When it comes to social media campaigns it may seem like we’ve seen it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, some campaigns stand out more than others, and not always for the right reasons. Let’s take a look at some good and bad social media campaigns of the year so far.
GOOD SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS: ON THE MONEY
Brita
In June, Brita launched their #NoFilterNoFuture campaign, a thought-provoking series of images featuring influencers in stunning locations across the globe, surrounded by plastic. The campaign features recognisable influencers, including Mallory Joy, Lisa Homsy and Anastasia Ashley, and really gets you thinking!
Aimed at tackling single-use plastic waste, the campaign shows plastic-riddled images side by side with a clean, plastic-free version, highlighting the effect plastic is having on the planet.
Greggs
When Greggs announced the launch of their vegan sausage roll back in ‘Veganuary’ (aka January) on Twitter, they succeeded in breaking the internet. The 37 second video showcased the new sausage roll as if it was the latest iPhone, and received over five million views. The social media team also received praise for their witty responses.
Whether people hated the idea, as Piers Morgan clearly did, or loved the new addition to the menu, everyone was talking about the #vegansausageroll, which went on to sell out in Greggs stores across the country.
Nike
Nike’s Instagram campaign supporting England’s Lionesses was a true and authentic celebration of female talent and determination. They enlisted three female rappers to pay tribute to three top players, Lucy Bronze, Fran Kirby and Steph Houghton. The short videos presented clips of football matches and home videos, showcasing the players’ journey to football success…of course all wearing their Nike kit!
BAD SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS: MISSED THE MARK
Ancestry
Ancestry launched one of the worst social media campaigns back in April which totally missed the mark. The YouTube campaign, aimed at encouraging people to do a DNA test to find out more about their heritage, depicted a romantic love story set in the 1800’s, showing a fictional relationship between a white man and black woman in America’s Deep South.
Twitter exploded with claims of ignorance and racism, accusing Ancestry of romanticising the struggles of black women in American history. The video has since been removed and Ancestry have apologised for any offence caused.
Adidas
Adidas recently trialled the use of artificial intelligence to promote their new kit for the Arsenal football team, which quickly backfired and became one of the worst social media campaigns of the year so far. The Twitter-based campaign saw Adidas encourage followers to use the #DaretoCreate hashtag which would prompt an automatic reply of a customised Arsenal shirt.
Whilst the technology worked well in allowing followers to get their name on the new team shirts, it was also far too easy for trolls to abuse and manipulate, allowing anti-Semitic, offensive and inappropriate messages to be tweeted from the Adidas account.
Missguided
Sustainability issues have definitely been at the centre of attention this year, and clothing brand Missguided were quite mislead when they decided to launch a £1 bikini on Instagram. The swimwear was launched in June 2019 just in time for the summer following a teaser campaign with snapshots of glamorous models wearing the bikini.
With the bikini’s launch, Missguided received widespread backlash on their posts, about the unsustainability of the product and how it could be sold at such a low price. Despite the backlash, the bikini sold out, and was restocked twice with the same price tag, bringing to mind an old saying, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
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