Ads are getting more creative and more versatile as the years go by. With unlimited mediums and modes to reach your customers, marketers flex their fingers and unleash their ingenuity to create some of the best ad campaigns. And, with a little bit of brainstorming, you can get it done too. So here are the ten best retail ad examples to get you started!
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s begin!
1. Pizza Hut – Frozen Pizzas? Nahh!
When you have a myth to debunk about your business, you can either go the long way of releasing proof, documentation and so on.,
Or you can do this!
This creative retail ad example is a Pizza Hut prank!
Pizza Hut retailed its frozen pizzas at supermarkets, and the people who bought them were in for a pleasant surprise. When the box opened, there was nothing inside but a pamphlet!
The pamphlet said that Pizza Hut does not do frozen pizzas and their pies are made fresh. Instead, the box contained a coupon for a free pizza from any of their outlets.
With a clever campaign, they not only promoted their pizzas but also busted an age-old myth, that fast food companies use frozen dough bases. 2 birds in 1 stone!
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra – Make it Ultra
Associating your product with a specific activity or emotion is a common marketing strategy that has been used for some time.
Similarly, Samsung launched its Watch Ultra with features such as military-grade durability, water resistance, and better battery life making it suitable for adventurers. And Samsung has placed and marketed their product as such.
With featured demonstration videos, they explain these features to their audience and make it a no-brainer for adventure enthusiasts to possess these watches.
This adrenaline-fuelled video is just another sample of how they associate their product with thrill and adventure.
3. Dove – Real Beauty!
When talking about retail ads, the list will be incomplete without talking about Dove’s real beauty campaign. Dove Real Beauty’s campaign targets a most common problem faced by a lot of women.
With the evolving Internet and societal beauty standards, it is hard for real women to embrace their authentic beauty. With the uprise of AI, this beauty standard has only skyrocketed. Dove took to scale this common issue and made it their campaign.
To further portray their support towards authenticity, they created their version of beautiful women against AI-approved beautiful women. And the result is empowering!
4. Aldidas – Doing Right by their Customers
Playful, Audacious, and Simply spectacular – that is what this Aldidas campaign was all about.
Aldi is a popular UK-based supermarket that offers budget versions of popular branded products without compromising on quality. And for this very reason, they have found themselves on the wrong side of the law several times too.
But when they decided to launch a sportswear shoe brand, they planned it cleverly and escaped copyright infringement – which later became Aldidas!
The result of this clever campaign was a massive success. They sold out in 4 hours, broke the Internet, and even landed a sponsorship deal with a football team.
Don’t believe us? Check this video out!
5. IKEA – The Life Collection
IKEA wanted to address the popular concern that a lot of their furniture goes to waste every year because the users do not find the need for it.
Their second-hand buying and selling policy was a game-changer where they combatted this issue and reduced their part in waste generation.
The way they conveyed this message to their audience was artful and captivating. Check out the above video to know how they did it.
6. Sleepzone – P(illow)tics
Hilarious ads are amazing. They are bold, stop-worthy, and manage to convey the message in an effective manner.
Here is another example from Sleepzone, a retailer who reiterates the importance of sleeping well in your bedroom, so you can work better in the outside world. Their creative ad idea of using pictures of politicians sleeping in unprofessional timings and places drives this point home.
7. Schwarzkopf – Icons of You
It is one thing to say that you are a diversified company, and it is another to gain social proof of that.
Inclusivity and diversity are something that is thrown around boardrooms – but Schwarzkopf took those terms, put their own spin on it, and made it their next big marketing thing.
And the result was mind-blowing!
Here is what Schwarzkopf did. For years, they had the same icon for their brand, which they identified as perfect hair. But hair is personal for everyone, so they took real-life people and created new icons that reflected their versions of perfect hair.
They took it a step further and added a filter to social media handles where people can create their own icons and share them on their socials, which was a great tactic. And it did pay off!
8. Maison Blanche – DNA Collection
Crimes against women are a sensitive topic that needs to be handled with a gentle touch. This is exactly how Maison Blanche did it – they not only addressed the issue but also raised awareness against some common mistakes.
The survivors usually take a shower and wash their clothes after a sexual violence act, which leads to the loss of DNA and other incriminating evidence.
To avoid this from happening, Maison Blanche started including tags to let people know not to do that. To bring attention to this tag, they organized a whole fashion show with its main focus on this.
And they also included downloadable tags that other brands can use for their products.
This meaningful step towards supporting survivors and making them aware of these sensitive issues has garnered a lot of attention and also the support of many worldwide organizations.
9. Diesel – Haute Couture
In this world of online bullying and hate comments, rising above them and staying with a positive attitude is vital.
This bold and humorous retail ad example from Diesel focuses on just that. Embedded with a star-studded cast of celebrities who have been on the receiving end of online hate for some time, come together to showcase their worst insults and convey one stronger message – “The more hate you wear, the less you care”
Diesel has always been on the forefront of making audacious and bold ads and this just stays on point with their brand. And they did not stop with just an ad, they created a way for people to customize this line’s products with the worst comment they received. Furthermore, they donated the proceeds of this line to a charity that combats bullying.
10. TMall – One Shoe Project
China has a large number of amputees and people who cannot afford or do not prefer prosthetic usage, have no way but to pay for a pair of shoes when they need only one.
This is the exact problem the e-commerce platform Tmall set out to solve. Together they collaborated with 7 footwear brands and launched the #oneshoeproject where disabled people can buy one shoe for half the price. They even bought in Chinese national Para games athletes to help promote the product.
One Last Thing
Ads have transcended from mere instruments of promoting products to a form of communication between brands and the public. Through ads, companies have started expressing their brand ideals and values to make themselves more relatable to their target audience.
In such times, run-of-the-mill ads are not what the audience needs. Predis AI helps create ads and social media posts that are customer-oriented, without you having to spend too much time on it!
With in-built scheduling and advanced AI features, Predis AI can be your one-stop solution for all social media and ad requirements!
FAQs:
Analyze these retail ads to see why they stand out. Whether creativity, the content copy the visuals, or a combination of all, take notes of these points. With these points in mind, brainstorm on how you can use these strategies for your brand.
When creating an ad, keep in mind your brand ideals and identity. Make ads with bold colors and layouts and include dynamic elements that will make people want to watch. But most important of all, keep the content and flow smoothly so that your audience will understand the message easily.
Overloading your ad with too much information can take away your audience’s attention. Therefore have a clear idea of your main message and focus on it so that you can get it across easily.
