2016 had its ups and downs, as with any year gone by. ‘Tis the season to recap the highlights: best sports plays, celeb breakups, food trends, social media blunders, top tech companies to watch, and all the other defining moments that made 2016 so very…interesting. We could go on all day about the best of 2016, but the four below really took the cake.
1. The Cubbies. What’s the last thing you can remember doing for 108 consecutive years? Just kidding. But really, that was the story for the Chicago Cubs, until the final out of Game 7 on November 2. Immediately following that last out, Nike aired their touching spot “Goodbye Someday”. This was a beautiful marriage of awesome creative and media capitalizing on a monumental day in sports history.
2. The Intentional Photoshop Fail. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition got a hilariously rebellious back cover this year, thanks to Snickers. We all know the “you’re not you when you’re hungry” ads, and Snickers did not disappoint with a comical rendition of photo airbrushing. It’s true, photo re-touchers get confused when they’re hungry.
3. Ask for Angela. Ad Week’s number one most read ad story of 2016, a poster in a women’s restroom in England single handedly combats sexual assault. Some poster copy reads, “Are you on a date that isn’t working out?” If you go to the bar and ask for “Angela”, the bar staff will now that you need help getting out of your situation and will help you out discreetly.” A powerful message communicated in a new way to get audience’s attention.
4. Thanks for the memories. As marketers, we know that data is power and the amount of information that brands and platforms collect on us is fascinating…and even a little creepy. Spotify NAILED it when they used a pool of listener data to craft this global OOH campaign. Headlines included, “Dear person who played ‘Sorry’ 42 times on Valentine’s Day, what did you do?” Spotify proving that big data is not killing creativity in marketing.
These four moments topped the charts as we celebrate the humorous brands, and the brands that capitalize on important moments and give us all the feels. No doubt 2016 was one for the books, but we’re ready for what 2017 will bring. Oh, and we’ll make a note to mix up our Spotify lists in 2017, too.
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