After reading my previous blog entry, you’re probably thinking I’m a raging cynic. However as opinionated as I am about terrible brand campaigns, I am equally passionate about the positively awesome ones. Many ad campaigns fly under the radar because they are neither ground breaking nor painful to watch. It’s always the particularly great and exceptionally bad campaigns that get attention. So, in this blog I will show you my optimistic glass-half-full side.

Dos Equis

I have to say, Dos Equis has really done a fabulous job with their Most Interesting Man campaign. Coming into the campaign’s fourth year, Dos Equis has truly developed a brand figure that communicates sophistication, class, elegance and smoothness. There are generally two types of ads: one features the man in a bar environment giving advice or opinion about various subjects, and the other features a narrator describing the man’s distinguishing, but frequently absurd, background. Not only does it cause the Dos Equis brand to shine as a premier beer, but this particular spokesperson makes the brand and product unforgettable in an already saturated market. “The Most Interesting Man in the World” really is everything a spokesperson should be: entertaining, captivating and engaging. Take a look at a couple of my favorites:

One of the first ads aired back in 2007:

• His commentary on the art of being a Wingman is genius:

My hats off to the good people at Dos XX, who crafted such a relevant and likeable spokesperson. Humor can be one of branding’s most effective tools, but only when it is strategically aimed at a target audience. These guys nailed the development of a brand figure that positively represents the brand and communicates taste, smoothness and value.

Old Spice

Old Spice has been keeping men smelling fresh for 71 years. A seemingly “grandpa” brand did a one-eighty with their new campaign this year. Leading this improved ad crusade is their new spokesperson, The Old Spice Guy. He’s a television an internet phenom who’s got girls running out and buying their men new deodorant. Recognizing their old branding needed retirement, Old Spice openly compares their old look with their new packaging, which was apparently “forged from molten awesomeness.”  Being such an established brand, Old Spice wasn’t in any danger of falling off the shelves, but they definitely shot themselves to the top of the deodorant world. It really is an updated look with the same message they’ve had for generations: class, physique and eloquence for the real man.

Won’t we all be as smooth and blatantly remarkable if we wear Old Spice? Not only have they created hip, off the wall ads with a hot spokesman, who has impeccable comedic timing, but they have constructed an entire viral video campaign to back it up. The Old Spice Man has been answering (in a towel no less) fans’ questions via Twitter and Yahoo.

Old Spice has done a phenomenal job attracting and interacting with a wide range audience. Most importantly, they created national buzz and attention for Old Spice, a brand as old as the hills that’s lay dormant for far too long. Welcome back to the game Old Spice.

Kia

I probably didn’t give hamsters a second thought before Kia Soul Hamsters made their way onto my television. It isn’t because hamsters are on the lamer side of the rodent family, but because using them as the spokespeople (or animals) for a car company is totally off beat. Kia came up with a way to advertise their inexpensive boxy cars, or toasters as many of their loyal owners have affectionately called them, as fun and hip. These are adjectives that were not typically associated with Kia’s products prior to this campaign, check it out.

When the first “a new way to roll” campaign caught the attention of pop culture, Kia seized the opportunity to ride the viral commercial wave. So they did what any smart company would; they conjured up more ideas. Here is an example of the newer/hipper commercials that have been airing more recently:

Whether you think the hip hop hamsters are brilliant, or just find them to be completely creepy, you notice them. Kia has truly succeeded in bringing attention and revenue to a brand that was flying pretty far below the Toyotas and Volvos of the industry.

Brand campaigns like the ones detailed in this blog are the reason I started my own branding firm. However, being in the industry as long as I have, I learned how to spot the good brands, as well as the bad. It’s important to celebrate success, but point out failure as a means to learn and grow as a company and brand.