Top 10 online marketing campaigns of the decade

The poll, conducted by online branded content distributor GoViral, revealed that ‘Mentos experiments with Diet Coke’ by Eepybird was the most popular campaign.

Closely following Eepybird’s experiments was Dove’s ‘Evolution’ campaign in second with ‘Will it Blend’ by Blendtec coming in third (top ten below).

40 campaigns were shortlisted by a panel of digital and online advertising experts including Ajaz Ahmed, founder AKQA, Martin Bailie, head of planning at Glue, Jason Goodman, founder of Albion, Hugo Drayton, CEO at Inskin Media, journalist Gareth Jones and GoViral Chairman Jimmy Maymann.

The campaigns were then put to a vote through a global online panel, and 1,099 people voted overall.

Maymann said: “Mentos experiments with Diet Coke by Eepybird was incredibly popular. But what made it a game changer was that initially Mentos and Diet Coke didn’t know about it. It proved conclusively that in the internet age, when it’s so easy for people to create content and broadcast it, brands no longer have full control over their marketing. It also proved that brands who embrace what’s happening around them in social media can go on to achieve incredible results.”

TOP 10 CAMPAIGNS 2000 – 2009

1.      2006: Eepybird.com - Mentos + Diet Coke experiments

http://www.eepybird.com/dcm1.html

(Nominated by: Jimmy Maymann)

This campaign was never planned, neither by The Coca Cola Company nor Mentos. It started out as an experiment by Eepybird. A qualified guess would be that more than 60 million people have seen the clips that made Eepybird, Coke and Mentos internet stars.

2.      2006: Dove – Evolution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

(Nominated by Gareth Jones)

A great example of a corporate brand using the web to gain the trust of consumers. Taking internet users behind the scenes of the fashion industry allowed Dove to occupy the moral high ground, no mean feat I think you’ll agree!

3.      2006: Blendtec – Will it blend

http://www.blendtec.com/willitblend/

(Nominated by: Jimmy Maymann)

Some people and marketing campaigns succeed in life against all odds. Tom Dickson and Blendtec are two great examples. 90 videos and 100 million views later he, Blendtec and “will it blend” are forever part of internet history. 

4.      2007: Diesel – Heidies 15mb of fame

http://www.farfar.se/awards/cannes2007/heidies/

(Nominated by: Jimmy Maymann)

Heidies was all the reason Diesel usually succeeds. Doing something the others wouldn’t dare and doing it in a way that is highly surprising – and very sexy.

5.      2004: Burger King - Subservient Chicken

http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/subservient-chicken.html

(Nominated by: Jason Goodman)

A man in a chicken suit willing to do whatever you tell him: what’s not to like? This is undoubtedly one of the most memorable campaigns of all time.

6.      2008: Obama’s online campaign

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/ofasplashpresident/

(Nominated by Martin Bailie, Gareth Jones)

Barack Obama’s digital campaign was truly game changing. A great use of online advertising, social media and mobile allowed Obama to connect with millions of young, influential voters in a way that will act as a blueprint for all future political campaigns.

7.      2000: John West – Bear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU

(Nominated by Gareth Jones & Jimmy Maymann)

One of the most forwarded videos ever, Leo Burnett’s ad featuring a kickboxing Kodiac bear arguably marked the birth of viral marketing.

8.      2009: Tourism Queensland - Best Job in the World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-rsong4xs

(Nominated by Gareth Jones)

This campaign extended far beyond the web to effectively become the world’s greatest PR stunt – generating more than £50m of equivalent paid-for ad space. Anyone still need convincing of the power of social media? No, I didn’t think so.

9.      2008: Burger King - Whopper sacrifice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI4uzOAtPiE

(Nominated by: Jason Goodman)

Delete ten friends and get a free whopper. Eventually removed by Facebook itself. Genius because it tapped into an existing truth - everyone has friends on Facebook you care so little about, you'd swap them for a whopper.

10.     2008: Cadbury’s - Gorilla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo

(Nominated by Hugo Drayton)

This was a game-changer in its humour, broad appeal and in showcasing that digital advertising can reach a wider (non-web-centric) audience.

Analysis from Jimmy Maymann, chairman at goviral:

“Looking at the shortlist of 40 campaigns chosen by our panel of experts for the most significant online campaign of the decade, I admit that I was glad not to be picking the winner. Brands like Burger King, Nike, Skype, Orange, Cadbury and many others have combined creativity and insight to use the internet to create uniquely memorable and effective campaigns.

“It has indeed been a remarkable ten years for online marketing. But for me the most significant change that advancing technology has brought to marketing is the unprecedented level of interaction between brands and consumers (and detractors).

“Brands still need market insight, the creative ideas and media planning that agencies provide. But now consumers can take your marketing strategy and strengthen it, change it or destroy it. And there’s not a lot you can do about it. The power of consumers to take what would once just have been private thoughts and broadcast them to the world has been the most powerful game changing force in marketing in the past ten years.

“This individual consumer power is reflected perfectly in the ‘Mentos experiments with Diet Coke’ campaign which has won our poll of the most significant online campaign of the decade. It was never planned by The Coca Cola Company or Mentos and simply started life as an experiment by Eepybird with a video showing two men dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet coke.

“The experiments generated massive PR coverage and thousands of consumers contributed their own eruption videos. These have been seen as many as 60 million times. Rumours about the dangers of drinking Diet Coke and eating Mentos at the same time also did the rounds. On the other hand, can anyone honestly remember Diet Coke’s or Mentos’ ‘official’ marketing from 2006?

“Those brands that understood this new reality and embraced it have gone on to achieve similar success. Of course there is a lot more planning these days and with the internet so crowded the need for bought media to get the ball rolling had become ever more important. But the truth remains that brands who earn the trust and engagement of consumers will see the reach and effectiveness of campaigns multiplied again and again. Dove ‘evolution’ which placed second in our poll is a brilliant example of this.

“Looking ahead to the next decade, the level of conversation and interaction between brands and consumers is only going to increase further. The arrival of twitter and real time search is already making this conversation more ‘live’ than ever before. If the past decade wasn’t exciting enough for you, the next one certainly will.”

To view the winners’ campaigns go to:

http://www.goviral.com/game_changers.php

To see a full list of nominees for the best online marketing campaign of the decade go to:

http://www.goviral.com/game_changers_nominees.php

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