DTC716: Best Ad Campaigns 2024 Part 1

Monday, December 23, 2024

Good morning,

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal to reverse the ban set to take place on January 19th, 2025.

Arguments are set to take place on January 10th.

More on this developing story in our News section.

‍

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

⏰ We count down some of our favorite viral creative ad campaigns of the year which include embracing online hate and leveraging the song of the summer.
💰 We discuss why the days leading up to Christmas are a big sales opportunity for brands.  
✨ And… how saying no will allow you to be a better and more productive version of you for 2025.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Bird’s Choice, Los Doctores Cubanos, and Zuri & Dre. 👋

💡 The Year’s Top Attention-Grabbing Ad Campaigns

It’s time for a roundup of some of our favorite ad campaigns this year!

Some went viral, others made us laugh, but our favorites did a great job of wowing us with their creativity and connecting with their target audience.

♥️ Sweetheart Candies Situationship Campaign: The candy brand often associated with Valentine’s Day ran a different ad this year by poking fun at ‘situationships’.

‍

‍

The campaign went viral on social media, racking up over 1.2 million views on TikTok.

Users loved the spot-on cultural commentary and audiences praised the brand for selling defective products in a creative way and reducing waste.

😂 Michael Cera’s CeraVe campaign: The actor was papped holding bottles of CeraVe leading to an uptick in searches like Is Michael Cera the owner of CeraVe? In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.

‍

‍

The hilariously unhinged ads showed off the skincare brand’s sense of humor and reinstated one of its biggest selling points: it’s developed by dermatologists and not founded by an actor with a similar name.

The result? The ad spot got major praise online and over 30+ billion impressions.

💬 Glossier embraces online hate in their social media campaign: Rather than ignoring the masses asking the brand to bring back the OG formula of one of their best-selling products, the brand used negative and brutally honest comments online to make the announcement.

This was a great way to show how they were listening to customer feedback and embraced the positive and the negative.

🌭 Brat(wurst) summer campaign: Sausage brand Field and Roast took advantage of Charlie XCX’s hit album brat by putting on their own ‘Bratwurst’ campaign with this scrappy billboard creative.

‍

‍

They also took advantage of meme-vertising to promote the campaign over social media and left a lasting impression with Gen Z audiences.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s issue to see part 2 of our top ad campaigns for 2024.

🎧 Google's Holiday Trends Indicate BFCM Isn't Over!

In this All Killer No Filler episode, Dougie from Pilothouse’s Google team shares invaluable insights from Google’s latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday data.

‍

In this podcast, we covered:

• Ecommerce vs. Retail: Online sales grew 8% during Cyber 5, while retail remained flat.
• Super 5 focus: Prioritize convenience-driven messaging (shipping, pickup, gift cards) to capture late-stage shoppers.
• Category leaders: Apparel, toys, and personal care dominated Cyber 5 gifting trends.
• PMAX and YouTube: How to maximize awareness and demand generation ahead of major shopping events.
• Canada Post strike impact: Why reliable shipping messaging outperformed discounts in the Canadian market.

👉 You can listen to the full episode with Dougie here.

🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE

Saying no can be one of the most freeing acts. It can allow you to double down on what’s important and avoid burning yourself out.

‍

‍‍

⚡ QUICK HITS

🤔 Is your email segmentation (or lack of) dragging you down? Tune in to this episode of The World’s Best Email and Retention Podcast to hear the top six segmentation mistakes brands are making. Make sure you’re not making any here.

‍

💸 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• Databricks raises $10 billion, one of the biggest funding rounds in Silicon Valley history.
• Oura closes $200 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $5.2 billion.
• Cart.com acquires OceanX to expand logistics and fulfillment capabilities.

📥 Got a B2B Biz?

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

‍

Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• ❌ TWBERP 12: Top Six Email Segmentation Mistakes
• 🌱 Seed Oil Alternatives: TerViva’s Regenerative Food Approach
• 📧 AKNF 464: Gmail’s New Spam Rules Requires Sniper Segments
• 💰 TWBERP 11: The Financial Case for Email
• 🚀 Lessons from Dr. Squatch’s Walmart Launch with Martin Forde
• 🖤 AKNF 462: BFCM insights and Amazon’s Changing Ad Strategies

‍

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

‍

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.