An insight into some of the most interesting marketing campaigns of 2022
You know how there are some things that we see so often, that we forget they’re even there. Advertisements have become just that. We have gotten so used to seeing them everywhere, on phones, hoardings, radio, TV, or even smartly embedded into the shows/movies we watch, that it’s really hard to pay attention to an ad. It’s an interesting challenge for marketers, to not just make people notice ads, but also encourage them to engage with the brand. Relatability is everything; people remember what is relatable and relevant to them.
Here are some ads that made a splash in 2022. These are popular everyday brands that did something different to engage with customers.
Dove’s #StopTheBeautyTest
Dove is a beauty brand that came up with an incredible campaign, “stop the beauty test”, to change the definition of beauty. They tackled multiple issues from weight stigma to skin ailments and even colorism. The campaign was wildly successful as Indian women resonated with the stories portrayed and even tagged the brand while sharing their personal experiences.
In 2022, Dove made a more heartfelt appeal. The ad portrayed how girls are subjected to beauty tests from a very young age. At a time when they should be focused on developing their personalities, school girls are subjected to impossible beauty standards that only negatively affect their confidence and outlook on life. This campaign and its latest ad got women talking about accepting their features without labelling them ugly, which is a huge step in body positivity, especially for the younger generations.
Cadbury #ShopsForShopless
Every festive season, Cadbury comes up with a new campaign usually surrounding families. This year they did something different and included local hawkers in their campaign “Shops for Shopless”. A lot of Diwali shopping in India, especially for diyas, lanterns, rangoli, etc., is done from local hawkers who don’t have shops. Cadbury appealed to buy a celebration pack, scan the QR and add a local hawker as a virtual shop for everyone to see. This was intended to promote local small hawkers. The ad was well created but received a major backlash for using the name “Damodar” and wishing “Diwali Mubarak” in the ad. Also as they highlighted local businesses, many people took to the comments section to say, why buy Cadbury instead of local sweets? While the intentions were very sweet, and the ad reached a wide audience, it failed to make the positive impact the company had expected.
Cleartrip - Newspaper ad
While many newer brands are running away from newspaper ads, cleartrip decided to run towards it. During the sale season, it is common for big online retailers to occupy major sections of the newspapers and promote their offers. Cleartrip saw an opportunity and did something crazy. They gave the readers a travel option for the price of an item on sale. The ad copy “ buying more shoes? A new phone? Another Tawa? Travel instead!” caught the eye of every reader and made them rethink splurges and plan trips instead. While shopping brings material happiness, travelling creates memories that you carry forever. This was a genius move, not only to catch attention but to bring people to their app & website.
Colgate #SmileOutLoud
Colgate is often called the toothpaste of India. For the longest time along with all other toothpaste brands, Colgate also promoted perfectly aligned white teeth. For their visible white teeth whitening toothpaste, they had experimented with ads saying you might look like a mess but your smile will still help you dazzle. With their newest ad, they broke the status quo and brought in Dolly Singh, one of the most popular digital content creators, with her crooked teeth. Their newest campaign #SmileOutLoud says you don’t need to “fix” your teeth to be perfectly aligned for a beautiful smile. Finally, a dental brand saying it’s okay to not have poster perfect aligned teeth, and all smiles are beautiful. They even had a challenge asking people to tag Colgate in their Colgate smile photos. They have also brought in other influencers to highlight that all smiles are beautiful, regardless of your facial features.
Tanishq #MarriageConversations 2.0
Tanishq, being a jewellery brand, has made amazing campaigns on weddings. #MarriageConversations was one such campaign that addressed important topics that affect a couple entering marriage, such as family planning, mental health issues, and goals & aspirations. With their 2.0 ad, they focused on another crucial yet taboo subject, i.e. finances and spending habits. Talking about money is never easy, especially if you have different goals. Tanishq has taken a step to normalise these conversations. This is the kind of sensitivity people relate to when they think of Tanishq. The timing of their campaigns was also impeccable, as they released these ads around November/ December, which is right before the peak wedding season in India.
Ads make an impact when marketers go above and beyond to address topics close to customers’ hearts. The fact that these ads weren’t focusing on just selling a product, is why they’re memorable. They created an identity for the brand that they want their customers to relate to. Along with the type of content, the timing of the ads greatly influenced their impact. With the current socio-cultural environment being so dynamic, there are no bounds to how unconventionally you can market your brand.
That’s our wrap for 2022. We’ll be on the lookout for such amazing impactful campaigns in 2023 as well!
