2014 Review: The best campaigns

Always

Martin Filz, CEO, EMEA of Lightspeed GMI: “#Likeagirl for P&G by Leo Burnett Toronto – anyone with young children can relate to this ad campaign. As a father to three girls I see first-hand how they know no boundaries or limitations due to their gender.”

Durex

Andrew Wiseman, MD of ICM Unlimited: “The Durex #turnofftoturnon campaign was aimed at tackling one of the biggest problems in modern relationships: technology. The insight behind the campaign being that 60% of couples spend more time on their phones/tablets in bed than having sex.  The Durex campaign linked with Earth Hour, to provide the perfect environment to turn off their phones. The results of this social campaign were hugely impressive: 64 million video views; 268 million engagements; 300 million PR impressions (including TV, radio and newspaper coverage); over 1.5 billion total impressions in more than 50 countries.”

Save the Children

Frederic Charles Petit, founder and chief executive of Toluna: “How can I not say, ‘Most shocking second a day’ by Save the Children? A very powerful campaign, and a good reminder to us all about the tragedies of current world affairs.”

Sainsbury’s

David Howlett, strategic planning director of MMR: “Sainsbury’s nailed it with its Christmas advert. It got it just right, especially in contrast to John Lewis. The low price point of the featured product worked hugely in its favour and, for me, it positioned it as a bold, confident and caring British brand.”

Better Together

Ben Hogg, MD, EMEA – portfolio business of Research Now: “Not sure about best, but certainly one of the most ridiculed (yet ultimately successful) campaigns, was the Better Together ‘The woman who made up her mind’ campaign. Depicting a mother on a tea break mulling over whether to vote yes or no to Scottish independence before deciding that it sounded too good to be true…it led to an outpouring of tweets from outraged people claiming the advert to be sexist, and harking back to the Harry Enfield ‘Women, Know Your Limits!’ satirical sketches.”

Tomorrow: biggest success stories of 2014