10 Outstanding Marketing Campaigns from 2023

10 Outstanding Marketing Campaigns from 2023

Reviewing successful digital marketing campaigns can generate ideas and strategies for your own brand.

Here is a list of outstanding marketing campaigns from established companies in 2023. The campaigns feature generative AI, celebrity spots, unusual partnerships, retrospectives, looks to the future, new audiences, mission-led content, physical pop-ups, and user-generated content.

McDonald’s: Grimace’s Birthday

In the summer, McDonald’s ran a campaign to celebrate Grimace’s birthday. Customers could order a Grimace Birthday Meal featuring a limited-edition purple shake. McDonald’s also launched an exclusive video game and Grimace-inspired merch, and fans could visit McDonald’s Instagram story and share a picture of their favorite birthday memory via the “add yours” sticker. For every photo shared, McDonald’s donated $5 (up to $200,000) to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Dunkin’ with Ben Affleck

Throughout 2023, Dunkin’ created a series of comedy spots with Ben Affleck and his production company, Artists Equity. In the spots, Affleck celebrates the Massachusetts-based brand and his connection with the area. The spots are a reminder of the power of the simple, funny video on social media with young audiences.

Heineken’s ‘Not All Nights Out are Out’

Heineken launched this year the “Not All Nights Out are Out” marketing campaign, its first targeted at the gaming culture. Celebrating online entertainment and gaming socialization, its main video spot, “Just Another Night Out,” tells the story of four individuals navigating end-of-day obstacles to a fun social night of multi-player gaming and their shared digital space.

Coca-Cola’s ‘Create Real Magic’

This year, Coca-Cola joined the generative AI discussion when it invited digital creative pros to generate original artwork with iconic assets from the Coca‑Cola archives. Built exclusively for Coca‑Cola by OpenAI and Bain & Company, Create Real Magic leverages GPT-4, which produces human-like text from search engine queries, and DALL-E, which produces images based on text.

Pepsi: 125 Years

On August 28, Pepsi kicked off 125 days of promotions leading into New Year’s Eve to celebrate the 125 years of the brand’s founding. Fans received free Pepsi products for texting “PEPSI125.” The campaign includes nostalgic marketing spots from the past, such as the Pepsi Challenge, and a look to the future with the unveiling of its new logo.

Patagonia’s ‘What’s Next?’

For its 50th anniversary, Patagonia ran the “What’s Next?” campaign, using the occasion to look forward to life on Earth and prioritize purpose over profit to protect the planet’s ecosystem. The campaign also featured a montage of moments from the brand’s mission-led history.

Heinz + Absolut: Tomato Vodka Pasta

In one of the most unexpected partnerships of 2023, Heinz and Absolut Vodka launched a limited-release Heinz + Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta sauce. The campaign celebrated the two iconic brands combining to create a much-loved pasta sauce.

Barbie’s Selfie Generator

Ahead of the release of the Barbie movie, Warner Bros. partnered with PhotoRoom, an AI photo-editing app, to create the official filter that allowed fans to turn themselves into Barbie characters.

According to PhotoRoom, the interactive tool Barbieselfie.ai, used over 13 million times, took less than an hour to implement and provided fans with an instant, sharable Barbie-aesthetic image. Fans, influencers, and celebrities such as Rihanna and Pedro Pascal participated in the event.

Dove: #FreeThePits

In 2004, Dove established the Self Esteem Project to ensure the next generation grows up with a positive relationship with their appearance. The company also created the Dove Real Beauty Pledge, vowing to portray women honestly and respectfully as they are in real life.

Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’

Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign began in 2015 to highlight the upgraded 8-megapixel camera on the iPhone 6. Photos from 77 users across 25 countries and 73 cities highlighted the camera’s capabilities and users’ diverse experiences with the iPhone.

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