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 →

85
Alcoholic beverages / 19996 MIN READ

Surfer

Guinness

Waiting for a wave becomes a dramatic, sensory story about anticipation.

The film turns waiting and anticipation into the dramatic center of the brand story. The lesson concerns creative structure, not a verified claim that waiting improves product quality. A characteristic that might feel inconvenient can become meaningful when the brand gives it a credible context. The useful move is not to hide the friction but to explain why the experience is worth attention. Never romanticize a delay that customers reasonably expect you to remove.

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 →Anticipation
86
Travel and aviation / 20136 MIN READ

Magic of Flying

British Airways

A billboard pointed at a real aircraft and connected the moment to a destination.

D&AD describes a brief to improve consideration alongside low-cost airlines while communicating British Airways destinations and competitive pricing. The aircraft supplied visible evidence that the message referred to something real. Contextual creative is useful when the trigger changes what the audience can understand or do. Merely inserting the weather or time into unrelated copy is a weaker version of the idea.

1.36M
reported video viewsMeasurement window not stated · Video documentation, not physical billboard audience or bookingsAgency-group reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Real-time data
87
Technology and B2B / 20135 MIN READ

People for Smarter Cities: Smarter Outdoor

IBM

The advertisement became a small piece of useful urban infrastructure.

IBM’s wider smart-city positioning needed an accessible expression for city residents as well as decision-makers. The campaign invited interest in ideas for better urban life. A useful object makes an abstract service-oriented claim concrete. For B2B brands, a small public demonstration can explain a capability without reproducing the whole enterprise product. The demonstration still needs a credible connection to what the company actually provides.

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 →Utility
88
Outdoor apparel / 20116 MIN READ

Don’t Buy This Jacket

Patagonia

A retailer used Black Friday to ask customers to reconsider unnecessary consumption.

Patagonia’s stated purpose was to confront consumption and encourage people to buy less and more thoughtfully, as part of its Common Threads Initiative. A retailer asking people not to buy creates an obvious question. The useful strategic move is the answer beneath it: which purchases should people reconsider, and what is the company willing to do differently? A provocative headline without that answer risks becoming empty theatre.

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 →Consumption
89
Food and confectionery / 20106 MIN READ

You’re Not You When You’re Hungry: Game and Road Trip

Snickers / Mars

A comic change in identity turned a hunger occasion into a repeatable brand story.

The campaign positioned the product around the familiar experience of acting differently when hungry. This is an advertising premise, not a clinical claim about personality. The product resolves the central situation rather than appearing after an unrelated joke. That gives the audience a reason to connect entertainment with use. In an adaptation, ask whether removing the product leaves the story unchanged; if it does, the brand role may be weak.

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 →Transformation
90
Food and confectionery / 20136 MIN READ

Dunk in the Dark: The Blackout Tweet

Oreo / Mondelēz

A familiar product ritual made a fast response to a shared interruption immediately understandable.

During the Super Bowl XLVII blackout on 3 February 2013, the brand had a chance to respond to something its audience was experiencing together. The joke was not merely fast; it linked the event to something people already associated with the product. Before joining a moment, ask whether the brand has a simple, recognizable role. If any competitor could use the same response unchanged, speed may not create distinctive memory.

10K+
reported retweetsFirst hour, per participant retrospective · Tweet engagement, not unique people or salesParticipant-reported; not independently audited · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Moment marketing
91
Luxury retail / 20136 MIN READ

Sorry, I Spent It on Myself

Harvey Nichols

A luxury retailer made a festive joke purchasable through a deliberately cheap gift range.

The campaign challenged the conventional Christmas message of generous giving with a self-indulgent alternative, consistent with a luxury-shopping context. The unusual merchandise meant the idea did not stop at a film. Customers could take part through an object. That makes operational details important: stock, packaging, price and the recipient experience all shape whether participation is enjoyable or merely a publicity prop.

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 →Christmas
92
Alcoholic beverages / 20176 MIN READ

Worlds Apart

Heineken

A film about differences was supported by an existing organization’s real conversation format.

Heineken’s agency described a wish to build engagement and trust around openness. The film paired people with opposing views, initially without revealing those differences. The reveal makes viewers wonder whether the connection will survive new information. This is a storytelling device, not proof that a brief encounter resolves prejudice. Keep the tension grounded in participants’ dignity rather than treating a vulnerable identity as a twist for entertainment.

50M+
reported film viewsMeasurement cutoff not disclosed · Film views, not unique viewers or attitude changeAgency-reported · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Openness
93
Travel and tourism / 20097 MIN READ

The Best Job in the World

Tourism Queensland

A genuine paid island job turned destination advertising into an opportunity people could pursue.

Tourism Queensland needed international attention for the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef during a difficult tourism climate. The government launch framed the recruitment as a way to promote the destination through a person’s continuing experience rather than conventional holiday advertising. The exceptional promise worked as more than a headline because a real role sat behind it. For a smaller brand, the equivalent might be paid fieldwork, a residency or a product-testing assignment. Define duties, selection criteria and compensation before promotion. An exciting opportunity that becomes unpaid promotional labour creates a very different relationship.

34,684
reported job applicationsBy 3 March 2009 · Applications for the original Queensland island-caretaker recruitment, not visitors or bookingsQueensland Government progress announcement · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Real opportunity
94
Travel and tourism / 20187 MIN READ

Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home

Tourism Australia

An apparent film comeback became a reveal that the real destination was the attraction.

The agency’s award entry describes the goal as differentiating Australia for American travellers and creating intent to book. The campaign used familiarity with Crocodile Dundee while showing a broader, contemporary travel experience. A familiar cultural property can supply recognition quickly, but it also brings inherited stereotypes. Start by asking which associations help the current offer and which need updating. The creative job is to move the audience’s understanding, not merely remind them of something they already enjoyed.

102M+
reported social video viewsAs at June 2018 · Campaign video views on social media; not unique viewersTourism Australia campaign archive · Source →
Read study, data & creative direction →Cultural familiarity
95
Travel and tourism / 20196 MIN READ

Good Morning World

Tourism New Zealand

A repeated morning greeting let different local people make a national welcome tangible.

Special describes a move beyond scenery-led tourism communication toward the character of everyday New Zealanders. Tourism New Zealand’s launch connected that approach to manaakitanga, explaining hospitality through care, respect and treating visitors as family. A consistent greeting and time of day give the audience a pattern they can recognize. The variable is the person and place, so repetition need not mean sameness. For a small team, define a narrow format and let participants retain their natural language, interests and delivery rather than forcing everyone into one polished voice.

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 →Human welcome
96
Travel and tourism / 20227 MIN READ

OutHorse Your Email

Inspired by Iceland / Business Iceland

A horse-generated out-of-office reply made switching off from work a playful part of the holiday proposition.

The brand’s travel-trade page identifies work email as an obstacle to fully disconnecting on holiday. The campaign treated the destination not just as somewhere to go, but as a reason to stop carrying the office into the trip. The horse is memorable because it has a job inside the argument: work communication interrupts leisure. Without that tension, the same animal footage could be amusing but strategically unconnected. Identify the behaviour preventing people from receiving your service’s benefit, then make the creative response unmistakably about that behaviour.

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 →Disconnection
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