Top 10 Most Groundbreaking Ad Campaigns

Ads featuring down-to-earth people, who are usually played by actors, looking at a company’s products are nothing new or revolutionary. However, back in the early 1990s, IKEA managed to be ahead of the curve by giving one of these tried and true commercials the unexpected twist of featuring a gay couple. The ad, which featured a pair of men shopping for a dining room table together was the first one to feature an LGBTQ couple. Despite IKEA receiving threats and boycotts, the company continued airing the ad, helping bring representation in advertising to an underrepresented demographic.

Absolut Vodka, which is one of highest selling brands of vodka in the world, initially struggled against its competitors. However, all that changed when it introduced an ad campaign centered around the brand’s distinctive bottle in the early 1980s. Ads are typically simple, featuring the bottle and a caption, usually with some variation on “Absolut quality.” The ad campaign holds a record for being the longest uninterrupted one ever and was one of the first major campaigns for vodka, helping turn what was once a just another product into something more.

https://vinepair.com/articles/the-20-best-selling-vodka-brands/

Bending the truth and manipulating the consumer are longstanding methods of many ad campaigns, so this slogan and campaign from Avis definitely broke the mold. In the early 1960s, Avis began an ad series that acknowledged their status as the second most popular car rental company in America, and even stated that they believed it was a plus, since it meant they would try harder to earn renters’ business. People found Avis’ honesty refreshing, and “we try harder” remained the company’s slogan for decades afterward. Wouldn't you love it if more companies were upfront about their shortcomings?

Mascots are a time-honored part of advertising, but few mascot campaigns have been as successful as the Marlboro Man. Created in 1954 to sell Marlboro filtered cigarettes, which were then considered “ladylike”, the Marlboro Man was a rugged cowboy figure that completely flipped the image of the brand on its head. Marlboro managed to sell a lifestyle along with its product, causing its customers to identify with the cowboy mascot. The campaign’s success is all the more impressive, since it managed to increase profits at the point where the harmful effects of smoking were just coming to light; effects that proved deadly for several Marlboro Men.

An Italian clothing company, Benetton is perhaps best known for their United Colors of the World clothing line. While it was founded in 1965, the clothing line first caught people’s attention in the 1980s with the “All the Colors of the World” campaign, which featured people from different races, ethnic groups, and cultures in Benetton clothing. The campaign was a major milestone in celebrating multicultural and multiracial representation in popular media and helped give Benetton an identity of its own. This identity is one it has continued to display in its advertisements to this day after ultimately evolving into the more well-known United Colors of Benetton campaign.

Who knew such a simple question could be so effective? This 1993 ad campaign was created by the Milk Processor Board of California to increase sales of everyone's favorite cereal vehicle. Beginning with the famed “Aaron Burr” ad, which was directed by Michael Bay of all people, the “Got Milk” campaign features people in humorous situations that would be assisted by drinking milk. The comedic nature of the commercials and the simple, memorable slogan spawned dozens of imitators and helped bring more entertainment to advertisements.

Diamond jewelry and especially diamond engagement rings weren’t always the status symbol they are today. After the Great Depression, despite having a practical monopoly on the market, De Beers had trouble selling them, as people saw them as an expensive and unnecessary luxury - much like today’s generation. However, in 1947, De Beers hit on a slogan and an ad campaign that changed people’s attitudes towards the common stones – “A diamond is forever.” The tagline tied the pure carbon stones’ durability to eternal love, and this notion lingers even today.

Simplicity can be the mother of invention too. Volkswagen had difficulty selling its cars, particularly the Beetle, in the United States, due to their odd appearance and German origin. However, that began to change with the company’s “Think Small” campaign in 1959, which featured minimalistic ads highlighting the car's size. The simple format and self-deprecating approach were in stark contrast to most ads of the time, which were either fantastical or dully informative, and “Think Small”, along with its equally self-aware successor, “Lemon”, launched a new wave of ads focused on trimming the fat and connecting with consumers.

One of the most famous ad campaigns and slogans in the world, Nike's “Just Do It” first appeared in an 1988 ad featuring an elderly man running across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was something he apparently did daily. The ad campaign’s message is simple, but its impact has been profound. Nike managed to tie buying its shoes to being a first step towards becoming athletic. Other ads have built identity into their campaigns, but few have managed it as effectively as Nike, as “just do it” has become the motto of athletes everywhere and even a kind of self-help affirmation.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Felix Baumgartner Red Bull Stratos Space Jump
Red Bull (2012)

Hilltop

Coca-Cola (1971)

Rufen

Boots Group (1983)

Can this be called an ad campaign if its commercial aired only once on local outlets and then once more nationally? Regardless, the influence of this commercial was too great to deny it the top spot on our list. ired during the 1984 Super Bowl and directed by Ridley Scott, this commercial depicted a dystopian environment similar to George Orwell’s novel, 1984. Featuring a woman running with a hammer to smash the Big Brother-style screen controlling the masses, the ad smashed not only people’s expectations of how cinematic commercials could be, but also of computers themselves, shifting their image to one of personal freedom.