Viral Marketing Campaign Examples
There are lot of campaign created by companies and individuals but only some goes viral. We will List out some of the best viral marketing campaign that has been rolled out and became Viral. let’s dive into some of the most popular viral campaigns ever created.
1. Popeyes Chicken Sandwich
In August of 2019, Popeyes released a chicken sandwich. Consumers immediately drew comparisons to Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwich, which caused widespread uproar online.
Popeyes harnessed the viral energy that consumers had created and launched its own viral marketing campaign to advertise its new sandwich. Most specifically, it participated in online discussions that pitted its sandwich against its competitor to spark more debate and attention. For example, Popeyes’ Twitter account humorously responded to a tweet Chick-fil-A made.
The popularity of the charade led Popeye’s to sell out of the sandwich for over two months. What could’ve been a disaster instead allowed them to make a viral marketing move to re-launch the sandwich. It was relaunched on a Sunday in November, which is an explicit nudge to Chick-fil-A being closed on Sundays.
The video below is the advertisement it created to mark the relaunch.
2. Spotify Wrapped
Spotify Wrapped is a yearly program that began in 2016 where Spotify users get an overview of their listening activity for the year, like top artists, favorite songs, and the total number of minutes they spent listening to audio over 12 months.
Year after year, without fail, Spotify users share their personal Spotify Wrapped on different social media channels. Spotify doesn’t have to do much in terms of making the content go viral, but they ensure it does by incorporating new, unique elements every year for users to look forward to.
Year after year, Spotify Wrapped also increases Spotify’s mobile app ranking in app stores, and, in 2020, it increased app downloads by 21%, and over 90M+ engaged with Wrapped in 2020.
Its popularity and virality are displayed in the Tweet below, where a user shared a popular internet meme to display how they’re patiently waiting for their 2021 wrapped to come out. As of April 2020, the Tweet has 50.5K likes.
3. Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
Rapper Lil Nas X is an expert viral marketer, as proven by the success of his song Old Town Road.
He knew that jump starting his career meant he needed to go viral. As a result, he created a song that was short, catchy, meme-able, and danceable (a significant pillar of virality due to the rise of TikTok). Before the full song was released, he created a short video of a cowboy dancing to a snippet of Old Town Road and posted the clip on Twitter.
country music is evolving pic.twitter.com/BEZIw3TE8l
— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) December 3, 2018
He also posted snippets of himself dancing to the song.
good morning buckaroos lets get this mf cattle 🐎⚡️ pic.twitter.com/MYhVTMeamD
— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) December 12, 2018
Releasing the small snippets of his song created buzz and hype, as people took to how catchy it was. People who liked the song eagerly awaited the full version. Once it was released, it became one of the best-selling singles of all time, and country music star Billy Ray Cyrus was featured on a remix.
The country-rap vibe of the song was also unique, which sparked additional debate online that fed into the virality of it all. People who enjoy traditional country music said the song was not country, but others insisted that he was introducing a new genre of country music to the mix.
The song is certainly Lil Nas’ most significant viral marketing success, but he continues to use the practice. For example, he leveraged the hate he got online for classifying Old Town Road as a country song and created billboards that said “Do you hate Lil Nas X? You may be entitled to financial compensation,” with instructions to visit welcometomontero.com. As you can guess, the website did not provide financial compensation but instead promoted his freshman album.
4. #eyeslipsface Challenge
Cosmetics company e.l.f., which stands for eyes lips face, created a viral marketing campaign on TikTok that featured a song specifically made for the brand. With the song, it encouraged app users to post videos of themselves doing their makeup with the song as a backing track along with the hashtag #eyeslipsface.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6743746921422163205?lang=en-US&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fviral-campaigns
According to moversshakers, #eyeslipsface was, at the time, the fastest-growing TikTok campaign to reach 1 billion views, and the first-ever ad to hold the #1 trending spot on TikTok.
Its viral marketing was successful because the brand took the time to create a unique, branded song and a corresponding related, leveraging how most things go viral on TikTok. Celebrities also joined in on the trend, many of them unpaid, which increased excitement for TikTok users who could take part in a trend their favorite celebrity took part in as well.
5. Old Spice: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”
Old Spice found that women are the ones to purchase men’s personal hygiene products, so they created an ad that spoke directly to this audience.
The “Old Spice Man” talks directly to the audience in a bold, confident, and humorous way. He tells women that anything is possible when your man uses Old Spice — all while he sails the ocean shirtless, turns sports tickets into diamonds, and rides a white horse on the beach.
This campaign went viral because … well … humor works. It was so successful that it even increased sales for the brand. The commercial has received over 55 million views on YouTube, won an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial at the Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards, and won the Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
6. ALS: “Ice Bucket Challenge”
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge began four years ago and was created to raise awareness for the debilitating disease. For the challenge, you had to pour ice cold water over your entire body and then ask and tag a friend to do the same. This became a movement that raised $115 million in the summer of 2014 alone. Because who doesn’t want to watch a family member or friend pour freezing cold water on their head?
Celebrities from around the world started participating, challenging their famous friends, donating, and raising awareness. There was an Ice Bucket Challenge hashtag that gained popularity allowing for the videos to spread easily over multiple social media channels.
Most importantly — the challenge is fun and makes participants feel like a part of a bigger movement, which is why it remains relevant years later.
7. Always “#LikeAGirl”
Always’ #LikeAGirl video became a major hit because it directly addressed how phrases that are so commonly used can be detrimental to someone’s self image and confidence. In the video, various men, women, and young boys are asked to “run like a girl” or “fight like a girl”. Then young girls are asked to do the same, with a very different approach: They show strength and confidence in their movements.
It made viewers recognize how quickly we use female-oriented phrases as insults, and that doing something #LikeAGirl should be seen as inspiring and brave.
The original TV commercial that came out in 2014 has over 65-million views on Youtube, and the hashtag — #LikeAGirl — remains popular today.
