It’s the end of a decade. It’s that time of the year again when you look back at some of the best advertising campaigns of the decade. The ones that inspired you and made you fall in love with this profession.
Many advertising experts would, however, suggest that the quality of creativity has gone down over the last few years. Cannes in its latest report suggested that quality and number of submissions received for its coveted marketing effectiveness awards have reduced drastically. The link between creativity and effectiveness is broken as a result of short-termism. The longer-running campaigns are being judged against short-term sales effect rather than long-term growth.
A study conducted by The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, (IPA) found that the average number of very large business effects reported by campaigns that have been creatively awarded fell to little more than 1.4 in 2018, the lowest it has ever been in the 24-year run of the data. That is down from a high of around 1.9 in 2008, with the effectiveness in decline ever since.
The decline in creative effectiveness will ultimately weaken support for creativity among general management. Money spent on marketing will become a non-working budget and will be cut.
But not all is lost. We still witnessed some path-breaking campaigns in the last decade. Reassuring the advertising community that short-termism is not going to plague the industry. So without any further adieu here is our list of the best advertising campaigns of last decade 2010-2019
The Best Advertising Campaigns of the Decade
State Street – Fearless Girl 2018
State Street created an investment fund tracking US companies with a high proportion of women in senior positions – The SHE Fund. To promote the fund they partnered with McCann Newyork. The creative team at McCann took a rather combative approach to one of the symbols of male dominance in the financial sector. They decided to place a bronze girl, staring down the bull defiantly. As they wanted to emphasize on encouraging women into the boardroom, and challenging companies that didn’t do this.
Australian Public Service – Dumb Ways to Die 2012
Dumb Ways to Die is a public service announcement campaign made by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to promote railway safety. The campaign to date has 185 million views on its official YouTube Video, as well as spawning dozens of cover versions and unofficial uploads.
John Lewis – Monty the Penguin 2014
John Lewis won Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix in Cannes with its 2014 Christmas ad campaign. The campaign delivered a 903% uptick in online brand consumption for the brand.
Volvo – The Epic Split 2013
In the Epic Split, Jean-Claude Van Damme performs a split between two reversing trucks to demonstrate the stability and precision of Volvo’s dynamic steering. The film was sixth in the series of “Live Test” films produced by Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors to promote Volvo’s new European range.
Star Sports – Mauka Mauka 2015 – 2019
The campaign was conceptualized by Star Sports along with Bubblewrap Films to promote its broadcast of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Although initially planned as a standalone advert for the India–Pakistan group stage match, following the positive response for the first video, the channel made a series of adverts for each of India’s matches at the World Cup.
Airtel – Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai & 4G Girl – 2011 – 2016
The campaign released in 2011 when Airtel was fighting for mind share with Vodafone Zoozoos, Pug and Idea’s ‘What an idea, Sirji’. The campaign to this date continues to among the best jingles created for a brand and sealed Taproot’s success as an independent advertising agency.
Adobe -Do You Know What Your Marketing Is Doing? 2013-2018
In 2013, Adobe switched to the SaaS model, offering cloud-based solutions for a monthly fee. In just four years after moving to the SaaS model, the company had over 4.5 million subscribers. Adobe grew its revenue from its digital experience portfolio significantly on the back of campaigns like ‘Do you know what your marketing is doing?’.
Thai Life – 2014
Over the years, Thai Life has mastered the art of emotional storytelling. Their videos are life inspired and reach the audience at an emotional level. This also closely aligns with the brand’s social goals which are – inspired both by people and for the good of people.
