Social media campaign examples
Campaigns that spread on social because people chose to share them. Grouped into 5 formats you can copy, with a one-line version for your brand and a budget guide on each.
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Celebrity fees, TV airtime or a large custom build.
Budget is our estimate of what it would take to run the same idea yourself, not what the brand spent.
The real-time reply
8 examples
Moment: [LIVE EVENT / NEWS / FAN REQUEST / VIRAL POST] Reply: one image or line, on brand, within [MINUTES / HOURS] Sign-off: one person who can approve without a meeting Follow-up: deliver on it if people rally
Budget: Small. It takes someone who can post quickly, not a production budget.
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
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
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.
#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.
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
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 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
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.
The brand character
5 examples
Character: [MASCOT / OBJECT / PERSON] with one clear trait Voice: [UNHINGED / DEADPAN / PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE / WHOLESOME] Rule: the character never breaks, the brand never over-explains Cadence: [3–5] short videos a week
Budget: Small to mid. A phone and a person who gets the platform; a costume or mascot adds cost.
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
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 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 plane-face TikToks
Ryanair turned its planes into faces and roasted its own reputation.
Why it spread
Self-deprecation beat defending the brand.
Murder your thirst
Canned water sold with heavy-metal branding.
Why it spread
Absurd branding on a boring product made it a talking point.
Ride the meme
5 examples
Trend: [SOUND / FORMAT / MEME] your audience is posting this week Twist: how your product fits it naturally Speed: live within [24–72 HOURS] Rule: join the joke, don't sell over it
Budget: Small. The trend is free; speed is the cost.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Give people something to post
4 examples
Thing: [PERSONAL RECAP / RANKING / RESULT GRID / GIVEAWAY] Built from: [THEIR DATA / THEIR CITY / THEIR ANSWER] Format: one image sized for Stories Moment: [YEAR-END / WEEKLY / A FIXED DAY]
Budget: Small to big. A giveaway is cheap; a personalised recap needs product work.
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.
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
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
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 one-take video
5 examples
Hook: the first line says the product's one promise Format: [FOUNDER TO CAMERA / ABSURD TEST / STUNT / SONG] Length: 30 seconds to 2 minutes End: one line people will quote
Budget: Small to big. Dollar Shave Club's cost $4,500; Volvo's Epic Split did not.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to plan a social media campaign
- Pick the platform your audience actually posts on, not the one you like best.
- Choose one format from this page and write the idea in one sentence.
- Make it easy to share: vertical, under a minute, the point in the first 2 seconds.
- Give one person the power to post and reply fast. Most wins here came from speed.
- Measure shares and saves, not just views, and repeat what gets passed on.
Want creators to post about your brand?odim.co runs on-demand influencer marketing: creator sourcing, seeding and the brief.
Talk to odimSocial media campaign examples: FAQ
What is a social media campaign?
A social media campaign is a planned push on one or more social platforms around a single idea, with a goal like awareness, sign-ups or sales, usually over a few days to a few weeks.
What are some of the best social media campaigns?
Well-known examples include Oreo's Dunk in the Dark, Spotify Wrapped, Wendy's #NuggsForCarter, Duolingo's death of Duo and Dollar Shave Club's launch video.
What makes a social media campaign successful?
A clear idea people can repeat, a format that fits the platform, and a reason to share it, like a laugh, a brag or a moment they're already watching.
Can a small brand run a viral social campaign?
Yes. Real-time replies, riding a trend and a brand character all cost little more than time. Filter by Small budget.
More viral marketing examples
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Spot a mistake or know a campaign we should add? Email team@odim.co.