Learning from the Best Ever Marketing Campaigns

Few marketing campaigns throughout history have come close to the success of some of most memorable campaigns in advertising and marketing history. Here are some of the greatest marketing campaigns of all time, and a brief explanation why they were hailed as the best ever.

Volkswagen’s “Think Small” – Launched in 1960, Volkswagen’s “Think Small” campaign has often been hailed as simply the best ever. The campaign was launched to combat American tendency to buy big American cars, which is definitely something Volkswagen isn’t known for. The masterminds of the campaign banked on a simple premise – honesty and the benefits of the economy of space, which many people can simply appreciate.

Apple’s “Get a Mac” – Launched in the wake of Apple’s downward spiral in terms of sales back in 2006, the campaign featured comedian John Hodgman as a boring representation of a PC and actor Justin Long as a youthful and hip Mac. Apple later experienced an almost 40 percent sales increase by the year’s end.

Nike’s “Just Do It” – Reebok was just a pain in the neck for Nike back in the late 80s, until they launched their “Just Do It” campaign. It brought Nike on top of the sports shoes market in almost blinding speed – sales increased from a mere $877 million in 1988 to a whopping $9.2 billion ten years later. The main formula for this campaign was the tagline’s simple but powerful message directly pointing to uncompromised athleticism and the will to win.