THE CREATIVE FIELDBOOK / SNS MEDIA TECH

Campaign studies

297 source-led reads, 12 per page. These numbered pages work without JavaScript. Search every study and lesson →

01
Food & QSR / 2018DEEPER STUDY · 9 MIN READ

The Whopper Detour

Burger King

Turn a rival’s physical footprint into the reason people try your own product.

Burger King wanted downloads for a relaunched app with order-ahead, a feature that was already familiar in the category. “Go to the competitor” creates an immediate contradiction. A person can retell the idea accurately in one sentence. That gives journalists and customers the same compact story to pass on.

1.5M+
app downloadsnine-day promotion · US BK appEntrant-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Competitive rivalry
02
Streaming & subscriptions / 20237 MIN READ

2023 Wrapped

Spotify

Give customers a story about themselves that only your product can tell.

The opportunity was to turn a year of listening into an engaging personal recap. Spotify described the 2023 experience as a celebration of listeners’ year. Most brand posts ask audiences to care about the company. A personal recap gives the audience something to inspect, agree with, laugh at or dispute about themselves. Those reactions are fuel for a conversation.

225M+
monthly active users engagedQ4 2023 · Wrapped engagement across 170 marketsCompany-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Identity
03
Personal care & FMCG / 20147 MIN READ

#LikeAGirl

Always / Procter & Gamble

Make an invisible social habit visible, then give people a phrase they can reclaim.

Always wanted to champion girls’ confidence around puberty. The campaign focused on the everyday expression “like a girl.” A demonstration lets viewers notice the inconsistency before the brand explains it. That creates an emotional turn inside the film rather than relying on a slogan to announce that the subject matters.

76M
global viewsfirst two months, per entry · campaign view countEntrant-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Confidence
04
Nonprofit & fundraising / 20147 MIN READ

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

ALS community and participating charities

Give supporters a repeatable action and an explicit way to pass it to the next person.

People living with ALS and their communities sought attention and support for the disease. “Everyone should help” does not tell anyone who should act next. A named invitation creates a concrete social connection through which the activity can travel. The useful design principle is explicit handoff, not coercion.

$115M
donations received2014 challenge · US ALS Association national office, not global totalRecipient-reported; also cited by independent evaluator · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Participation
05
Tourism & destinations / 20167 MIN READ

The Swedish Number

Swedish Tourist Association (STF)

Make a brand value something a stranger can experience immediately.

STF wanted more people to become curious about Sweden and to let residents tell their own stories. A country claiming to be open could buy an ad about openness. A country answering the phone makes that value testable. The execution itself becomes evidence for the message.

100K+
incoming callsby 21 April 2016 · 176 calling countries; interim campaign snapshotBrand-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Openness
06
B2B & industrial / 20137 MIN READ

The Epic Split

Volvo Trucks

Turn a technical benefit into a visual test that a non-expert can understand.

Volvo Trucks’ Live Test series demonstrated innovations in a new truck range to an audience beyond the usual technical buyer. A viewer does not need to understand steering specifications to understand the cost of imprecision in the scene. Good demonstration creative translates a feature into a visible consequence.

73M+
YouTube viewsby 22 June 2014 · The Epic Split film, not the wider seriesBrand-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Product proof
07
Food & gifting / 2021DEEPER STUDY · 10 MIN READ

Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad

Cadbury Celebrations / Mondelēz

Turn a brand’s expensive asset into a useful tool other businesses want to distribute.

India’s small retailers were rebuilding after pandemic disruption while larger online sellers competed for festive attention. Cadbury wanted to support local shopping during Diwali. A shopkeeper had a direct reason to use an ad carrying their own store name. Distribution was connected to someone else’s commercial interest, rather than relying only on generosity toward the sponsoring brand.

94M
YouTube and Facebook views2021 campaign, as reported in the 2022 case · Combined platforms; not unique viewersAgency-network reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Local relevance
08
Household care & FMCG / 20168 MIN READ

Dads #ShareTheLoad

Ariel / P&G India

Give a social issue a specific household behavior and a character capable of changing it.

Ariel’s broader #ShareTheLoad platform began in India in 2015, questioning unequal expectations around housework. The 2016 edition focused on fathers and the example children observe. An abstract discussion of equality becomes a recognizable family scene. A viewer can map it onto a conversation they have experienced without needing a lecture about the whole social problem.

50M+
reported viewsunder 15 days · 2016 Dads #ShareTheLoad filmEntrant-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Equality
09
Personal care & FMCG / 20207 MIN READ

Courage Is Beautiful

Dove / Unilever

A timely response is stronger when it applies an established belief to a changed reality.

During the first COVID-19 wave, healthcare workers’ faces showed the effects of prolonged protective equipment use. Dove sought a response consistent with its broader approach to beauty. The portraits showed a physical cost of caring that conventional beauty advertising usually smooths away. That contrast made the message understandable without a complex plot or a long explanation.

15
rollout marketscampaign rollout reported in case · Distribution scope, not business impactAgency-network reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Courage
10
Outdoor retail / 20157 MIN READ

#OptOutside

REI Co-op

Make a business decision that proves the promise, then invite people into the behavior.

REI wanted to put its outdoor mission into action during a retail moment dominated by shopping promotions. Closing stores is observable. The message drew credibility from a real operating choice, not merely from saying that time outdoors matters.

1.4M+
reported supportersBlack Friday 2015 · Support for #OptOutside, not verified attendanceBrand-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Outdoors
11
Retail & gifting / 20148 MIN READ

Monty’s Christmas

John Lewis

Give an emotional film a world people can enter, recognize and take home.

John Lewis sought a prominent Christmas campaign that could connect emotional storytelling with retail activity. The emotional reward is understanding what someone wants. That is a useful bridge between a story about affection and a retailer’s gifting role.

29M
reported campaign viewsreported in May 2015 case · Campaign views; not unique peopleAward-case reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Gifting
12
Media & culture / 20218 MIN READ

The Unfiltered History Tour

VICE World News

Put a publication’s editorial point of view where the audience can experience the missing context.

VICE World News wanted younger audiences to engage with under-reported issues beyond headlines and brief social commentary. Encountering another account beside the physical object makes a perspective tangible. The creative strength comes from the relationship between place, evidence and interpretation, not simply from using augmented reality.

18M
reported campaign impressionscampaign case; reporting window not specified · Impressions, not unique peopleAgency-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →History
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