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 →

109
Sportswear / 20187 MIN READ

Dream Crazy

Nike

A familiar sporting invitation became more consequential through the people chosen to embody it.

For the thirtieth anniversary of Just Do It, Nike presented ambitious athletes ranging from famous champions to less familiar participants. Wieden+Kennedy dates Dream Crazy to September 2018 and describes it as the second film in that anniversary series. A public figure brings a history, not merely a face or follower count. Ask what their choices make the brand’s words mean, and whether that meaning is genuinely intended. The strongest connection may come from a less famous person whose lived commitment matches the proposition, rather than from a celebrity chosen only for reach.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Conviction
110
Sportswear / 20207 MIN READ

You Can’t Stop Us

Nike

Matched movement across a split screen made togetherness visible rather than merely declaring it.

Sporting disruption during the pandemic created a difficult setting for a brand built around participation. Wieden+Kennedy identifies this July 2020 release as the third film in the You Can’t Stop Us campaign, timed to the NBA’s return. Two separate images appearing to complete one action is a demonstration of connection. Identify a visual relationship that expresses the central thought before writing a long voiceover. A small service business might connect a maker and customer through matching actions. The device earns its place when removing it would weaken the meaning, not just the styling.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Togetherness
111
Sportswear and swimming / 20216 MIN READ

Liquid Billboard

adidas

A swimmable advertising structure let participating women become visible representatives of the collection.

adidas was introducing full-cover swimwear and wanted more women to feel able to participate in swimming. The agency’s research framing described discomfort around public swimming, but the public case pages do not provide enough survey detail to generalize every percentage they report. Representation works better when a real product option expands choice. Before promoting inclusion, examine fit, availability, pricing and practical access with intended users. A small swimwear business may need a better size range or private fitting session first. Public visibility should follow useful provision, not substitute for it.

70%
agency-reported modest-swimwear stock sell-throughLess than four weeks; exact start/end dates not supplied · Share of referenced stock sold; initial units, geography, replenishment and attribution not disclosedHAVAS Red case study; not independently audited or causal · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Inclusive swimwear
112
Sportswear / 20167 MIN READ

Rule Yourself: Michael Phelps

Under Armour

The unseen routine behind a famous champion became the main spectacle.

Under Armour’s Rule Yourself platform focused on the work behind sporting performance. This record concerns the Michael Phelps film premiered at the company’s Baltimore headquarters on 8 March 2016, rather than treating the broader platform’s earlier executions as the same launch. A famous person can still contain an unfamiliar story if the camera moves away from their public role. Ask what repeated work makes the visible achievement possible. For a small business, preparation, maintenance or quality checks may reveal more value than another polished finished-product shot. Access is useful when it produces understanding, not merely intimacy.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Preparation
113
B2B technology / 20176 MIN READ

Did You Mean MailChimp?

Mailchimp

A difficult-to-pronounce brand name became a collection of strange cultural discoveries that led people back to the business.

Mailchimp needed a broader introduction without abandoning its unconventional character. The campaign made the name itself the creative material, rather than beginning with email-software specifications. Its stated job in the award entry was to introduce the company through curiosity and individuality. The phonetic rule made very different executions belong together. A useful adaptation starts with a distinctive brand asset that audiences can actually recover: a sound, shape or recurring phrase. Random novelty can attract attention while making the sponsor harder to remember, especially for a little-known business.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Brand-name play
114
B2B technology / 20146 MIN READ

So Yeah, We Tried Slack…

Slack

A sceptical creative team became the demonstration of why a new collaboration tool was worth trying.

Sandwich says it initially rejected Slack founder Stewart Butterfield’s invitation because its existing tools seemed sufficient. The communication problem was therefore not simply explaining features. It was helping people understand why another application might improve an arrangement they already tolerated. The opening resistance gives the viewer a position they can recognise without being made to feel foolish. Identify the legitimate reason someone stays with the status quo, such as retraining costs or fragmented adoption. A useful story earns the change of mind rather than presenting hesitation as ignorance.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Customer-as-demonstrator
115
Consumer technology / 20096 MIN READ

Parisian Love

Google

A romance unfolded through search queries, making the interface itself carry an emotional product story.

Google’s contemporary account says the original aim was a series of online films about people interacting with its products, not a Super Bowl television launch. Parisian Love explored how a familiar search interface could communicate human significance without a conventional feature presentation. A useful product action can reveal desire, uncertainty and progress. Map what someone actually does over time, then choose the few moments that imply a larger journey. This is stronger than adding sentimental music to a generic screen recording with no meaningful relationship between each step.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Interface storytelling
116
Consumer technology / 20117 MIN READ

The Museum of Me

Intel

Personal Facebook material became an elegant virtual museum, making computing feel like a means of seeing your own life differently.

The award entry describes a goal of elevating Intel’s brand and promoting a new processor. Rather than asking consumers to care about an invisible component directly, the work offered a personalised experience built from material they already recognised as their own. A gallery confers attention and care on things that might otherwise look like scattered posts. The transferable move is to organise familiar information through a meaningful frame. Choose a metaphor that helps participants understand their material rather than simply adding expensive visual effects to an unchanged data feed.

790,000+
reported Facebook sharesFirst two weeks after launch in 2011 · Sharing actions reported for The Museum of Me; not unique people or purchasesEntrant case description in The One Show archive · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Personal data storytelling
117
B2B technology / 20176 MIN READ

The Wolf

HP

A cybersecurity thriller made overlooked office devices feel consequential to the entire organisation.

HP wanted businesses to recognise security risks in devices that could be overlooked, including printers and PCs. The contemporary launch framed security as a responsibility extending beyond network boundaries. The marketing challenge was to make an unglamorous product category relevant to business leaders as well as technical specialists. A printer becomes important when the story shows what its failure could affect. For a technical brand, map the real dependencies around a product before writing the drama. This can help non-specialists see why the issue matters without requiring them to understand every implementation detail.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Hidden infrastructure risk
118
B2B technology / 20137 MIN READ

Click, Baby, Click!

Adobe

A comic surge in apparently valuable activity exposed the danger of confusing dashboard numbers with understanding.

Adobe was marketing its Marketing Cloud to people who needed to interpret digital activity, not merely collect it. In a later interview, Adobe executive Alex Amado describes the film as addressing a 2013 world rich in data but short on insight, and the anxieties that created for marketers. The memorable problem is a leader committing resources on the basis of a misunderstood signal. Begin an analytical product story with a consequential decision the audience recognises. This helps explain why interpretation matters without pretending that more charts automatically produce better judgement or remove uncertainty.

Evidence note
No verified quantitative outcomeRead the documented execution and evidence limits in the study. No numeric result is claimed.
Read study, data & creative direction →Metric interpretation
119
Automotive and mobility / 20017 MIN READ

The Hire: original BMW Films

BMW

A car became the recurring tool inside stories people could choose to watch.

The original series offered a way to place BMW inside entertainment rather than a conventional feature presentation. MoMA’s contemporary programme describes eight filmmakers making short stories around the same driver and a BMW; the audience could encounter a recognizable proposition through different genres. A product can be prominent without a narrator listing its features. Ask what the protagonist can do because this product exists and whether removing it would change the story. If another brand could replace it without affecting any decision, the entertainment may have little strategic connection. The goal is a credible role, not a forced close-up in every scene.

11 million+
brand-reported first-season viewsFirst four months of the 2001 season, reported retrospectively in 2016 · Film views, not unique viewers or sales; counting method not suppliedBMW retrospective, not independent causal measurement · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Narrative utility
120
Automotive and mobility / 20116 MIN READ

The Force

Volkswagen

A familiar childhood fantasy made a convenience feature the resolution of a small family story.

The One Show entry describes a pre-launch task: make Americans aware of the redesigned 2012 Passat months before availability. The commercial needed to give an unfamiliar model a memorable introduction during a crowded advertising event. A simple human goal reduces the explanation required before the audience can follow a story. For another category, the wish might be finishing a difficult task or surprising a friend. Test whether a stranger understands the desire without your campaign deck. Familiarity is useful when it serves the product story, not when it merely supplies a popular reference.

23 million+
brand-reported YouTube viewsBy 9 February 2011 · Views of The Force as reported by Volkswagen, not unique people or purchasesVolkswagen press release, unaudited · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Family story
Return to the learning library →