The brands which know secrets of viral advertising win people’s hearts. This year, the range of public favorites included know-all Isaiah Mustafa holding a bottle of Old Spice shower gel, a guy in Levi’s jeans who embarked on a trip across America, sport celebrities commissioned by Nike to star in spots about their future and many more. Let’s look back to explore which videos, to our mind, were the most contagious this year.
It’s almost impossible to figure out which videos (and campaigns they represent) became the most viral during 2010, so we place 10 most prominent of them in the alphabetical order.
adidas and Star Wars
George Lucas can rejoice—his epic space opera ‘Star Wars’ became the leading theme of a new adidas Originals collection, launched earlier this year. During the campaign, the campaign, which supported the launch, the brand introduced a range of videos, including the one with Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, Calle 13, DJ Neil Armstrong and Daft Punk.
Cadbury and A dairy milk chocolate charmer who mixes science and magic
Cadbury is one of the viral leaders of the previous years, the serious kids with dancing eyebrows and a drumming gorilla greatly contributed to the portfolio of its contagious adverts. This spring, the chocolate maker and its Glass and a Half Full Productions Studio introduced a new spot about sweet magic.
Google and Chrome’s unconventional speed tests
Google promoted its browser, Chrome, with a video showcasing how the new software is tested. The developers compared the speed of loading a page with the speed of soundwaves, potato canon and lightning. Very convincing.
Greenpeace vs. Kit Kat: Greenpeace asks to give a break to orangutans
Even being a vegetarian and an animal protection activist, you may be killing poor orangutans merely by eating… Kit Kat. How? The non-governmental environmental organization explains it in a controversial video featuring an office workers who is “having a break, having a KitKat,” which turns into a red hairy animal finger. The idea behind the video was that for manufacturing this confectionary Kit Kat destroys forests for palm oil and so kills orangutans, living there. Nestlé, the brand’s owner, later had to release a statement saying it was not guilty of the problem.
Levi’s and the guy who walks across America
The iconic jeans brand sponsored a two-week walking tour across the U.S. to support the launch of its new line. The spot, which became of this summer’s hits, features Mike, a guy who started his journey in New York and finished it in San Francisco.
Nike and Footballers who write the future
This summer, one of the biggest sportswear brands created a campaign to inspire athletes to make it big and take only well thought-out decisions. The brand went imaginative and suggested what the life of popular footballers might be if one day they failed.
Old Spice and the Man your man could smell like
The whole thing started in spring when Isaiah Mustafa first appeared in Old Spice adverts as the all-mighty macho. The spots about a dream-man were soon followed by a series of hilarious videos where the star answered tricky questions from the audience.
Puma and Sport fans singing a Valentine’s Day serenade at a pub
Every girl loves it when her boyfriend or husband sings her a serenade, but what about if it’s not from one man but from a group of singing guys? That must be a hidden desire of any lady on this planet. Ahead of this year’s Valentine’s Day, Puma made this come true.
Samsung and Animal-friendly hunting
To promote the launch of its wireless headsets, the brand released a series of commercials about an unlucky hunter and forest animals equipped with a new device. Since the animals can easily communicate and tell others about the danger, they manage to escape. Some kind of a Greenpeace-inspired spot, isn’t it?
Smirnoff Ice and ‘Icing Bros’ game
Probably, the craziest campaign of the year. The movement, which was launched in the USA this spring saw young adults ‘icing’ each other—drinking Smirnoff Ice in the most unconventional ways and in situations which usually require to remain sober. The videos on the www.brosicingbros.com website (which now is empty) documented how the participants of this game ‘got iced’ or ‘were icing’ others.