
Nivea made a water slide that sprayed sunscreen on kids as they went down.
Why it spread
It turns a chore kids resist into a ride they queue for. Source
The aubergine condom
Durex 'announced' an aubergine-flavoured condom, playing on the emoji's meaning.
Why it spread
A fake product built on an emoji everyone understands is a ready-made joke. Source
The canine collection
Fashion e-commerce site Lyst launched a 'canine collection' page appearing to sell 33 dog breeds, and drew a big backlash.
Result The stunt caused a large backlash, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
A shock stunt about a sensitive topic needs its point to be clear straight away, or anger takes over. Source
Air Ink
Tiger Beer made ink from air pollution captured from car exhausts and gave it to artists.
Why it spread
Turning a problem into something useful and beautiful is a story worth reporting. Source
Real-life HITMAN
Game studio IO Interactive commissioned a real-life first-person HITMAN video with a Chuckle Brothers twist.
Why it spread
Live-action fan-style video plus a nostalgic cameo makes it shareable beyond gamers. Source
Jaffa the giant hamster
Kwik Fit sent a 12-foot pedal-powered hamster around Clapham Common, based on one of the oddest things its technicians found in customers' cars.
Why it spread
A true, odd story from your own data becomes a giant prop. Source
The mud volcano
To launch its Wild Explorers app of outdoor activities, Persil built a giant mud volcano for families to play in.
Why it spread
Mud is the problem Persil solves, so inviting it is the confident move. Source
Marriage Market Takeover
SK-II's film told the stories of Chinese women labelled 'leftover' for being unmarried after 27, and took over Shanghai's marriage market with their messages.
Why it spread
It takes a side on a real cultural pressure its customers face. Source
The greatest ever
Nike put up a billboard declaring Serena Williams the greatest athlete ever, not just the greatest female athlete.
Why it spread
Correcting a phrase the media uses gives the ad a point of view. Source
The lube bouquets
For Valentine's Day, Durex sent journalists bouquets of lube bottles instead of flowers.
Why it spread
A cheeky twist on a Valentine's cliché lands in exactly the inboxes that write stories. Source
Self-parking chairs
Nissan made office chairs that 'parked' themselves under tables at a clap, to show its parking-assist tech.
Why it spread
Putting car tech in an office makes it relatable and funny. Source
Tay
Microsoft's AI chatbot Tay was shut down within 24 hours of launch after users taught it to post racist and misogynistic tweets.
Result Shut down in under 24 hours, per Famous Campaigns.
Why it spread
Letting the public train a bot in real time without filters invites abuse. Source
The tweed racehorse
Ahead of Cheltenham, bookmaker William Hill had a three-piece tweed suit made for veteran racehorse Morestead.
Why it spread
A tailored suit for a horse is a picture made for the sports pages. Source
Escape from Alcatraz
To promote its new San Francisco route, Norwegian built an Alcatraz-themed escape room.
Why it spread
An escape room is fun, bookable and themed to the destination. Source
The leaked memo
Krispy Kreme 'leaked' an internal email from its CMO to store managers about a new Nutella-filled doughnut.
Why it spread
A leak feels like insider news, so people forward it. Source
The Game of Thrones tapestry
To launch season five on DVD, HBO unveiled a 6m x 4m embroidery of the series at Central Saint Martins in London for one weekend.
Why it spread
A handcrafted artefact gives fans a reason to visit and photograph. Source
Luck machines
To launch Stan Lee's Lucky Man, Sky installed 'luck' vending machines in big UK stations.
Why it spread
A free chance to win gives commuters a reason to play and post. Source
Run For Your Bun
David Lloyd Leisure opened a café where members paid for food with calories burned.
Why it spread
A new currency makes the healthy message playful. Source
The ocean plastic trainer
With Parley for the Oceans, Adidas made trainers from recycled plastic ocean waste.
Why it spread
A product made from the problem is the cause story in one object. Source
Beckham's tattoos
UNICEF animated David Beckham's tattoos to show how abuse leaves marks on children.
Why it spread
A celebrity's own body tells the story, which makes it memorable. Source
The Harry Kane apology
After Portugal's Bruno Alves kicked Harry Kane in the face, Portuguese liqueur Licor Beirão sent Kane an apology.
Why it spread
A fast apology on behalf of a whole country is funny and cheap. Source
Pokémon Go trainers
Services marketplace Bidvine added a 'Pokémon Go trainer' category to its site at the height of the craze.
Why it spread
A few hours' work to join a trend got press for a small brand. Source
The smart mirror
Superdry put a smart mirror in its Berlin flagship that dressed shoppers' reflections in the latest clothes.
Why it spread
Trying clothes without the changing room is a useful novelty people film. Source
The giant Galaxy S8
Samsung toured a 7 x 3 metre model of the Galaxy S8 to UK beauty spots chosen by a public poll, starting with Snowdon.
Why it spread
A poll lets people pick the locations, then the giant phone frames them. Source
Flybraries
After a survey of 2,000 parents, easyJet turned its planes into 'flying libraries' with books for children.
Why it spread
A useful perk for families with a survey stat makes a press story. Source
The cliff-edge cinema
EE took an outdoor cinema to rural communities, starting on a cliff edge, to show its 4G coverage.
Why it spread
Streaming a film somewhere remote proves coverage in a way people enjoy. Source
The luxury advent calendar
During the cost-of-living crisis, Hackney Children & Baby Bank released a 'luxury' advent calendar filled with everyday essentials families were struggling to afford.
Why it spread
Twisting a luxury Christmas format makes the hardship impossible to miss. Source
The new-car smell fragrance
Auto Trader made a fragrance for people, not cars, that smells like a new car, after research linked the smell to success.
Why it spread
A strange but desirable object based on a shared feeling gets press and smiles. Source
The LEGO Bugatti Chiron
LEGO and Bugatti built a full-size, drivable Bugatti Chiron from over a million LEGO Technic pieces.
Why it spread
A real, working supercar made of toy bricks is a feat people want to see. Source
Earth is our only shareholder
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard gave the company away so that profits not reinvested, around $100 million a year, go to fighting climate change.
Why it spread
A founder giving away the company is the cause story backed by a real cost. Source
Outrun the law
When Paris brought in a 30km/h speed limit, running store Distance encouraged customers to run faster than the cars.
Why it spread
A local rule change becomes a playful challenge only runners can win. Source
The extinction date
Mastercard used the expiry date on bank cards to show when endangered species could die out.
Why it spread
The card's own date field carries the message every time it's used. Source
Green Instructions
In Poland, where almost 80% of energy comes from coal, LEGO and Ogilvy made building instructions that teach children about renewable energy.
Why it spread
It uses the brand's own format, instructions, to teach a topic schools skip. Source
ScrapsBook
IKEA Canada released a cookbook of recipes made from food scraps to help cut food waste.
Why it spread
A useful free resource ties the brand to a habit people want to change. Source
Fight Fire with Fire
Zippo pledged to plant a tree for each lighter sold from its Fight Fire with Fire collection, to highlight the damage from wildfires.
Why it spread
A brand linked to fire taking on wildfires is a credible, slightly surprising pairing. Source
All Mod Cons
NatWest released a Christmas board game to get families talking about money and spotting modern scams.
Why it spread
A game families play together at Christmas teaches the message without a lecture. Source
The homelessness climb
To start their partnership, HSBC UK and Shelter staged an installation in King's Cross station with an actor climbing a wall that showed the cycle of homelessness.
Why it spread
A live performer in a busy station stops commuters in a way a poster can't. Source
The crying billboard
Charity Pregnant Then Screwed put up a billboard reading 'Waaah' that played the sound of a crying baby, to highlight childcare costs.
Why it spread
Sound makes an ad impossible to ignore, just like the problem it describes. Source
Open to Art
HSBC Hong Kong turned a billboard at the Star Ferry Pier into an immersive 3D art exhibition for passers-by.
Why it spread
Free art in a busy place makes a bank ad something people stop to watch. Source
The insurance Rickroll
CSAA Insurance Group had Rick Astley remake his 'Never Gonna Give You Up' video as an insurance ad.
Why it spread
Rickrolling is a meme everyone knows, so the ad gets shared as a joke. Source
The worst food start-up
Greenpeace France launched a fake start-up selling deliberately terrible food to highlight food poverty among young people.
Why it spread
A satirical brand gets attention and makes the point through the joke. Source
Only Choice Lettings
Shelter released a satirical film about a fictional letting agency to show real renting horror stories.
Why it spread
Satire lets people laugh at something that is usually just stressful. Source
Your pension's front door
Make My Money Matter showed what it would look like if the truth about pensions and deforestation was delivered to savers' doors, saying £2 in every £10 of the average UK pension is linked to it.
Why it spread
Bringing an abstract investment to someone's doorstep makes it personal. Source
The body-part motorcycle
National Highways built a working motorcycle from titanium surgical body-part replacements to highlight the dangers motorcyclists face.
Why it spread
A real object made from the consequences is more striking than statistics. Source
Loved by All
McDonald's New Zealand used CCTV shots from its drive-thrus to show every kind of vehicle turning up, from luxury cars to mopeds.
Why it spread
Real footage of real customers proves the claim and is fun to look at. Source
The kid-designed MINI
MINI and Crayola ran a contest for children to design the car of the future, then built nine-year-old Oliver's design.
Why it spread
Building a child's drawing for real is a story families share. Source
Road-trip air fresheners
Dacia launched air fresheners based on the UK's top road trips, chosen by the public, like the North Coast 500 and Cheddar Gorge.
Why it spread
A public vote and a quirky product give regional press a local angle. Source
This is not a van
Direct Line for Business turned a van into an office to show the impact of tool theft on tradespeople, for whom the van is their workplace.
Why it spread
Reframing the van as an office makes theft from it feel like a break-in. Source
Vans vans
Vans built 10-foot motorised sneakers, 'Vans vans', and drove them around New York to launch its MTE collection.
Why it spread
A literal pun on the brand name makes a vehicle people film. Source
The electric Cozy Coupe
Insurer LV= General Insurance and ElectriX teamed up with Little Tikes to make an electric version of the classic Cozy Coupe toy car.
Why it spread
An electric toy car makes the switch to electric feel normal, starting with kids. Source
Staying behind
Škoda inserted its car into competitors' YouTube videos, always just behind the rival, to admit others were ahead and joke about it.
Why it spread
Self-deprecation on rivals' own content is unexpected and funny. Source
The Helmet Hair Salon
E-bike and scooter company Lime opened a 'helmet hair' salon to tackle riders choosing style over safety.
Why it spread
It solves the real reason people skip helmets, rather than lecturing them. Source
The Mystery Machine stay
Airbnb and Warner Bros. let fans stay overnight in a customised Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine.
Why it spread
Fans can live inside a cartoon they grew up with, for one night. Source
The fake ad shoot
Liverpool's shirt sponsor AXA pranked players with a fake advert shoot full of actors and a comedian.
Why it spread
Players' real reactions are funnier than any script. Source
The building-sized vending machine
To launch Gran Turismo 7, Sony turned a 20-floor building in Singapore into a giant car vending machine.
Why it spread
A building-sized object makes a launch impossible to miss in the city. Source
The undead school bus
Netflix Thailand covered a school bus in screens showing children trying to escape zombies, for the series All of Us Are Dead.
Why it spread
A moving vehicle carries a scary illusion through the city. Source
Toy car rescue
Roadside recovery company Green Flag teamed up with Little Tikes to 'rescue' toy cars children had outgrown and pass them to disadvantaged children.
Why it spread
Doing your real job for toys is charming and does some good. Source
Very gay was a compliment
After homophobic comments about its blue Ranger Raptor in Germany, Ford released a rainbow version of the truck.
Why it spread
Answering hate with a better version of the product makes the brand's values clear. Source
Mach-Eau
Ford made a petrol-scented fragrance for drivers of its all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT who miss the smell.
Why it spread
It answers a silly objection to electric cars with a silly product. Source
Pay with art
Polestar said it would accept art as payment for its $155,000 Polestar 1.
Why it spread
An unusual way to pay makes a luxury car newsworthy. Source
Ketchup-speed traffic
Heinz rewarded drivers stuck in traffic jams who matched the speed of ketchup pouring from a bottle, 0.45km/h.
Why it spread
Linking the brand's famous slow pour to a daily annoyance turns a jam into a game. Source
The ASCII website
To promote its electric car, Volkswagen launched a website with no photos, using ASCII text art instead to cut data use.
Why it spread
Removing images shows the sustainability claim in the website itself. Source
The blind spot billboard
Volvo put up a billboard on Brussels' busiest road that was placed in drivers' blind spot, to show how cyclists get missed.
Why it spread
The ad's placement is the message: you can't see it, just like the cyclist. Source
The 0.0 fridge for drivers
In Singapore, Heineken put a public beer fridge by the road for motorists, stocked with Heineken 0.0.
Why it spread
Offering beer to drivers is a surprise until they see it's alcohol-free. Source
The emoji jacket
Ford designed a cycling jacket with an LED display that shows emojis so cyclists can communicate with drivers.
Why it spread
A simple, visual fix for road tension gets safety and design press. Source
LEGO Cybertruck
After the windows of Tesla's 'unbreakable' Cybertruck smashed during its launch, LEGO posted its own blocky version.
Why it spread
A fast, visual joke on the week's biggest tech fail gets reshared widely. Source
The Berlin Wall escape
For the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, BMW retold the story of a real escape made in one of its cars.
Why it spread
A true story from history with the product at its heart carries more weight than an ad. Source
Fixing Abbey Road
For the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' Abbey Road, Volkswagen Sweden 'corrected' the badly parked Beetle on the album cover.
Why it spread
A small tweak to a famous image is instantly recognisable and funny. Source
The car vending machine
Auto Trader installed a contactless car vending machine in London's Spitalfields Market, offering a haggle-free way to buy a new car.
Why it spread
A vending machine for cars makes the 'no haggling' promise literal. Source
The Ultimate Unboxing
Xbox, LEGO and McLaren surprised child unboxer EvanTubeHD with a 400,000-piece LEGO McLaren.
Why it spread
A creator's favourite format at a ridiculous scale makes a video kids watch. Source
The hidden charges prank
Ride-hailing app Kapten pranked Londoners with hidden costs in everyday situations to promote its fixed-price rides.
Why it spread
Feeling the annoyance of surprise charges makes the fixed-price promise land. Source
The pollution-triggered billboard
In Bucharest, Renault made a billboard that cut the price of its electric cars as air pollution levels rose.
Why it spread
Linking the price to real-time smog makes the benefit urgent. Source
#ThrowBackCrash
During Carnival in São Paulo, BrewDog used the navigation app Waze to warn drivers about drink driving.
Why it spread
Reaching drivers in the app they're using at the moment of risk is precise. Source
Billboards that light the road
Argentinian insurer La Caja put billboards on dangerous curves that lit up the road at night.
Why it spread
The ad does the insurer's job, preventing accidents, so it earns goodwill. Source
The lane-assist bed
Ford applied its lane-assist technology to a bed that rolls a 'mattress-hogging' partner back to their side.
Why it spread
Putting car tech into a relatable bedroom problem makes it easy to understand. Source
UberToys
At Christmas, Uber let people in Paris order a car-sized toy vehicle through the app.
Why it spread
A playful option in the app turns a normal ride into a story. Source
Look Who's Driving
Volvo Trucks had a four-year-old girl, Sophie, steer an 18-tonne Volvo FMX by remote control around a construction obstacle course, including a full roll down a steep slope.
Why it spread
A small child driving a huge truck shows how tough the product is in a way anyone gets in seconds. Source
The Flying Passenger
Volvo Trucks had an FH truck tow a paraglider up a mountain road in Croatia, holding a steady speed to keep the pilot in the air, to show off its new engine and gearbox.
Why it spread
It turns a dry spec like smooth gear shifts into a stunt you watch once and remember. Source
Stack
As part of its Built For It series, Caterpillar used five of its machines to play the world's largest game of Jenga with 600-pound blocks.
Result Over 1.5 million YouTube views and about 28.3 million estimated Twitter impressions within days, per MarTech.
Why it spread
A game everyone knows, played with machines most people never get near, makes precision easy to see and share. Source
The port boat tour thread
During the 2021 shipping backlog, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen rented a boat to tour the Port of Long Beach and posted a Twitter thread on why so few containers were being unloaded.
Result The next evening Long Beach's mayor temporarily allowed containers to be stacked higher in lots, per Morning Brew.
Why it spread
A founder showing a national problem first-hand, in plain words, made his logistics company part of the news story. Source
Stop Hiring Humans
AI sales-agent startup Artisan put up billboards in San Francisco reading 'Stop Hiring Humans', later adding lines like 'Artisans Won't Complain About Work-Life Balance'.
Result Tens of millions of impressions from the billboards and hundreds of news articles, per IBTimes.
Why it spread
The deliberately provocative line got people photographing and reposting the billboards, which mattered more than who saw them on the street. Source
Calling JohnMalkovich.com
In its Super Bowl ad, Squarespace showed John Malkovich making an increasingly angry phone call to the person who owns johnmalkovich.com, the domain he needs for his fashion site.
Result Won an Emmy, per Adweek.
Why it spread
Based on something that really happened to Malkovich, it made the pain of a taken domain funny and familiar. Source
The Sleeping Tapes
Squarespace's Super Bowl campaign starred Jeff Bridges building a website for his 'Sleeping Tapes' project.
Why it spread
A real, odd celebrity project gave people something to go and look up after the ad. Source
#ItsThatEasy
Website builder Wix ran its #ItsThatEasy Super Bowl campaign with Brett Favre and Rex Lee, airing a 30-second spot in the fourth quarter.
Why it spread
Putting famous faces next to a small-business tool says the product is simple enough for anyone. Source
A Game of Social Thrones
Hootsuite remade the Game of Thrones opening titles with the major social networks as the Seven Kingdoms, released around the show's fourth-season premiere.
Why it spread
Parodying a hit show's intro just as fans were watching again gave a dashboard tool a reason to be shared. Source
Small Business Big Game
Intuit ran a contest where small businesses entered and the public voted for one to win a free Super Bowl ad; toy company GoldieBlox won.
Result Tens of thousands of entries and millions of votes, per Intuit.
Why it spread
Giving away its Super Bowl slot made Intuit the champion of its own customers instead of the star of the ad. Source
Journey Home
GoDaddy's planned Super Bowl ad showed a lost puppy making it home, only for its owners to sell it through a website built with GoDaddy, as a parody of Budweiser's puppy ads.
Result An online petition against it gathered 42,000 signatures and the ad was pulled, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
The joke read as backing puppy mills, and the backlash made the company pull it before the game. Source
Ads with a Purpose
For its People for Smarter Cities platform, IBM and Ogilvy France made billboards that curved into a rain shelter, a bench and a bike ramp.
Result Won the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2013, per Fast Company.
Why it spread
An ad that is useful to people on the street proves the smarter-cities message instead of just saying it. Source
The Beauty Inside
Intel and Toshiba released a weekly social film about Alex, a man who wakes up looking different every day, and invited ordinary people to audition online to play him.
Why it spread
Letting viewers play the lead turned a laptop ad into something people wanted to be part of. Source
The Wolf
HP made a series of short thriller films starring Christian Slater that show how office printers can be hacked to break into company networks.
Why it spread
A thriller makes an overlooked security risk feel real to people who never think about their printer. Source
What's the Matter with Owen?
GE ran ads about Owen, a new graduate whose friends and family are unimpressed by his programming job at GE because they think it only makes machines.
Why it spread
Joking about its own outdated image let GE tell young developers it is a software company without sounding defensive. Source
The smash-proof guitar
Sandvik built an all-metal guitar, with a 3D-printed titanium body and a neck machined from recycled steel, and challenged Yngwie Malmsteen to smash it after a show near Miami.
Why it spread
A rock star failing to break it proves a manufacturing claim in a way non-engineers enjoy watching. Source
In Doers We Trust
Fiverr put posters on the London Underground praising freelancers, including one that read 'You eat coffee for lunch… Sleep deprivation is your drug of choice. You might be a doer.'
Why it spread
Celebrating overwork struck a nerve about the gig economy, so critics spread the posters to attack them. Source
Compare the Meerkat
UK price comparison site Comparethemarket.com launched Aleksandr Orlov, a Russian meerkat who complains that people searching for comparethemarket.com keep landing on his site, comparethemeerkat.com.
Result Site traffic up 400%, market share tripled and cost per quote down 73%, per Marketing Week.
Why it spread
A pun on the brand name turned a dull category into a character people followed on Facebook and Twitter. Source
Small Business Saturday
American Express created Small Business Saturday, a day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving dedicated to shopping at local independent businesses.
Result Consumers spent more than $100 billion at small businesses on the day over its first nine years, per Food & Beverage Magazine.
Why it spread
Naming a day gave shoppers, shops and community groups one shared date to rally around. Source
Mayhem
Allstate and Leo Burnett introduced Mayhem, a bruised man in black voiced by Dean Winters who causes the everyday accidents that insurance covers.
Why it spread
Making the risk itself a funny character stood out from the serious tone of other insurance ads. Source
Rhonda and Ketut
Australian insurer AAMI ran an ad in which Rhonda, on holiday in Bali after saving on car insurance, is told by a waiter named Ketut, "You look so hot today. Like a sunrise."
Result 92,000 likes on a Facebook fan page and mainstream media coverage, per insuranceNEWS.com.au.
Why it spread
A small holiday romance with a quotable line gave people something to repeat and share. Source
Nowitzki's sausage ad
German bank ING-DiBa ran a TV ad in which basketball player Dirk Nowitzki eats sausage to "grow big and strong", and vegetarians filled the bank's Facebook page with complaints.
Why it spread
A casual detail in a celebrity ad touched a group that cared a lot, and the row became the story. Source
The Like Loan
New Zealand's ASB Bank tied a home loan rate to Facebook likes: each Wednesday the more likes its app got, the lower the fixed rate offered to that week's winners.
Result The bank's Facebook page grew by about 6,000 likes (9%) after launch, per The Financial Brand.
Why it spread
People had a reason to like and share, because every like pushed the prize rate down. Source
You Can Help
South African bank FNB released videos of teenagers criticising the government, then removed them and apologised after the ruling ANC attacked the campaign.
Why it spread
Political messages from a bank drew a fast reaction from the government, and the retreat drew its own criticism. Source
GAYTMs
For the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, ANZ turned 10 ATMs into GAYTMs covered in rhinestones and studs that printed rainbow receipts.
Why it spread
Dressing up an everyday machine made a photo people wanted to take and post. Source
Automated Thanking Machines
TD Canada turned ATMs at four branches into Automated Thanking Machines that handed customers personal gifts, and filmed their reactions.
Result Over 6 million YouTube views in under a week, per The Financial Brand.
Why it spread
Real customers getting surprise gifts made a video people felt good sharing. Source
The honest actor
Nordic bank Nordnet ran ads in which an actor says he has been paid $8,000 to tell you how great Nordnet is, and walks through the usual bank-ad tricks.
Why it spread
Mocking the clichés of bank advertising made the brand look more honest than its rivals. Source
Unskippable
GEICO made YouTube pre-roll ads that end inside the first five seconds, then keep rolling as the actors stay frozen while things go wrong around them.
Result The dog spot passed 8 million views and won the Film Grand Prix at Cannes, per The Martin Agency.
Why it spread
It gave away the message before the skip button appeared, then rewarded anyone who kept watching. Source
The Next Rembrandt
ING in the Netherlands had data scientists analyse Rembrandt's paintings and 3D-print a new portrait in his style, unveiled in Amsterdam.
Why it spread
A bank making a new 'Rembrandt' was an unexpected story for art, tech and news media alike. Source
Sparks
Singapore's DBS released Sparks, a mini-series shot in Hong Kong about young DBS bankers solving customers' problems.
Result The first three episodes passed 12 million views, per DBS.
Why it spread
A drama series let the bank show its values through stories instead of product claims. Source
Thanking Modi on page one
The day after India's demonetisation announcement, mobile wallet Paytm ran front-page newspaper ads featuring PM Narendra Modi and thanking him for the decision.
Why it spread
Moving within a day tied the brand to the biggest news story in the country, though it also drew political criticism. Source
Sapphire Reserve sells out
Chase launched the Sapphire Reserve card with a metal card and a 100,000-point sign-up bonus, and demand was so high it ran out of the metal cards.
Result Tens of thousands of applications were approved in the first two days, per Yahoo Finance.
Why it spread
A metal card and a large bonus made the card itself something people talked about, and the shortage made more news. Source
The lie detector ads
Singapore's OCBC Bank ran ads against misleading bank promotions and hooked a senior executive up to a lie detector on Facebook Live to answer public questions.
Why it spread
Putting an executive under a lie detector made the promise of honest ads easy to test and watch. Source
#HuntTheMouse
OCBC Bank and Sqkii hid a SG$50,000 prize somewhere in Singapore and released clues on social media and in scratch cards earned by paying with the OCBC Pay Anyone app.
Result About 210,000 participants and a 14% rise in OCBC Pay Anyone downloads, per Marketing-Interactive.
Why it spread
A real treasure hunt gave people a reason to download and use the payment app. Source
Leia para uma Criança
Brazilian bank Itaú gives away free children's books through its Leia para uma Criança programme, which people request online, with kits also sent to public schools.
Result The 3.6 million books for 2019 were all claimed within 48 hours, per PublishNews.
Why it spread
Free books for children tie the bank to a cause parents care about every year. Source
True Name
Mastercard launched True Name, letting transgender and non-binary people show their chosen name on credit and debit cards without a legal name change.
Why it spread
A small product change fixed a real daily problem and spoke for the brand's values. Source
Smoooth Dogg
Swedish payments company Klarna announced Snoop Dogg as a shareholder and crowned him "Smoooth Dogg" in a video ad, to match its "Smoooth" slogan.
Why it spread
Rebranding a famous name with the brand's own slogan made the investment news into an ad. Source
The Valentine's Day posters
Revolut ran London Tube posters including "To the 12,750 people who ordered a single takeaway on Valentine's Day – you ok, hun?", which drew 'single-shaming' accusations and later turned out to use made-up numbers.
Result Covered by the BBC and Daily Mail, with complaints referred to the FCA, per City A.M.
Why it spread
Copying the data-joke format of other brands backfired when people felt mocked by their bank. Source
Indiranagar ka gunda
During IPL 2021, Indian app CRED ran an ad in which cricketer Rahul Dravid plays against type as "Indiranagar ka gunda", a local troublemaker.
Result Over 3.4 million views, and Virat Kohli shared it with his 41.4 million Twitter followers, per BestMediaInfo.
Why it spread
Casting a cricket legend in an unexpected comic role made a catchphrase that brands and fans turned into memes. Source
Afterpay Day
Afterpay runs Afterpay Day, its own twice-yearly shopping event, and in 2021 extended it to physical stores for the first time.
Result Sellers in the previous Afterpay Day saw average sales growth of 36%, per Retail Dive.
Why it spread
Owning a sale day gives retailers a reason to promote the payment brand for it. Source
Balance the Banknotes
For International Women's Day, N26 released an Instagram and Facebook AR effect that put women such as Rosa Parks and Emmy Noether onto scanned dollar and euro notes.
Why it spread
It pointed out that few banknotes show women, using money people already carry. Source
Full-size treats signs
Insurer Lemonade and Snickers sent some policyholders full-size Snickers bars and yard signs reading "No tricks. This house has full-size treats" to deter Halloween vandalism.
Why it spread
Lemonade's claims data showed burglary and vandalism peak at Halloween, so the treats doubled as protection. Source
The first non-branch
Nubank and Burger King turned a Burger King on São Paulo's Avenida Paulista into Nubank's first 'non-branch', with Nubank cardholders getting a free refill or small fries.
Why it spread
A digital bank with no branches got a physical place to show up, and the perk rewarded people for using its card. Source
Vigil Aunty
HDFC Bank put Vigil Aunty, its anti-fraud character, on billboards with lines like "When in doubt, log out!" to warn people about online scams.
Why it spread
A familiar 'aunty' figure makes security warnings feel like advice from someone you know. Source
Bodyform Responds
After a man named Richard posted a viral Facebook rant about Bodyform's unrealistic period ads, the brand replied with a video in which a fictional CEO, Caroline Williams, apologised to him for its use of metaphors.
Result Nearly 3 million views in its first week, per D&AD.
Why it spread
Answering a public complaint with a straight-faced, funny apology turned a dig at the brand into a story people passed on. Source
Blood Normal
Bodyform's Blood Normal ads showed periods as they are, from a woman asking a friend for a pad at dinner to blood in the shower.
Result Bodyform's social share of voice rose from 37% to 90%, per Contagious.
Why it spread
Showing what every other period ad hid made the ad itself the news. Source
Get Real Bro
Libresse in Malaysia quizzed men on what periods are, what kinds of pads exist and how women feel during their period, and created a Facebook character called 'Get Real Bro' to share tips.
Why it spread
Talking to men, not just women, opened a period brand up to a new audience and plenty of awkward, shareable answers. Source
Wombstories
Libresse's film, directed by Nisha Ganatra, used live action and animation to tell six stories about women's relationships with their wombs over a lifetime.
Result Over 100 million views globally, per AMV BBDO.
Why it spread
It covered experiences women had rarely seen in an ad, and asked viewers to share their own with #wombstories. Source
Pain Stories
Bodyform built a 'Pain Dictionary' of new words for period pain taken from how people with endometriosis describe it, illustrated by artists and shown in an online Pain Museum.
Why it spread
Giving people words for their pain made a hard-to-describe problem easier to talk about with a doctor. Source
The new way to period
Facebook banned Australian period underwear brand Modibodi's 'The new way to period' ad for showing red menstrual blood, and the row became the story.
Why it spread
A platform ban on something as normal as a period gave the brand a public fight it was happy to have. Source
Intensivão da PPK
Bayer's Canesten in Brazil ran an educational TikTok channel where creators gave lessons on intimate anatomy and body positivity.
Result 44 million views and 210,000 followers, per Contagious.
Why it spread
It turned a topic people search for quietly into short, friendly lessons on the platform they already use. Source
#HandWashChallenge
In March 2020 Dettol launched a TikTok challenge in India where people danced out the steps of hand-washing to a branded song, joined by Bollywood stars and influencers.
Result 18 billion views in a week, per Business Insider India.
Why it spread
It turned public health advice into a dance people wanted to copy at the exact moment everyone was thinking about clean hands. Source
#lifebuoykarona
Days after Dettol's hand-wash challenge, Lifebuoy launched its own TikTok challenge in India with rapper Badshah and a track that ended in the Lifebuoy jingle.
Why it spread
It followed a rival's format quickly, and the overlap, including an influencer who had joined both, became part of the story. Source
The social distancing prayer mat
For Eid-ul-Adha, Dettol Pakistan gave out oversized 180cm prayer mats printed on paper, so worshippers would keep their distance in mosques, and shared the design as a free download.
Why it spread
It fitted a health message into a religious ritual instead of asking people to change it. Source
Fe-Cál
Dettol in New Zealand launched a fake children's clothing label, Fe-Cál, with prints of enlarged E. coli bacteria, pushed by mum influencers before revealing it was an ad for laundry sanitiser.
Result Sales rose 33% in the first week, per Contagious.
Why it spread
Parents first admired the prints, then learned what they were looking at, which made the germ message stick. Source
Get Supercharged at 2PM
Bayer's Berocca in Vietnam ran a TikTok dance challenge with local musicians to position the vitamin as a 2pm afternoon energy boost, linked to sales on Shopee.
Result 416 million views after four weeks and online sales up 223% year on year, per Contagious.
Why it spread
Tying the product to a specific time of day gave people a new reason and moment to take it. Source
Vitamins as a cooking ingredient
Bayer's Redoxon in Vietnam repositioned its vitamin C supplement as a cooking ingredient, with celebrity chef recipe videos, Shopee bundles and a recipe contest.
Result Online sales up 738%, per Contagious.
Why it spread
A new use for an old product gave people a reason to buy it every time they cooked. Source
Sickwear
Cold medicine brand Mucinex launched a limited luxury loungewear collection for being ill at home, with tissue pockets and detachable pillows, shown in a YouTube livestream catwalk.
Result Sold out in 24 hours, the biggest single day of online sales in Mucinex history, per Contagious.
Why it spread
Fashion for being sick was an odd, funny idea that gave a medicine brand a reason to appear in style coverage. Source
Touch of Care
Vicks in India told the true story of Gauri Sawant, a transgender woman who adopted a girl after her mother died, narrated by the daughter.
Result Over 9 million YouTube views, per NBC News.
Why it spread
A real family story about care, not the product, carried the brand's message to a huge audience. Source
DantSnan
At the 2019 Kumbh Mela, Dabur Red Paste set up automated toothpaste dispensers and dental stations at the akharas.
Why it spread
It put the product into pilgrims' daily routine right where they were staying. Source
Dr Simi concert dolls
After a fan threw a plush doll of Dr Simi, the mascot of Mexican pharmacy chain Farmacias Similares, to singer Aurora at Corona Capital in 2021, fans began throwing them at stars like Adele and Lady Gaga.
Why it spread
A pharmacy mascot became a fan ritual, so every stage moment was free publicity. Source
Simifest
Farmacias Similares embraced the fan craze around its mascot Dr Simi with Simifest, a Mexico City music festival with bands, cosplay contests and fan art.
Why it spread
Instead of controlling a fan trend, the brand gave it a home and a headline. Source
The weighing bus stop
Fitness First in Rotterdam turned a bus stop into a scale that showed waiting commuters' weight in lights on a display.
Why it spread
It made people confront their weight in public, which got people talking whether they liked it or not. Source
The Calorie Receipts
Fitness First in Germany ran an ambient campaign of 'calorie receipts' that linked people's food purchases to calorie information.
Why it spread
A receipt is read at the moment of buying, so the calorie count landed right after the choice was made. Source
The 10-metre dash billboards
London gym chain Gymbox put up a billboard challenge where passers-by sprinted 10 metres between two sites while a speed gun measured them.
Why it spread
A billboard that clocks your sprint invites people to try it and film it. Source
Warby Barker
For April Fools' Day, Warby Parker launched Warby Barker, a fake range of glasses and a monocle for dogs in flavours like 'Gravy Burst' and 'Dusty Bacon'.
Why it spread
Customers already sent photos of their dogs in Warby glasses, so the joke grew from something fans did anyway. Source
Class Trip
Warby Parker turned a yellow school bus into a store and toured it across the US.
Why it spread
A shop that drives to customers gave an online-only brand a physical presence and a reason for local press. Source
Aid to Cart
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, GlassesUSA.com sent visitors from its oversized-frame product pages to domestic violence hotline resources, noting some people buy big frames to hide injuries.
Why it spread
Pausing sales on its own site showed the brand meant the message. Source
The Dreamery
Casper opened The Dreamery in New York, a space where people could book a 45-minute nap in a private nook for $25.
Why it spread
Selling naps let people try the product while making the brand about rest, not just mattresses. Source
Residency Exam
Romanian healthcare network Regina Maria had a journalist sit a medical exam using only Google, then let anyone try it and gave low scorers a 'Certificate of Failure' that doubled as a clinic voucher.
Result Clinic appointments rose 43.3%, per Contagious.
Why it spread
It showed why searching your symptoms is no substitute for a doctor, and handed people a reason to book one. Source
Lifesaving Wax
Treatwell and Public Health England trained beauty therapists to talk to clients about cervical screening during waxing appointments, backed by salon posters and an online hub.
Why it spread
It reached young women in a place they already visit regularly and feel comfortable talking. Source
The Life-Saving Receipt
Korean NGO CHOROGUSAN changed grocery store receipts in migrant communities so buying childcare items printed a message in the shopper's language with a QR code for vaccination help.
Result 80% of previously unvaccinated migrant-background children got checkups and vaccinations, per Campaigns of the World.
Why it spread
It reached parents at the moment they were buying for their children, in their own language. Source
Why So Serious?
For The Dark Knight, 42 Entertainment ran an alternate reality game that mixed a fake Harvey Dent election campaign, Joker-vandalised posters, scavenger hunts and cakes with working phones baked inside.
Result Over 11 million unique participants across 75+ countries, per Opium Works.
Why it spread
Fans had to solve puzzles and turn up in real places to unlock footage, so they spread the hunt for the studio. Source
The emoji billboard
Ahead of release, a Los Angeles billboard for Deadpool spelled the film's name with only a skull, a poo emoji and the letter L.
Why it spread
A crude rebus in the character's voice was easy to decode and fun to post. Source
Red balloons in the drains
Before IT opened, agencies Mr. Glasses and Showtime Marketing tied red balloons to street drains and added Pennywise street art across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Why it spread
One small, creepy prop from the story turned ordinary drains into something people stopped to photograph. Source
Sweetwater at SXSW
HBO and Giant Spoon built Sweetwater, a Westworld town outside Austin with a saloon, a post office and 60 actors working from 440 pages of script.
Why it spread
Visitors became guests inside the show's world, which made the season return feel like an event worth talking about. Source
Bleed for the Throne
HBO and the American Red Cross ran a Game of Thrones maze at SXSW where fans could donate blood for a T-shirt and a shot at premiere tickets, with drives in 43 states.
Result The largest blood donation promotion by an entertainment company in American Red Cross history, per Deadline.
Why it spread
It tied the show's bloodshed to a real good deed fans could do and show off. Source
Dragon skull on the beach
To mark Game of Thrones season 3 arriving on its service, Blinkbox and Taylor Herring placed a 40-foot dragon skull on Charmouth beach in Dorset, known for its fossils.
Why it spread
A giant 'fossil' on a real fossil beach made a strange, photographable scene for the press. Source
Decode Jay-Z
For Jay-Z's book Decoded, Droga5 and Bing hid all 320 pages across 13 cities, on rooftops, pool bottoms, burger wrappers and jukeboxes, each placed where its story happened.
Why it spread
Fans hunted for pages in the real world and online, so the book launch became a citywide game. Source
Squid Game Paris pop-up
Netflix opened a Squid Game experience in Paris where visitors could play the show's Dalgona and Ddakji games.
Result Waits of over two hours to get in, per allkpop.
Why it spread
Letting fans try the show's games in real life gave them a challenge to film and post on TikTok. Source
Random Access Memories teasers
Daft Punk teased its album with helmet billboards, short SNL ads, a Coachella trailer and a worldwide launch at an agricultural show in Wee Waa, rural Australia.
Result Tickets to the Wee Waa launch sold out in 13 minutes, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
Giving out almost no information made fans piece the album together themselves. Source
Astronomical
Travis Scott played a 15-minute virtual concert inside Fortnite, repeated across time zones, with free in-game items for attendees.
Result 12.3 million concurrent players at the first show, an all-time Fortnite record, per Variety.
Why it spread
A live show inside a game millions already play made the concert an event players attended together. Source
For Humans Only
District 9 put up 'For Humans Only' signs at Comic-Con, then bus benches and billboards saying non-humans had been seen in the area, pointing to D-9.com.
Why it spread
The posters looked like real public notices from the film's world, so people wondered what they were. Source
Demand It
Paramount opened Paranormal Activity in 13 college towns and asked people on Eventful to 'Demand it!' in their area, expanding the release as requests built up.
Result Over $65 million at the US and Canada box office on a $15,000 production budget, per The Christian Science Monitor.
Why it spread
Clicking 'demand' was a small public commitment that made people more likely to go and tell friends. Source
The surprise album
Beyoncé released her self-titled album exclusively on iTunes with no warning and no advance promotion.
Result 828,773 copies sold worldwide in three days, the fastest-selling album in iTunes history, per Forbes.
Why it spread
With no build-up at all, the drop itself became the news story. Source
La Falla de Papel
For Money Heist, Netflix and David Ogilvy Madrid built a 32-foot Falla monument in Valencia; when it burned, it revealed the message 'We will burn, but we will resist.'
Result Over 250,000 spectators and 5.2 million social impressions, per Valens Research.
Why it spread
It joined a famous local festival and used the burning itself to tease the show's finale. Source
Upside Down rifts
For Stranger Things season 4, Netflix projected 'Upside Down' rifts with smoke and sound onto landmarks in 13 countries, after posting upside-down coordinates.
Result Over 190 million organic press impressions, per Valens Research.
Why it spread
Landmarks people already photograph looked torn open, so locals filmed and shared them. Source
Sherlock the beagle
KLM released a video of Sherlock, a beagle supposedly returning lost items to passengers at Amsterdam airport, to promote its lost-and-found service; the dog's job turned out to be staged.
Result More than 2.4 million YouTube views within days, per The Dallas Morning News.
Why it spread
A cute dog doing a helpful job was an easy share, and the reveal that it was fake made a second round of news. Source
Meet & Seat
KLM let passengers link their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles to their booking so they could see who else was on their flight and choose a seat next to them.
Why it spread
Picking a seatmate by profile was a new idea people wanted to talk about. Source
The Swedish Number
Sweden set up one phone number that connected callers from anywhere to a random Swedish volunteer.
Result About 197,678 calls, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
Real, unscripted conversations with ordinary Swedes were a stranger and warmer pitch than any ad. Source
Sheep View 360
Without Google Street View, the Faroe Islands tourism board strapped solar-powered 360 cameras to sheep to photograph its roads and push Google to visit.
Why it spread
A small country making its own 'Street View' with sheep was a funny story with a clear ask. Source
Closed for Maintenance
The Faroe Islands closed major sites to tourists for a weekend and let 100 volunteers repair trails, signs and viewpoints instead.
Result Over 3,000 applicants for 100 volunteer places, per Forbes.
Why it spread
Turning a closure into an invite to help made visitors part of looking after the place. Source
Looks like you need Iceland
During lockdowns, Iceland let people record a scream online and played it through yellow speakers at seven remote spots, sending each person a video of their scream.
Why it spread
It gave stuck-at-home people a funny release and showed off empty landscapes at the same time. Source
The Most Epic Safety Video
Air New Zealand made a Middle-earth safety video with Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson to tie in with the final Hobbit film.
Why it spread
It turned the briefing everyone ignores into film content that fans sought out. Source
Top of the Burj Khalifa
Emirates filmed a stuntwoman dressed as cabin crew standing on top of the Burj Khalifa holding cards as an A380 flew past, promoting flights to Dubai Expo, and released a behind-the-scenes video to prove it was real.
Why it spread
People assumed it was a green screen, so the proof that it was real became part of the story. Source
Brad is single
Days after news of Brad Pitt's divorce, Norwegian ran 'Brad is single' print ads and a lonely-hearts style tweet selling London to LA fares.
Why it spread
It jumped on the biggest celebrity story of the week with a cheap fare as the punchline. Source
DNA Discounts
Aeromexico and Ogilvy offered DNA tests to Americans in a Texas town who did not want to visit Mexico, giving them fare discounts matching their Mexican ancestry.
Why it spread
Watching reluctant people discover their own roots answered a political mood with a light touch. Source
Look Up
BA's digital billboards in Piccadilly Circus and Chiswick showed a boy who pointed at real BA planes overhead, with the flight number, destination and fare.
Why it spread
Linking the ad to a real plane in the sky answered the question people were already asking. Source
Rent a Finn
Visit Finland recruited eight Finns as 'happiness guides' and invited travelers to apply for free stays foraging, hiking and staying at cottages with them.
Why it spread
Hosting by locals made 'happiest country' feel like something you could try in person. Source
The Teleporter
Marriott toured a booth with an Oculus Rift headset plus heat, wind and mist that 'teleported' guests to a Maui beach and a London tower.
Why it spread
Using new VR to sample a trip gave hotel guests something to try and talk about. Source
Dundee
Tourism Australia released trailers for a fake Crocodile Dundee sequel starring Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, then revealed it as a tourism ad in the Super Bowl.
Why it spread
People debated whether the film was real until the reveal, and the stars promoted it on their own accounts. Source
It's More Fun in the Philippines
The Philippines launched the slogan 'It's more fun in the Philippines' and let Filipinos spread it as homemade and parody posters on Facebook and Twitter.
Why it spread
An easy-to-copy line let anyone make their own version, and officials chose to let it go viral. Source
Immortal Fans
Brazilian football club Sport Recife asked fans to become organ donors with donor cards carrying the club's logo, in ads featuring transplant patients and donors.
Result 51,000 fans registered as organ donors, per ABC News.
Why it spread
It tied a hard ask to the loyalty fans already feel, so a donated heart would 'keep beating for the team'. Source
The water-making billboard
Lima's University of Engineering and Technology put up a billboard on the Pan-American Highway that captured moisture from the air and turned it into filtered drinking water.
Result Over 9,000 litres of water produced and applications up 28%, per The Drum.
Why it spread
A billboard that solved a local problem showed off exactly what the university teaches. Source
Andes Teletransporter
Argentine beer Andes installed 'Teletransporter' booths in bars in Mendoza that promised to let men stay out drinking with friends without trouble from their girlfriends.
Why it spread
A fake gadget built around a familiar excuse gave drinkers a joke to try for themselves. Source
Operation Christmas
Colombia's military put up nine 75-foot trees with lights and motion sensors along jungle paths used by guerrillas, with the message 'If Christmas can come to the jungle, you too can come home. Demobilize.'
Result 331 guerrillas demobilised during the campaign, 30% more than the year before, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
It reached an audience no media could, at the time of year they were most likely to miss home. Source
The Protection Ad
Nivea put a tear-off bracelet in Brazilian magazines that paired with an app so parents could keep track of their children at the beach.
Why it spread
The ad itself became a useful tool for the exact place the product is used. Source
The Safety Truck
In Argentina, Samsung fitted trucks with front cameras feeding screens on the back, so drivers behind could see the road ahead before overtaking.
Why it spread
It used Samsung screens to fix a local road danger, which made the brand's tech the story. Source
Friendly Twist
In Colombia, Coca-Cola gave university freshmen bottles whose caps could only be opened by twisting them against another person's cap.
Why it spread
Needing a stranger to open your drink turned a soft drink into an icebreaker. Source
Burn That Ad
Burger King Brazil let people point its app at rival fast-food ads to watch them burn in augmented reality, then gave them a voucher for a free Whopper.
Why it spread
It turned every competitor ad into a Burger King ad and promoted its mobile ordering at the same time. Source
Small World Machines
Coca-Cola placed linked vending machines in India and Pakistan where people on each side did a shared task over live video, like waving or drawing a peace sign, to get a free Coke.
Result Over 10,000 cans handed out in three days, per LBBOnline.
Why it spread
It gave people from two rival countries a small, friendly moment together, filmed for everyone else to see. Source
Sunny Sale
Korean retailer Emart built 3D QR code sculptures that could only be scanned around midday, when the sun's shadow completed the code, unlocking a lunchtime discount.
Result Membership grew 58% in a month and the codes spread from 13 to 36 locations, per FreshPlaza.
Why it spread
Tying the offer to the slowest hour gave people a reason to shop then. Source
Subway virtual store
Tesco's Korean chain Homeplus put digital walls of grocery products in subway stations so commuters could scan QR codes to order groceries for home delivery.
Result Online sales rose 130% and new registered members 76%, per Ads of the World.
Why it spread
It reached busy commuters without opening new stores. Source
Roti Reminder
At the Kumbh Mela festival, Unilever worked with food vendors to heat-stamp rotis with the question 'Have you washed your hands with Lifebuoy?'
Result Nearly 3 million stamped rotis handed out, per Quartz.
Why it spread
The message appeared on the food itself, right before people ate it with their hands. Source
Smoking Kid
In Bangkok, children asked adult smokers for a light, and when the smokers warned them about smoking, the kids handed over a note asking why they didn't worry about themselves.
Result Over 740,000 YouTube views in its first week and a 40% rise in calls to the quit line, per The Drum.
Why it spread
Smokers ended up giving the anti-smoking speech themselves, on hidden camera. Source
Touch the Pickle
P&G's Whisper used the Indian taboo against touching pickle during a period as a symbol, and asked women to break period myths with celebrity backing.
Why it spread
Naming one specific, slightly absurd rule made a hard subject easy to talk about. Source
Reunion
Google India's film showed a granddaughter using Google Search to find her grandfather's childhood friend in Pakistan, lost since the 1947 partition, and reunite them.
Result Over 1.6 million YouTube views before its TV debut, per Dawn.
Why it spread
It showed the product doing something people on both sides of the border cared about. Source
Sound of Honda
Honda recreated Ayrton Senna's 1989 Suzuka qualifying lap with LED lights and speakers along the track, using the car's own driving data.
Why it spread
It brought back a famous moment for fans using data Honda already held. Source
The Koi lucky draw
Alipay ran a Weibo repost draw where one person would win a huge bundle of prizes, and the winner became an overnight online celebrity.
Result Over 3 million people took part and the winner's post was shared 800,000 times, per China Daily.
Why it spread
A single winner chosen from millions of reposts made a story everyone wanted to follow. Source
Hello Happiness
Coca-Cola put phone booths in Dubai labour camps that took bottle caps as payment, giving workers three minutes of calls to family overseas per cap.
Result 134,484 minutes of calls in one month, per The National.
Why it spread
It gave the bottle cap a real use for people far from family, though some critics called it marketing dressed as charity. Source
Last Dictator Standing
Nando's South Africa made a Christmas ad showing Robert Mugabe dining alone at a table set for dead dictators, then pulled it in Zimbabwe after threats to staff.
Why it spread
Mocking a living leader got attention fast and also showed the risks of political jokes. Source
Flying 101
South African airline Kulula painted a plane with labels explaining its parts, such as where the black box is and what the APU does.
Why it spread
A plane covered in plain-English labels is easy to photograph and share. Source
#SheDrives
After Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive, Nissan invited women to driving lessons where their husbands, fathers and brothers turned out to be the instructors.
Why it spread
It marked a national moment by showing families supporting the change. Source
Every Lord's got a Queen
Egyptian grooming brand Lord relaunched with sub-brand Queen, local celebrities, product names from Egyptian heritage and the slogan 'Every Lord's got a Queen in his corner'.
Result 70 million views across channels, per Campaign Middle East.
Why it spread
A catchy local slogan and jingle made an old brand feel current to Gen Z. Source
#BeMyGuest
Dubai Tourism brought back Shah Rukh Khan for a series of short films in which he guides visitors around the city, with flydubai flight deals attached.
Why it spread
A star with a huge Indian following acted as host to the market Dubai wanted to bring back. Source
Meet Graham
Victoria's TAC worked with artist Patricia Piccinini, a trauma surgeon and a crash investigator on a sculpture of a human body built to survive a car crash.
Why it spread
The odd body made people see how fragile a normal one is in a crash. Source
Mistakes
New Zealand Transport Agency's ad showed two drivers talking in the moments before a collision about the small speeding mistake that caused it.
Result Over 5 million YouTube views, per StopPress.
Why it spread
It made a few extra km/h feel personal instead of blaming reckless drivers. Source
Beer Chase
Carlton Draught made an ad spoofing 1970s and 80s Hollywood car chases, with the chase built around beer.
Result Nearly 1.5 million YouTube views in six days, per Mumbrella.
Why it spread
Spoofing a film style people know made it easy to watch and share. Source
An Unexpected Briefing
Air New Zealand made a Hobbit-themed in-flight safety video with elf-eared crew, hairy-footed passengers and Gollum, plus a contest to spot codes in it.
Result Almost 700,000 YouTube views on release day, per SimpliFlying.
Why it spread
It turned a video passengers usually ignore into one they chose to watch. Source
#ShredYourEx
On Valentine's Day, Hooters let customers shred, burn or rip up a photo of their ex in-restaurant or online to get 10 free boneless wings with 10 bought.
Result The previous year's edition saw 40,000+ photos shredded, per Hooters.
Why it spread
It gives single and newly single people a reason to show up on a day built around couples. Source
Mother's Day opt-out
UK flower delivery brand Bloom & Wild emailed customers a link to opt out of Mother's Day marketing, then sent those who did other messages instead.
Result Close to 18,000 customers opted out and customer feedback ran at 5x the average, per Econsultancy.
Why it spread
Admitting the day is painful for some people showed care, and other brands copied it. Source
World's Toughest Job
American Greetings' Cardstore.com posted a fake job ad with 135+ hour weeks and no breaks, filmed real video interviews, then revealed the job was being a mother.
Result Over 11 million views within days, per CBS News.
Why it spread
The prank keeps viewers guessing until a reveal that makes them want to call their mum. Source
Labels are for cans
During Ramadan, Coca-Cola Middle East released red cans with no logo, only the line "Labels are for cans, not for people," alongside an iftar video about prejudice.
Why it spread
Removing the most famous logo in the world is a visible way to back a message about not judging. Source
Collect Five Fortunes
Each Chinese New Year since 2016, Alipay has had users scan the character "Fu" with the app's AR camera to collect virtual fortune cards that convert into cash rewards.
Result Nearly 600 million interactions with its AI features over 12 days in 2024, per Business Wire.
Why it spread
It turns a New Year tradition into a game families play together inside the payment app. Source
Shake for red envelopes
Tencent sponsored China's CCTV New Year gala and had viewers shake their phones in WeChat during the broadcast to win virtual red envelopes.
Result Viewers shook their phones 11 billion times during the five-hour broadcast, per IMD.
Why it spread
It tied the app to the one show the whole country watches on New Year's Eve. Source
Worship with love
Kuwaiti telecom Zain released a three-minute Ramadan film with singer Hussain Al Jassmi in which a would-be suicide bomber is confronted by the people he means to harm.
Result Nearly two million YouTube views within two days, per Khaleej Times.
Why it spread
A telecom taking a clear stand on extremism at the start of Ramadan got people sharing and arguing. Source
Mr. President
Zain's Ramadan ad had a young Arab boy appeal to look-alike world leaders, including Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-un, to end the region's conflicts.
Result Over four million views within five days, per Daily Pakistan.
Why it spread
Putting famous faces on the receiving end of a child's plea made it news across the region. Source
Jashn-e-Riwaaz
Indian clothing brand Fabindia promoted its Diwali collection as "Jashn-e-Riwaaz," an Urdu phrase, then withdrew the ad after criticism from BJP leaders and customers.
Why it spread
It shows how a name for a festival line can become a national argument within days. Source
The creepy family portrait
Burberry's first Chinese New Year campaign showed Zhao Wei and Zhou Dongyu in sombre family portraits, which many users on Chinese social media called a horror film.
Why it spread
It split opinion: some mocked it while others welcomed a break from cheerful New Year ads. Source
Gmail Mic Drop
For April Fools' Day, Google added a Gmail button that sent a reply with a minion dropping a mic and muted the thread, then quickly pulled it after users sent it by mistake in work emails.
Why it spread
A joke built into a real tool can do real damage, and Google had to apologise fast. Source
Operation Boomerang
For Australia Day, MLA's ad had Lambassador Sam Kekovich and newsreader Lee Lin Chin run a mission to bring Australians abroad home for a lamb barbecue.
Result Lamb sales rose 36.9% over the two-week campaign and the video passed 5.5 million views, per MLA.
Why it spread
An over-the-top yearly ad tied to the national holiday gives people something to share and complain about. Source
Budweiser becomes America
From May to the November 2016 election, Budweiser replaced its name on US cans and bottles with "America," plus lines from the Pledge of Allegiance and national songs.
Why it spread
Renaming the product itself for summer and July 4th made the packaging the story. Source
Skittles gives up its rainbow
For London Pride, Skittles handed out black-and-white packs and ran a monochrome float in the parade, giving up its rainbow for Pride weekend.
Why it spread
Giving up its best-known asset was a clear way for the brand to step back and support Pride. Source
Thank You, Mom – Strong
P&G's Rio Olympics film in its Thank You, Mom series followed four athletes and their mothers under the line "It takes someone strong to make someone strong."
Why it spread
Sponsoring the mothers rather than the athletes lets one corporate brand own the emotion of the Games. Source
Harry's milestone waitlist
Before launch, razor brand Harry's put up a 'Harry's is coming' page and gave each sign-up a referral link, with free shave cream at 5 referrals, a shave set at 25 and a year of blades at 50.
Result 100,000 email sign-ups in one week, with over 77% coming through referrals, per Prefinery.
Why it spread
Tiered prizes gave people a clear reason to keep sharing, and the product stayed a mystery until launch. Source
Refer-a-friend swag
Business newsletter Morning Brew added a referral programme with tiered rewards, from a premium Sunday edition and stickers to branded apparel and bigger prizes for heavy referrers.
Result Referred subscribers cost about 25 cents each, against $4-5 for paid social, per Referral Rock.
Why it spread
Readers who already like a free newsletter will share it if the reward is something they want to be seen with. Source
Owner referral programme
Tesla launched a referral programme where owners who referred buyers earned factory tour and event invitations, and the first owner in each region to reach 10 referrals won a free Model X.
Why it spread
Turning happy owners into salespeople costs less than ads and the big prize gives them a story to tell. Source
Golden Tickets
UK app bank Monzo gave customers 'Golden Tickets', links they could send to friends that let them skip the waiting list and open an account straight away.
Why it spread
Letting existing users hand out queue-skips makes the invite feel like a favour, not an ad. Source
Invite-only audio rooms
Audio chat app Clubhouse launched as invite-only, so the only way in was an invitation from an existing member.
Result Nearly 13 million downloads worldwide by March 2021, per Welcome to the Jungle.
Why it spread
Scarce invites turned access into status, and people begged for them publicly and even sold them on eBay. Source
Referrals 2.0
Airbnb rebuilt its referral programme across web, iOS and Android, linked it to Gmail and phone contacts, and reworded it around giving friends travel credit.
Result Referrals sent rose 264% and referrals that became guests rose 489%, per Extole.
Why it spread
Framing the invite as a gift to a friend rather than a deal for yourself makes people more willing to send it. Source
Team purchase
Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo gave lower prices when people teamed up to buy the same product, and ran inside WeChat so shoppers recruited buyers through their group chats.
Why it spread
The discount only unlocks if you share, so every purchase spreads the app. Source
Free coffee for friends
Chinese coffee chain Luckin gave app users free drinks for getting friends to sign up, so office workers recruited colleagues to earn coffees.
Why it spread
A free coffee per friend is small enough to give often and easy to share in an office. Source
#TFWGucci
Gucci commissioned artists to make memes featuring its watches and posted them under the hashtag #TFWGucci.
Why it spread
Using the internet's own joke format got a luxury product in front of people who never read fashion ads, though some called it awkward. Source
Watch the Stove
A six-person team at General Mills' Hamburger Helper released a free five-track hip-hop mixtape about the brand on SoundCloud.
Result 4.09 million SoundCloud plays and 432.66 million social impressions by the following Monday, per Adweek.
Why it spread
A boxed dinner brand dropping a real mixtape was a joke people wanted to share and play. Source
Dilly Dilly
Bud Light's medieval-themed ads had a royal court toast the beer with 'Dilly Dilly', a placeholder phrase that means nothing, and it caught on as a catchphrase.
Result About 100,000 Google searches a week for the phrase by November 2017, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
A nonsense phrase that means nothing is easy for anyone to reuse as a toast or a joke. Source
Whopper Whopper
Burger King's ads in NFL games featured a simple nursery-rhyme jingle about the Whopper, which fans turned into TikTok and YouTube remixes, and the brand then posted a karaoke version for people to remix.
Why it spread
A jingle that is easy to sing and slightly annoying gets parodied, and every parody repeats the product name. Source
How to identify a FRAKTA
After Balenciaga released a pricey bag resembling IKEA's 99-cent blue FRAKTA bag, IKEA ran a mock product ad in Balenciaga's photo style showing how to spot the original.
Why it spread
Replying to a luxury brand's copy with humour puts the cheap original in every story about it. Source
Kumamon
Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture created a black bear mascot, Kumamon, and let businesses put the character on products without paying for the rights.
Result 123 billion yen in economic benefits for Kumamoto within two years, per CUHK Business School.
Why it spread
Free use meant the bear spread onto products across Japan and abroad, advertising the region at no cost. Source
Gritty
NHL team the Philadelphia Flyers introduced Gritty, a shaggy orange mascot whose odd look was seen as frightening at first, and gave him his own social accounts.
Why it spread
A strange, slightly unsettling character got memed instantly, and fans adopted him. Source
Roasting on Twitter
From early 2017, Wendy's Twitter account replied to users and rival brands with sharp, sassy roasts, and it joins National Roast Day each February with a round of roasts.
Result 3.8 million Twitter followers by 2021, ahead of McDonald's 3.7 million, per Mashed.
Why it spread
A consistent, cheeky voice makes people tag the brand just to see what it says back. Source
Elmo checks in
Elmo's X account posted 'Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?', and when thousands replied with their worries, Sesame Street shared mental health resources and had other characters post support.
Result 14,000 replies, 49,000 reposts and 122,000 likes within about a day, per PR Daily.
Why it spread
A simple, kind question from a trusted character gave people room to be honest, and the team followed up quickly. Source
Funassyi
A Funabashi resident created Funassyi, an unofficial pear mascot for the Japanese city that, unlike most silent mascots, talks, shrieks, jumps and headbangs.
Why it spread
Breaking the rule that mascots stay quiet and slow made it stand out among hundreds of local characters. Source
Mustafa vs Crews
Old Spice brought back its two ad characters, smooth Isaiah Mustafa and shouting Terry Crews, and had them interrupt each other's ads while promoting different scents.
Result 11.6 million YouTube views within three months of the first ad, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
Setting two known brand characters against each other turns a set of ads into a running feud people follow. Source
United Breaks Guitars
After United baggage handlers damaged his guitar and the airline refused to pay, Canadian musician Dave Carroll released a protest song about it on YouTube.
Result 5 million views by mid-August 2009, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
A catchy song about a familiar complaint was easy to share, and United only apologised after it went viral. Source
The Google Home ad
Burger King ran an ad in which an employee said 'OK Google, what is the Whopper burger' to make viewers' Google Home speakers read out the Whopper's Wikipedia entry, which had been edited to include marketing language.
Why it spread
Hijacking people's devices got attention, but Google soon blocked it and Wikipedia editors pushed back. Source
The King of Stream
Burger King and Ogilvy used Twitch's donation feature to place ads on live streams without the streamers' cooperation, and the campaign was poorly received.
Why it spread
Using creators' channels without asking them turned a clever hack into a backlash. Source
The Texican Whopper ad
A Crispin Porter + Bogusky ad for Burger King's Texican burger was taken off TV after it caused an international uproar over insults to Mexico.
Why it spread
Jokes built on national stereotypes travel fast, and the backlash travels faster. Source
Kony 2012
Charity Invisible Children released a 30-minute film aiming to make warlord Joseph Kony famous so he would be arrested, then faced criticism for oversimplifying the conflict and its follow-up poster night drew few people.
Result Over 50,000 action kits sold, but the 'Cover the Night' event drew just 17 people in Vancouver, per Wikipedia.
Why it spread
Huge viral reach did not turn into action once critics questioned the facts. Source
Liverpool Street dance
For its 'Life's for Sharing' campaign, T-Mobile had several hundred dancers break into a surprise routine among commuters at London's Liverpool Street station, filmed on hidden cameras for an ad.
Why it spread
Real commuters reacting on camera made the ad feel like something that happened to people, not a set piece. Source
Giving
Thai mobile network TrueMove H released a film about a shop owner who helps a boy caught stealing medicine, and 30 years later finds his own hospital bill paid by that boy, now his doctor.
Result More than 6.8 million YouTube views, per The Diplomat.
Why it spread
A full story about kindness, with the product barely shown, gave people something they wanted to pass on. Source
The ZooZoos
During the 2009 IPL cricket season, Vodafone India ran 30 short films, one per match, starring the ZooZoos: white characters played by people in body suits rather than animation.
Why it spread
A new mini-episode in every match break turned the ad breaks into something viewers looked out for. Source
Bell Let's Talk
Canadian telecom Bell launched Let's Talk, pledging five cents to mental health programmes for every text and long-distance call its customers made on Let's Talk Day.
Why it spread
It tied the cause to the exact thing the network sells, so every customer could take part by doing something they already do. Source
That's. So. Metal.
To sell the titanium iPhone, Telus showed its long-running animal mascots, including a Highland cow, a Silkie chicken and a Shetland pony, headbanging to heavy metal.
Why it spread
Putting familiar brand animals into a pun on the phone's 'metal' made a spec point fun to watch. Source
Chicken
Mercedes-Benz filmed chickens keeping their heads perfectly still while their bodies were moved, to show how its Magic Body Control suspension keeps the car steady.
Result More than 26 million views, per Digital Synopsis.
Why it spread
A real animal doing the same thing as the feature made an engineering claim easy to understand in seconds. Source
The invisible car
Mercedes covered one side of its hydrogen F-Cell car in LED mats showing a live camera feed from the other side, so it looked see-through as it toured Germany for a week.
Why it spread
Making the car 'invisible' was a visual way to say it leaves no emissions behind. Source
LifePaint
Volvo UK gave away cans of an invisible reflective spray at six bike shops in England; the spray glows white in car headlights so cyclists show up at night.
Why it spread
A car brand making a free safety product for cyclists backed up its safety message with something useful. Source
A Message to Space
Hyundai used 11 Genesis cars to drive a heart message from 12-year-old Stephanie into a Nevada dry lake bed, big enough for her astronaut father to see from space.
Result Set the Guinness World Records title for the largest tyre-track image, per Guinness World Records.
Why it spread
A giant personal message between a daughter and her father turned a car demo into a family story. Source
Piano stairs
As part of The Fun Theory, Volkswagen turned the stairs at Stockholm's Odenplan subway station into giant piano keys that played notes as people walked on them.
Result 66% more people than usual chose the stairs over the escalator, per Toxel.
Why it spread
It tested an idea in public and filmed the results, so the video felt like an experiment, not an ad. Source
Starman's Roadster
Elon Musk's own Tesla Roadster, with a spacesuited mannequin called Starman at the wheel, was launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and shown on a live feed.
Why it spread
A car in space with a dummy driver gave every news report of the launch a Tesla picture to run. Source
The bird poop reply
When a Twitter user joked that bird droppings had 'totaled' a Smart car, smart USA replied with an infographic working out it would take about 4.5 million birds to do it.
Result 22 million impressions in three days, per the Shorty Awards.
Why it spread
Answering a joke with a straight-faced bit of maths turned a dig into a point about the car's strength. Source
Slide
Lexus built a working hoverboard that floats over magnets using super-cooled superconductors, teased it for months, then showed riders on it at a custom skatepark near Barcelona.
Why it spread
A real version of a famous film gadget got car fans and non-car fans talking about the brand. Source
The job-hunt ad
Tokyo Gas ran an ad about a graduate who is rejected job after job until her mother comforts her over a home-cooked meal, then pulled it after viewers called it too painful and too real.
Why it spread
It aimed for warmth but showed a shared hardship so bluntly that the backlash became the story. Source
366: Hari Ke-32
Malaysian energy company Petronas told its Chinese New Year story as the first episode of a seven-part YouTube drama covering the country's festivals, ending on a cliffhanger.
Result More than 900,000 YouTube views and 2.3 million Facebook views, per World of Buzz.
Why it spread
Turning the yearly festive ad into a series gave viewers a reason to come back for the next festival. Source
Cerita Kita
For Malaysia's National Day, Petronas gave cameras to 10 children aged 5 to 13 from across the country and built its TV ads and a gallery show from their photos.
Why it spread
Seeing the country through children's own pictures felt more honest than a polished patriotic ad. Source
Hour of Power
New Zealand power retailer Electric Kiwi launched with a free off-peak hour of electricity every day for each customer.
Why it spread
A simple free daily perk is easy to explain and makes a dull product something customers talk about. Source
Commisery
Online estate agent Purplebricks ran TV ads where people scream into a cupboard or fall face-first into a cake on learning they could have avoided paying estate agent commission.
Why it spread
Giving a common grudge its own made-up word made the pitch against high-street agents stick. Source
The eclipse power-down
Octopus Energy offered its Octoplus members an hour of free electricity on the Sunday if they cut their use during the evening peak of a solar eclipse.
Why it spread
It used a news event people were already talking about to explain why saving power at peak times matters. Source
The power-down hour reply
When an anonymous confession post said a couple used Octopus Energy's power-down hour to go to bed together, Octopus replied that 'the sparks are clearly still flying' and added a meme.
Why it spread
A quick, cheeky reply to an unexpected customer story got the brand covered by the same pages that shared the post. Source
Fatberg mailers
Thames Water sent tactile 'yuck factor' mailers with free fat traps to over 225,000 homes in blockage hotspots, backed by billboards and online video, to stop fat and wipes going down drains.
Result 70% of residents reported changing their behaviour and blockages fell 26% on average in targeted areas, per Print Power.
Why it spread
Making the fatberg feel gross and personal, and handing people the fix, made it easy to change the habit. Source
The Pestaurant
Pest control company Rentokil opened a one-day pop-up in London serving sweet chilli pigeon burgers, BBQ grasshoppers and chocolate-dipped bugs.
Why it spread
Eating the pests it usually removes was a strange, funny twist on the trend for edible insects. Source
#WithLoveFromPests
For Valentine's Day, Rentokil PCI in India made a video of pests talking in Gen Z slang to show how pest control keeps homes fit for romance.
Why it spread
Pairing a dull service with a love holiday and youth slang made it something younger people might share. Source
Turn it off, Bob
Sydney Water cast actor Shane Jacobson as Bob, a man who keeps wasting water with habits like very long showers, in a running series of funny ads on TV, outdoor and social.
Why it spread
A recurring, likeable offender lets people laugh at habits they have without feeling lectured. Source
Big ways, small ways
Singapore's water agency PUB set over-the-top ways to save water next to easy daily habits, like reusing rice-washing water, under the line 'Save water. Big ways, small ways. All OK!'
Why it spread
Joking about extreme effort made the small, normal habits look easy by comparison. Source
Find Your Formula
New York property site StreetEasy ran 12 illustrated 'formulas' on subways, buses and streets showing apartment trade-offs, like West Village plus outdoor space plus washer/dryer equals four roommates.
Why it spread
It joked about compromises every New York renter knows, which made people stop and read. Source
Climate contracts
Swedish energy app Tibber teamed up with the nonprofit Våra barns klimat, saying it would donate the equivalent of each new customer's monthly fee for six months if they signed up through the campaign.
Why it spread
Giving a sign-up a direct climate benefit fits an energy brand that pitches itself as greener. Source
Big Waster
Hong Kong's Environment Bureau created Big Waster, a greedy mascot whose 'eyes are bigger than his stomach', as a bad example for its food waste campaign.
Why it spread
A mascot who does the wrong thing is funnier and easier to remember than one who lectures. Source
No examples match those filters.
Viral marketing examples: FAQ
What is viral marketing?
Viral marketing is when a campaign spreads mainly because people share it, not because the brand paid to show it to them. The brand makes the first push; the audience does most of the distribution.
What are some examples of viral marketing?
Well-known examples include the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Dollar Shave Club's launch video, Spotify Wrapped, Wendy's #NuggsForCarter, Burger King's Whopper Detour and Volvo Trucks' Epic Split. This page lists 1041 examples you can filter by goal, season, product type, industry and tactic.
What are good examples of digital PR campaigns?
Filter by Digital PR & press. Recent examples include The KitKat Heist, which won the PR Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, Aldi's jacket that turns into a shopping bag, and Icelandair's search for a really bad photographer.
What are good Christmas marketing campaign examples?
Filter by Christmas. Examples include John Lewis's Man on the Moon, Waitrose's Keira Knightley romcom, Travelodge's secret wrapping rooms and NatWest's Scamvent Calendar.
What are examples of viral B2B marketing?
Volvo Trucks' Epic Split with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mailchimp's Did You Mean MailChimp? and Zendesk's fake band, Zendesk Alternative. Filter by the B2B & SaaS industry.
Can small brands go viral?
Yes. Filter by Startup to see brands like Dollar Shave Club, Hotmail, Wordle, Daniel Wellington and Graza. Most of them went viral through the product or the founder's own content rather than media spend.
Know a campaign we should add, or spot a mistake? Email team@odim.co.