Format guide · 21 examples

User-generated content examples

Campaigns where customers made the content. Grouped into 4 UGC formats, with a one-line version for your brand and a budget guide on each.

21examples
4formats to copy
6with stated results
10small-budget ideas
Format
Budget
Showing 21 examples
Small budget
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Mid budget
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Big budget
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 challenge

6 examples

What it isA simple action people film themselves doing and pass on.
Why it worksIt's easy to copy, and every video invites the next person in.
Template: The challenge
Action: one move, dance, test or dare anyone can do in [UNDER 15 SECONDS]
Hook: [SONG / SOUND / NOMINATION]
Seed: [5–20] creators post first
Reward: reposts, prizes or a donation per video

Budget: Small to mid. Seeding with creators and a licensed sound are the main costs.

2021Little MoonsFood & drink

The mochi TikTok trend

TikTok

A TikTok trend of people buying and trying Little Moons mochi snowballed in early 2021.

Result Sales rose 700% at Tesco.

Copy this When people start posting your product unprompted, repost them, stock up and make it easy to find in store.
Why it spread

A small, colourful, satisfying product is perfect for a short video, and scarcity made it a treasure hunt. Source

Small budget
2019ChipotleFood & drink

#GuacDance

TikTok

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.

Copy this Pair a free-product offer with a dance or move people film to a song about your product.
Why it spread

A low-effort, copyable format on a platform built for copying.

Mid budget
2014ALS AssociationNonprofit & public

Ice Bucket Challenge

Facebook

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.

Copy this Film a 10-second action, name three people, give them 24 hours.
Why it spread

The nomination built distribution into every single video.

Small budgetRead the breakdown →
2026IKEARetail & CPG

The pronunciation test

TikTok

A back-to-school TikTok challenge asking people to prove they can pronounce IKEA's Swedish product names.

Copy this Turn the thing people get wrong about your brand into a challenge they film.
Why it spread

It turns a brand quirk everyone jokes about into a format people want to attempt. Source

Small budget
2023McDonald'sFood & drink

Grimace Shake

TikTok

A purple birthday shake for Grimace sparked a TikTok trend of mock-horror clips.

Copy this When fans turn your product into a joke, play along in character instead of correcting them.
Why it spread

McDonald's let the joke run rather than correcting it.

Small budget
2019e.l.f. CosmeticsBeauty & personal care

Eyes Lips Face

TikTok

e.l.f. commissioned an original song for a TikTok hashtag challenge that spelled out the brand name.

Copy this Commission a catchy original sound about your product and seed it with creators to start a challenge.
Why it spread

The sound was catchy on its own, so creators used it far beyond the challenge.

Mid budget

Shot by customers

6 examples

What it isCustomers' own photos, videos or reviews become the ads.
Why it worksReal content is more believable than production, and the people featured share it.
Template: Shot by customers
Ask: [PHOTOS / VIDEOS / REVIEWS] made with or about [PRODUCT]
Select: the best [10–50], with permission and credit
Show: on [BILLBOARDS / SOCIAL / PACKAGING]
Credit: name every creator

Budget: Small to big. Collecting is cheap; the media to show it isn't.

2026McDonald's UKFood & drink

Camera Rolls

OOH + social

McDonald's built a campaign from real late-night photos found in fans' camera rolls.

Copy this Ask customers for real photos they already took with your product, and make them the ad.
Why it spread

Real photos of real nights out feel more honest than anything staged. Source

Small budget
2026DoveBeauty & personal care

r/eal reviews

OOH

Dove flyposted New York with real Reddit reviews of its Intensive Repair mask, good and bad.

Copy this Print your real reviews, including a bad one, as your ad.
Why it spread

Showing a mixed review makes the good ones more believable. Source

Small budget
2025AppleTech & apps

Your Tree on Battersea

Projection + competition

The public designed Christmas trees on iPad, and 24 winning designs were projected onto Battersea Power Station.

Copy this Let the public design your festive display, then put the winners somewhere huge.
Why it spread

People share their own work, so every winner promotes the campaign. Source

Mid budget
2021HeinzFood & drink

Draw Ketchup

Social + OOH

Heinz asked people to draw ketchup. Nearly everyone drew a Heinz bottle, and those drawings became the ad.

Copy this Ask people to draw your category. If they draw your product, that's your ad.
Why it spread

A tiny experiment turned market dominance into proof viewers could test themselves.

Small budget
2015AppleTech & apps

Shot on iPhone

OOH + Instagram

Apple put real customers' iPhone photos on billboards around the world.

Copy this Put your customers' best photos or videos made with [PRODUCT] on billboards, with their names.
Why it spread

Every featured photographer became a promoter, and every user a potential feature.

Big budget
2006DoritosFood & drink

Crash the Super Bowl

TV

Fans made their own Doritos ads, and the winners aired during the Super Bowl.

Copy this Let fans make your ad, and air the winner in your biggest media slot.
Why it spread

Entrants campaigned for votes, promoting the brand for free.

Big budget

Made to be shared

4 examples

What it isEach person gets a personal version of the product or ad that they want to show off.
Why it worksPeople share things with their name, taste or story in them.
Template: Made to be shared
Personalise: [NAME / DATA / SHOP / MESSAGE] on [PACK / AD / RECAP]
Make it: in seconds, on a phone
Share: one tap, sized for Stories
Moment: [SEASON / YEAR-END / WEDDING / FESTIVAL]

Budget: Mid to big. Personalised packs or recaps need production or product work.

2021CadburyFood & drink

Not Just a Cadbury Ad

YouTube + AI

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.

Copy this Let small businesses use your celebrity ad for free, personalised to their shop, when they need sales most.
Why it spread

A celebrity endorsement that small businesses could personalise, released when those shops needed sales most. Source

Big budget
2026McDonald'sFood & drink

Wedding Flavours

Merch

Couples can order McDonald's sauce pots with a personal message to use as wedding favours.

Copy this Let customers personalise your product for their big day (a wedding, a birthday, a graduation).
Why it spread

Guests actually use them and post about them, so every wedding becomes a small piece of content. Source

Mid budget
2016SpotifyTech & apps

Spotify Wrapped

In-app + Stories

Every December, users get a personal recap of their listening, formatted as shareable story cards.

Copy this Turn a year of [CUSTOMER DATA] into a personal recap people want to post on Stories.
Why it spread

The ad is the user's own data. Sharing it is self-expression, not promotion.

Big budgetRead the breakdown →
2011Coca-ColaFood & drink

Share a Coke

Packaging

Coca-Cola swapped its logo for popular first names on bottles, starting in Australia.

Copy this Put first names, places or phrases on your packaging so people buy one for someone and post it.
Why it spread

People hunted for their own name and posted it.

Big budget

Let fans lead

5 examples

What it isThe brand picks up something fans already started (a hack, a habit, a sound) and makes it official.
Why it worksFans feel heard and share it as their win, not the brand's.
Template: Let fans lead
Listen: what are fans already making or asking for?
Adopt: make it official ([MENU ITEM / GIVEAWAY / CAMPAIGN])
Credit: the fans who started it
Keep going: make it a repeat moment

Budget: Small to big. Adopting a trend is free; a menu launch is not.

2026McDonald's UKFood & drink

World Menu Heist

TV, OOH, social

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.

Copy this Use social listening to find what fans want most, then bring it in and tell the story like a heist.
Why it spread

The fans chose the targets, so the launch felt like it was for them. Source

Big budget
2017Cash AppFinance

Cash App Friday

X / Twitter

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.

Copy this Pick one day a week to give something away to people who reply with your app's name or code.
Why it spread

The brand adopted a habit users invented, and every entry is a post with the app's name in it. Source

Mid budget
2026McDonald's UKFood & drink

The Secret Menu

Nationwide

McDonald's officially launched the fan-made "secret menu" hacks people had been sharing for years.

Copy this Make your fans' hacks official and credit them.
Why it spread

Making fan hacks official rewards the community and gives the press a story. Source

Small budget
2025Jet2holidaysTravel

Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday

TikTok

Jet2's ad voiceover and song became a TikTok template for holiday-gone-wrong clips.

Copy this If people use your ad's sound as a meme, lean in: repost, remix and keep it running.
Why it spread

A recognisable sound became a format people could reuse.

Small budget
2023San Antonio ZooNonprofit & public

Cry Me a Cockroach

Social

An annual Valentine's fundraiser: donate to name a cockroach after your ex, then it gets fed to an animal.

Copy this Let people pay a small amount to do something petty but harmless in their ex's name.
Why it spread

Petty revenge is a very shareable feeling, and every donation creates a post. Source

Small budget

How to run a UGC campaign

  1. Make the ask tiny: one action, one photo or one sentence.
  2. Show an example first. Seed it with staff, fans or a few creators.
  3. Give people a reason to post: a laugh, a brag, a prize or a good cause.
  4. Get permission before you reuse anything, and always credit the creator.
  5. Repost the best entries fast. Being featured is the reward most people want.

Need UGC creators for your brand?odim.co sources and briefs creators who make content brands can use.

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User-generated content examples: FAQ

What is user-generated content (UGC)?

User-generated content is any content (photos, videos, reviews, posts) made by customers or fans rather than the brand. In campaigns, brands ask for it, feature it or build the whole idea around it.

What are some famous UGC examples?

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Apple's Shot on iPhone, Coca-Cola's Share a Coke, Chipotle's #GuacDance and Spotify Wrapped are well-known examples.

How do you get customers to create content?

Make it easy (one action), show an example, and give a reason to post, like being featured, a prize or a cause.

Can brands use UGC in ads?

Yes, with the creator's permission. Ask first, agree how it will be used, and credit them.

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