Viral Marketing: Our Top 5 Companies

Posted 30th July 2010 by Daniel

After having a look at the success Old Spice have achieved in recent times with their lastest Advertising campaign, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the companies who have really made an impact with their advertising in recent times.

Having went through numerous companies and numerous hilarious adverts that I had forgotten in some cases, I have made the tough decision of limiting the list to 5 companies, who I think have been consistently strong in recent times. Here’s my list in no particular order:

Old Spice:
Firstly let’s take another look at the star of the moment and the company he represent’s. Their campaigns always seem to give you a good chuckle and leave a lasting memory too.

Having racked up over 110million views to date and boosting their sales by 107%, this campaign was a real success and one they will struggle to better. Actor Isaiah Mustafa has also benefited, receiving numerous roles on TV and Film as a result.

This campaign has been extremely successful as well and has been working almost in unison with the other campaign, with both sets of videos being introduced over the same time period.

Nike :
Nike have to be considered one of the giants of the advertising world, and with so many great ad’s over different genres, I’m going to have to narrow it down to their football campaigns that they have covered over the years.

This is the ad Nike put together for the most recent World Cup, entitled “Write The Future” showing numerous possible outcomes for the teams featured. Featuring everything from Opera singers to The Simpsons, it’s truly an incredible ad.

This incredibly long clip was actually broken up and played in parts relentlessly during the campaign. It inspired a generation of street football and the FIFA Street gaming series.

This one featuring the Brazilian national team stranded in an airport was one of the first to gain notoriety over the Internet and has become one of Nike’s classic ads down the years.

Budweiser:
Budweiser have long been big the UK, but they have pushed themselves to be one of the top beers in the past decade with their advertising campaigns. Driven by their popularity in the States, the adverts have become huge on video sharing sites down the years and remain popular in pop culture to this day.

The “Wasssssuuuuup” campaign seemed to drag on a bit with seemingly everyone who watched the ad’s saying the catchphrase. But it certainly stuck in your head and has been parodied countless times on television and in Movies.

The Budweiser Frogs became another guilty pleasure of viewers with the catchphrase still being used to this day. There were numerous follow up ads portraying the frogs and rivalling lizards, which firmly stuck the campaign in our minds.

Honda:
This may be a surprising one, but having taken a look back at their recent campaigns, it’s incredible to think of some of the stuff they have came up with that had people talking.

This is one of their most recent adverts which has been running for what seems like forever now. Featuring numerous Honda products with everything from a Quad Bike to a Hot Air Balloon, the guy who features in the ad was bound to have enjoyed making it.

This ad inspired numerous parodies and featured heavily on TV for a long time. Entitled simply as “The Cog” and coming under the tagline of “The Power of Dreams” just like the previous video, it aims to make you think that anything is possible.

This ad came with a very catchy backing song that had everyone singing. It’s message basically was, “If you don’t like something, change it”, and portrayed themselves as the pioneering car company going out and making changes for the better.

Along with their live advert which can be viewed Here, they certainly have had a lot of great campaigns, especially in recent times.

Coca Cola:
Now the company who for me, have to be the Kings when it comes to Viral Marketing and advertising. Coca Cola have been putting out tremendous advert after tremendous advert for the best part of the last half century and have reaped the rewards, becoming one of the biggest companies in the world.

Let’s start with what could be their most famous of all, and one of the main adverts when it comes to Christmas. I personally know numerous people who will tell you, it’s not Christmas until you see this advert on TV.

This one may not be as well known in the UK and Ireland as it is in the States, but it’s one of the most iconic ads Coke have put out throughout the years, featuring American Football star ‘Mean’ Joe Greene. It has been parodied countless times, both on TV shows and in other adverts since.

Coke’s most recent ad, for the latest World Cup features a song that has been played relentlessly this summer and became one of the official World Cup songs. The original song was mixed with the patented Coca Cola jingle to really add a bit of subliminal advertising to the works.

And Finally an ad that adds emphasis to the magic that goes into making a bottle of Coca Cola, with the machine supposedly containing a factory full of magical creatures who work together to produce the end product.