This year's most imaginative advertising campaigns--as selected by a panel of advertising executives--spanned categories as diverse as toaster pastries, children's candy and even a beer brand in Argentina. Our judges who selected them were Tor Myhren, president of Grey, the advertising agency; Andrew Essex, CEO of ad agency Droga5; Peter Viento, an executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi's shopping marketing group; Curt Detweiler, executive creative director at McCann Erickson; and Will Payovich, Euro RSCG's creative director.
Alicia Keys' "Digital Life Sacrifice"
The R&B singer sure knows how to use social media to inject new life into a cause. Keys teamed up with fellow Hollywood glitterati including Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Kim Kardashian for a campaign that raised $1 million for AIDS awareness in just six days. How did they do it? Star influence aside, Keys tapped into consumers' obsession with social media. Fans just can't bear it when their favorite celebrities sign off their Twitter or Facebook accounts. And so, to bring back the "digitally dead," who pledged not to tweet until their fundraising goals were met, fans gave.
Procter & Gamble's Old Spice
Procter & Gamble turned Old Spice into a sexy household hit with a highly lauded viral campaign featuring former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa. The Old Spice Guy, as he came to be called, had men and women alike lusting for the products as he bared his chest amid taglines like, "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." A follow-up series of videos, shot in response to consumers' questions submitted via Facebook and Twitter, along with a Sesame Street ad spoof, helped Old Spice soar to first place in the U.S. male body wash and deodorant category.
BMW's Mini Clubman Airport Pitch
In a guerrilla marketing effort created by two Miami Ad School students, BMW Group installed the backs of Mini Clubmans in the spot where luggage spits out in German airport luggage carousels. The message: The compact vehicle holds a lot more stuff than you'd think--9.2 cubic feet, vs. 6 for its Mini predecessor. And what better place to emphasize space than at the airport, where everyone worries about how much they're traveling with?
Jay-Z's Decoded Autobiography Launch
Jay-Z's autobiography, Decoded, would have sold on the merits of the singer's name alone, but the rapper took a step beyond mere star power. He teamed up with the agency Droga5 to blow up all 320 pages of his book and showcase them in glamorous locations that included a Miami pool bottom and the Spotted Pig restaurant in New York City. Fans could get to read the entire book in advance by unlocking a series of online clues. Microsoft got a nice plug out of the deal, as consumers had to use Bing rather than Google's search engine to participate in the game. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Target Kaleidoscope Fashion Spectacular
For the launch of its fall fashion line, Target ditched e-mail, circular and television marketing and instead took over New York City's Standard Hotel. The retailer peddled its latest fashions via a choreographed LED light and dance show where models moved fluidly from one room to the next. The company rented 155 rooms total for the August stunt.
Andes Beer "Teletransporter" Booths
Who wants their absent girlfriend or boyfriend to know they're out at a bar downing beers? Andes, a top-selling beer in Argentina, came up with a way to profit from that worry. The company installed soundproof booths inside bars and nightclubs. At the touch of a button, beer lovers could instantly create a cover-up background sound for making a phone call. The alternative realities even included a hospital emergency room--although that might lead to still more explaining.
Carrot Farmers Launch Junk Food Fight
In September baby-carrot growers began a campaign to win back sales lost to the recession and junk food purveyors by repackaging their healthy snacks in bags evoking their biggest junk-food rival: Frito-Lay's Cheetos. A marketing onslaught followed, including a Doritos look-alike packaging, billboards proclaiming the food as "the original orange doodles" and a smartphone app where listeners could hear the sound of carrots crunching.
Smart USA's "Against Dumb" Movement
How do you stand out big if you're the smallest car out there? Smart, the ultra mini automobile sold by Daimler, suggested to consumers that its cars were great with a social media effort crusading "against dumb." Dumb behavior included things like ordering a "Venti when Tall is plenty" or "eating anything bigger than your head." In other words, small is cool.
Kellogg and Nestle's Pop-Up Stores
Pop-up stores have been around for a while, but Kellogg and Nestlé used new retail locations in New York's Times Square to put a new spin on favorite products. Kellogg, looking to give sales of its Pop-Tarts some extra pop, served a sushi version of the popular toaster pastry at its Big Apple venue. Nestlé's Wonka, meanwhile, set up shop inside the Toys "R" Us at the crossroads of the world, with a store that sold goodies such as "swirled candy pieces" and "larger-than-life candy mushrooms."
