The top 50 creative brand marketing campaigns of 2024
By James Herring on Thursday, December 12, 2024
by James Herring
In a world where consumers are increasingly elusive to engage, standing out from the crowd has never been more challenging.
Yet, over the past 12 months, some brands have managed to do just that with creative and inspiring work that redefined conventional marketing and advertising.
From clever OOH (out-of-home) builds and eye-catching PR stunts to innovative product launches, these campaigns embraced unconventional thinking to deliver activations that captured widespread attention and acclaim.
Here’s our round-up of fifty of the most popular and reposted work as featured in the weekly Famous Five newsletter and on our LinkedIn page.
#1 Oslo – is it even a city?
Visit Oslo delivered the best tourism commercial (maybe even best ad of the year) a masterclass in ‘anti advertising’ created by NewsLab AS.
#2 The Michael CeraVe campaign
Canadian actor Michael Cera, sparked confusion as he’d been spotted walking around New York carrying bags filled with CeraVe’s signature Moisturising Cream.
Influencers had seemingly bumped into him in a store plastering stickers of himself and signing bottles, tagging Cerave and demanding an explanation.
Campaign by WPP Onefluence led by Ogilvy PR in North America.
#3 Specsavers stop the traffic in Edinburgh
Specsavers eye-catching “parking blunder” in Edinburgh was revealed as a cheeky stunt by the optical chain and production agency Grand Visual.
An honourable mention to Golin for their Cannes-winning Rick Astley hearing test campaign.
#4 British Airways minimalist OOH campaign
How many brands are confident enough to show less than 25% of their logo and no puffy tagline in an ad? British Airways and Uncommon Creative Studio unveiled a confidently minimal OOH campaign.
#5 Meet Daisy the granbot designed to combat scams
In an inspired move O2 and VCCP created an AI grandma who traps scammers into meandering conversations to waste as much of their time as possible. See the video.
#6 La Vieille Ferme rebrands to ‘The Chicken Wine’
Facing into the truth that most of their customers cannot correctly pronounce ‘La Vieille Ferme’ and refer to it as ‘the chicken wine’ – the popular wine launched a ltd edition rebrand for fans in Sainsbury’s.
#7 Burger King celebrates the joy of post-birth meals.
Burger King gives new mums ‘Foodfillment’ is the premise of a campaign by BBH London which celebrated the joy of post-birth meals. ‘Bundles of Joy’ uses real images of mums who turned to their beloved Burger King for their first meal after birth, with the exact arrival time of their burger featured on posters.
#8 Heineken launch world’s most boring phone
Heineken, in collaboration with Bodega have launched ‘The Boring Phone’ to help customers to stay in the moment.
Designed to deliver the basics needed for a great night out, the phone’s only function is to send and receive calls and text messages.
#9 The Generation Gap
This bonkers ad for Australian lamb satirises a dystopian generation gap – uniting all over a BBQ.
Agency ‘The Monkeys’ delivered a sharply witty piece working with multi-generational directors in an ad for Meat and Livestock Australia.
#10 Currys embrace Gen-Z lingo on TikTok
Currys have been grabbing attention with their wild TikTok feed.
In September announced they’d enlisted a Gen-Z staff member to write the script for a social media ad, garnering massive online engagement.
#11 Liquid Death and Yeti ‘murder your thirst’ with life-size Casket Cooler
In a morbid move just ahead of Halloween, the brands launched a limited-edition cooler shaped like a life-size coffin.
#12 Marmite recruits “smugglers”
Adam&EveDDB snuck the divisive yeasty spread to expats in US after a “Marmite drought” in New York
#13 Ikea campaign spotlights victims of domestic violence
IKEA, in association with Save the Children, spotlighted the plight of over 120,000 Australians, many women and children, who are homeless due to domestic violence.
Victims are forced to seek shelter in places that should never have to be called a home – whether that’s a car, a tent or sleeping on a friend’s couch.
#14 Heinz create Ketchup phone case – inspired by Rhode
Tapping into the viral Rhode lip gloss phone case ~ Heinz took to Instagram to promote their own case perfectly crafted to hold a single sachet of tomato ketchup.
#15 CALM spotlights the growing epidemic of suicide in young people
For World Suicide Prevention Day, CALM shone a light on the ‘Missed Birthdays’.
In a harrowing installation by Adam&EveDDB, the suicide prevention charity installed 6,929 birthday balloons in Westfield London – each representing a young person who has died within the last decade and illustrating the age they would be now, but have sadly not reached.
#16 Airbnb offer guests the chance to spend the night in the ‘Up’ house
Airbnb offered guests the chance to spend the night in Disney Pixar’s most iconic home – ‘the Up House’.
#17 A Pedigree orchestra conducted by wagging tails
In a barking mad experiment – dog food brand Pedigree turned dogs’ tails into conductors – creating musical joy from the varying speed of their tail wag.
#18 Nike celebrates runner’s post-marathon struggles
A relatable Nike spot by Wieden & Kennedy titled ‘Stairs’ celebrates runner’s post marathon struggles – soundtracked to Love Hurts by Nazareth.
#19 Duolingo trolled us all with “Duolingo on Ice”
Duo, the internet’s favorite passive-aggressive owl, waddles around in a clunky costume while morph-suited ice dancers twirl nearby. The unimpressed audience cutaways are chef’s kiss.
A perfect April Fools’ gag – but we kinda wish it wasn’t.
#20 Red Bull gives wings to skydivers soaring through London Bridge
Red Bull proved that it really does ‘give you wings’ as two Austrian skydivers successfully completed the first wingsuit flight through London’s Tower Bridge.
#21 “Considering what?” Channel 4’s Paralympics ad flips the bird to patronising remarks.
This striking campaign from 4Creative personifies gravity, friction, and time, turning them into adversaries for world-class athletes to conquer.
#22 easyJet launch female pilot recruitment campaign
easyJet launched the next phase in a pan-European programme to encourage young women to consider a career as an pilot.
The campaign was launched with a “talking” billboard, featuring real-life easyJet Captain Sarah Acklerley who took time out from the cockpit to chat to potential young recruits.
#23 ‘Wear Wool, Not Waste’
A stunning campaign from Woolmark and agency 20(Something) is built on this uneasy idea that every synthetic garment ever made still exists in some form. The campaign centres around the zombie invasion of synthetic clothes that haunt our planet.
#24 McDonald’s removes smile from Happy Meal
McDonald’s UK, Ready 10 and Leo Burnett UK removed the iconic smile from millions of Happy Meal boxes to prompt family discussions about emotions. These boxes come with stickers depicting various emotions, allowing children to express how they feel by customising their Happy Meal boxes.
#25 Adidas drop Euros ad spot ‘Hey Jude’
Brilliant ad from Adidas – who revealed their Euros spot centered on Jude Bellingham and cut to the Beatles’ timeless hit ‘Hey Jude’. The ad by Johannes Leonardo (New York) features England’s historic moments of despair and appearances from David Beckham, Ian Wright, Frank Lampard, Stormzy and Laura Woods.
#26 Samsung folds London for new phone launch
The Old Street area was taken over by Samsung in a series of activations, coined Fold Town, to celebrate the new release of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6.
#27 James Blunt invites fans to ‘f*ck up his life’
If the 20th Anniversary Edition of his album “Back To Bedlam” re-entered the charts at No.1, Blunt promised he’d legally change his name – to whatever the public decides. Watch the video from the marmite pop star.
#28 V&A launch hunt for Taylor Swift ‘Superfan Advisor
In a bid to stay relevant with Gen Z, the V&A and Hope & Glory recruited a ‘Taylor Swift superfan adviser’ to contribute insights into Swiftie cult-fandom, handmade signs, friendship bracelets and memorabilia.
#29 British Heart Foundation murals spotlight heart disease ahead of Euros
Ahead of the Euros the British Heart Foundation and Saatchi & Saatchi unveiled a powerful series of murals, commemorating young football fans who died from heart disease
#30 Powerful Shelter campaign underlines the realities of homelessness
A beautifully crafted and heart-breaking film by Don’t Panic highlights the lengths parents will go to protect kids from the harsh reality of everyday living.
#31 ASICS: Get away from your desk!
ASICS recruited Brian Cox to motivate workers to get away from their desks and move for their mental health. The Succession star delivers a PSA to rally office workers against the silent threat to mental health – the desk.
#32 Parkrun ‘just what the doctor ordered’
For World Mental Health Day Parkrun deployed ‘prescription posters.’ The campaign by Meanwhile highlights the fact that the social activity is regularly prescribed by doctors to treat anxiety and depression.
#33 Waitrose’s wonky billboard draws Council’s attention
Saatchi & Saatchi installed a deliberately wonky billboard to demonstrate recent price drops. But the creative idea was lost on Wandsworth council’s health and safety dept who, after a ring-in from a punter, decided to fence off the pavement believing it to be a hazard.
#34 Sky Sports launch Tennis channel with COOH
Sky Sports celebrated the launch of a brand-new Sky Sports Tennis channel with giant outdoor special builds. The Sky creative celebrates the feel-good moment when you got one stuck in the fence.
#35 Malibu recruit Tom Daley for awareness campaign
One in four drownings in the UK involve alcohol. So Malibu recruited Olympic champ Tom Daley to spread the word – ‘Don’t Drink and Dive.’
#36 Doritos wrap the Luxor hotel
The media hotel for the Super Bowl in Vegas is the Luxor, which was turned into a giant Doritos chip.
#37 Burger King celebrate old flames for 70th anniversary
To celebrate Burger King’s 70th anniversary the brand (with agency Room 23), in Brazil, unveiled a raunchy campaign featuring old flames still keeping their passion alive after all these years.
#38 AI Needs Breaks Too! by KitKat
It turns out, even AI could use a break now and then!
The inspiration behind this playful campaign from KitKat Canada (and agency Courage) came from recent research by Google DeepMind, which discovered that even AI can perform better when it takes a break.
#39 David and Victoria Beckham forget Uber Eats
David and Victoria Beckham recreate their viral ‘Be Honest’ moment for Uber Eats Super Bowl ad. A creative move by Uber Eats, and agency Special U.S which cheekily taps into a charming and viral pop-culture moment. View the ad here
#40 Berlin brewery spoofs Calvin Klein’s viral ad
Berlin beer brewery BRLO created their own satirical tribute to the recent Calvin Klein spot f.t Jeremy Allen White. Shot in Berlin, and promoting their alcohol free beer, the spot shows body positivity in its purest form – and sends up traditional underwear advertising. See it here
#41 That’s so BRAT. Hellmann’s launches ‘club classic’ as Charli xcx kicks off tour
Mayo brand Hellmann’s and Ogilvy UK launched a tactical integrated campaign coinciding with Charli xcx’s UK BRAT tour and referencing her infamous arena tour poster.
#42 LEGO animates Battersea Power Station
LEGO put on a stunning projection show at Battersea Power Station as part of its ‘Play is Your Superpower’ campaign.
#43 Domino’s offers lockable pizza boxes to students
Pizza chain with agency One Green Bean, offers student’s lockable pizza boxes to protect leftover pizza.
#44 Tesco ditch logo
In a bold move Tesco ditched their logo to make way for produce that stands in for the letters T, E, S, C and O. Created by BBH London the supermarket has set the rulebook to one side.
#45 St John Ambulance release a first-of-its-kind CPR bra
Would you know how to perform CPR on a woman? Well, St John Ambulance and agency Revolt and PR from Fight Or Flight educated those of us who don’t, by creating a CPR bra!
#46 Adam Driver reads absurd Amazon product reviews.
Ahead of Black Friday… Amazon have hired ‘serious actor’ Adam Driver for a series dramatic readings of absurd (yet entirely genuine) product reviews.
Like a banana slicer that, according to one couple, rescued their marriage.
#47 Dove takes a stand against portrayal of women in AI content
Dove has taken a swipe at the portrayal of women in AI-generated content – offering practical guidance for creating more representative images.
#48 Surreal find a way to keep the lawyers happy
‘We’re nut allowed to call it Notella’ – cereal brand Surreal found a cunning way to keep the lawyers happy for the launch of their new choc hazelnut cereal.
#49 Westminster Bridge ‘Hacked’ for Testicular Cancer Awareness Month
A charity turned London’s Westminster Bridge into a head-turning installation for Testicular Cancer Awareness month. An oddity in the 162-year-old bridge’s architectural design has been harnessed by COOH agency St Marks Studios to communicate a powerful message. See the video.
#50 Black and blue plaques have fixed to properties of murdered women
Black and blue plaques were fixed to properties of murdered women, as part of a campaign By Killed Women (and agency Earnies) to highlight “outdated and misogynistic” UK domestic homicide sentencing laws.
Each bespoke victim plaque includes “killed here”, along with the sentence given to the killer and the slogan ‘“Murder is murder, change the law”.
