From unexpected collaborations to reversing the damage of false beauty standards, 2023 has seen a year full of exciting and inspiring campaigns.
In case you’ve missed the campaigns, we take a look back at our favourite campaigns from 2023.
FLANNELS: Unleashing a fashion frenzy on TikTok
FLANNELS carried out an influencer-led campaign, #PartyNeverstops, to drive awareness for its festive party wear collection amongst the new generation of luxury consumers aged 18 to 34, predominantly on TikTok.
FLANNELS predominantly partnered with TikTok creators for the #PartyNeverStops campaign where they took part in creating a compilation of 15 photos (inspired by the popular 27 photo trend) showcasing FLANNELS items’ versatility, setting the mood for the #PartyNeverStops theme. Other videos were focused on styling FLANNELS pieces, directing viewers to the brand account with a commercial objective. This strategy was employed to drive sales and engagement.
FLANNELS partnered with a range of micro and macro-influencers that resonated with their target audience. For example, FLANNELS partnered with macro-influencer Jordan Hames from Love Island. Jordan’s video reached nearly 1 million views despite only having 235K followers.
The campaign achieved significant success by generating:
- 102.8 Million views on #PartyNeverSops on TikTok
- £3.68M in sales showcasing strong commercial performance.
- 91M video views and 11.9M unique users reached in the UK demonstrated broad audience engagement.
- 633K clicks to the site and 18k transactions highlighted the campaign’s impact on driving user actions.
Overall, the campaign successfully combined creative storytelling, strategic use of TikTok features, and collaboration with influencers to achieve its objectives and drive significant sales and brand engagement on the platform.
@jxrdanhames m.A.A.d city 🦅 Full look prada @flannels #PartyNeverStops ♬ Kerosene – Biig Piig
Heinz x Absolut: A flavourful fusion that took social media by storm
n what was one of the most unexpected partnerships of the year, Heinz teamed up with Absolut Vodka launching the UK’s first tomato vodka pasta sauce in a limited-edition launch.
The campaign went live in mid-March with out-of-home ads across London followed by a social media campaign featuring the hashtag #AbsolutelyHeinz. #AbsolutelyHeinz was amplified through social media calling on creators to get involved in the iconic collaboration, particularly on Instagram and TikTok.
The campaign used a combination of niche (nano and micro-influencers) and mass (macro and mega-influencers) marketing to encourage users to try out the new sauce. Niche marketing was utilised by gifting 150 food nano and micro-influencers the Pasta alla Vodka for free to share with their communities online. Whereas mass marketing was used to generate awareness amongst food lovers from credible creators.
Nano-influencer @Kristinacooksit who has a follower count of 700, was involved with the #AbsolutelyHeinz campaign on TikTok; Kristina posted a TikTok video unboxing the Pasta alla Vodka from Gifta which received a whopping 6 million views alone within two weeks which highlights the power of TikTok.
The #TheAbsolutelyHeinz campaign saw a huge success with creators. Within one week of the campaign release, the hashtag #AbsouleteyHeinz received over 6.2 million views on TikTok and 250 + pieces of content with one video that went viral from @Kristinacooksit.
@kristinacooksit @Heinz UK x Absolut collab and I am here for this!!! Look at this packaging! Video coming soon 🙌 #tomatovodka #tomatovodkapasta #absolutelyheinz #pastasauce ♬ Swimming Pools (Drank) – Kendrick Lamar
McDonalds innovative #RaiseYourArches campaign goes viral with 10 million views on social media
At the start of January, Leo Burnett launched a new Ad campaign for McDonald’s – #RaiseYourArches – void of its two most important assets: its restaurant and its food.
Through a diverse range of creator partnerships, McDonald’s was able to adopt a multi-layered approach to connect with new customers on social media, as well as reminding old ones of the restaurant’s iconic status.
Highlighting the broad appeal of McDonald’s, they partnered with creators ranging from foodies, dancers and fashion micro-influencers to professional makeup artists, musicians and TV personalities with millions of followers.
Professional makeup artist Sophie Hannah created her own McDonald’s look on Instagram and TikTok famous musician Fin Draper recreating the ‘Raise Your Arches’ campaign tune from scratch using different instruments.
Teaming up with a diverse range of creators inspired their communities of McDonald lovers to create their own take on a McDonald’s ‘Raise Your Arches’ campaign and post pictures, reels and TikTok on social media.
McDonald’s use of creators accomplished its goal of reaching a wider audience with the hashtag being used nearly 1,000 times on Instagram and viewed 10 million times on TikTok.
Across Instagram and TikTok combined, these influencers’ #RaiseYourArches content generated an amazing…
- 10 Million views
- 4.4M Impressions
- 317K Engagements (likes + comments)
Wild achieves success with the appeal of mini-dachshunds
With more than 255,000 Instagram followers and #WildRefill has more than 85.9 million views on TikTok, Wild strategically harnesses influencer gifting as an important tool to enhance its brand visibility and direct its audience towards its website and social media platforms.
They achieve this by releasing limited edition scents and cases every couple of months and sending them as gifted products to a range of nano, micro, macro and mega influencers including Olivia Bowen which appeals to a diverse audience.
In their latest campaign, Wild has teamed up with the dog charity, Wood Green Pets. The campaign introduced a new case with mini-dachshunds printed all over. This was sent out to pet enthusiasts and dog-centric nano and micro-influencers such as @tobi.minidachsund and @eddie_mindach to influence their audience to buy the deodorant.
A key element in Wild’s approach involves regularly launching fresh deodorant cases and fragrances every few months. Through this method and by leveraging influencer gifting, Wild has the ability to connect with a broad spectrum of individuals and niche communities who have varied hobbies and interests.
Dove: Empowering natural beauty against unrealistic beauty standards
Dove’s #TurnYourBack campaign had a simple message for social media users: step away from the filters.
If you’re on TikTok, you’ve most likely seen the ‘Bold glamour’ filter (whether you realise it or not). It’s another appearance-enhancing social media tool that Dove says perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards, especially for young women. In the ad, women are literally turning their backs on the filter and standing up for natural beauty.
According to research by Dove, 28% of girls in the US say they can’t live up to the beauty standards that influencers project on social media, and 80% say they have already applied a filter or used a retouching app to change the way they look.
Content creators such as @kellyhoppen, @miahcarter, @rikkisandhuu and @nadyaokamoto shared how they personally feel about the filter on TikTok and Instagram, and the damage it can do to social users. Since the campaign launched, the hashtag has gained over 40 million views and positive feedback from audiences.
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