Looking for Inspiration? 5 Innovative Advertising Ideas You Need to See
The advertising game is becoming ever more complex. Companies are doing more and more to create interest in a product and drive consumer demand. Advertisers are investing in new technology and working with artists, musicians and filmmakers to create game-changing advertising. They’re even going to space.
So what are some of the best advertising ideas you can use for inspiration? Read on to find out.
- SpaceX’s Roadster in Orbit
- Faberge’s Projection Mapping Installation at Harrods
- WeTransfer’s Artistic ‘Please Leave’ Campaign
- IHOB – The International House of Burgers
- Iceland’s Rejected ‘Rang-tan’ Advert
1. SpaceX’s Roadster in Orbit
If there is a specific idea that you have and only your company can make it happen – go for it. That’s what SpaceX did.
SpaceX, the aerospace and space transportation company founded and run by Elon Musk, wanted to do something a little different. What they came up with was brilliantly crazy, highlighting the interesting work of two of Musk’s companies, SpaceX and Tesla, Inc.
Their plan was to use a Tesla Roadster, an all-electric vehicle, as the payload for their Falcon Heavy rocket. On February 6th 2018, the rocket and vehicle were launched and acquired enough velocity to enter an elliptical heliocentric orbit, crossing the path of Mars.
While some people said it was a work of art to put a car in orbit, others said it was a disastrous piece of space debris. Whichever you believe, it’s a fantastic piece of advertising. Musk has been hailed as a ‘marketing genius’ for this move, as it combined the need for an actual payload test and a crafty bit of advertising that will be up there, theoretically, forever.
The advertising moral of this story is, if you have a crazy idea, go for it. It might just pay off.
2. WeTransfer’s Artistic ‘Please Leave’ Campaign
The file sharing website WeTransfer came up with a great idea for highlighting how their service helps people save time and use it for something creative.
With the help of author Roxane Gay, they created a poetic spot called ‘Please Leave’, which aims to get people off the internet and back to pursuing their ‘real self’, which implicitly reminds us how the platform helps the creative community.
The idea came from WeTransfer’s 2018 Ideas Report, which polled 10,000 creative professionals and discovered that online distractions were a big issue when it came to time spent on creative endeavours.
‘Please Leave’ is a great vehicle for showing that a company doesn’t have to be unartistic. It also reminds creatives what WeTransfer is for while simultaneously delighting them with a great poem and intimate visuals.
When it comes to advertising, don’t be afraid to let your creative juices flow.
3. IHOB – The International House of Burgers
With just a one letter change to their name across their social accounts and on their storefronts, The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) produced a potential organic reach of over 4 billion people.
When IHOP launched their ‘Ultimate Steakburgers’ they decided to momentarily change their name to the ‘International House of Burgers’ as a bit of a joke.
Image credit: Elite Daily
This joke turned into a massive advertising opportunity, with around 20,000 stories being written about the name change. The name change and social media chaos saw IHOP’s burger sales increase four times over.
The reason this is so innovative is because it subverted what people expected from the company, who are renowned for their pancakes. After this subversion, they used social media to continue the joke, allowing for the name-change to quickly become a viral news item.
A key takeaway from this is that it’s good to be unexpected. Change what your brand is about every now and then to create some conversation.
4. Iceland’s Rejected ‘Rang-tan’ Advert
Any publicity is good publicity.
In 2018 the supermarket chain Iceland teamed up with environmental activists Greenpeace to create a cartoon-like animated video known as ‘Rang-tan’. It was intended to influence everyday consumers and big brands to stop using environmentally-destructive palm oil.
The advert depicted a small orangutan taking up home in a small girl’s room. The advert is narrated by a small poem, which tells of the ‘Rang-tan’ coming to the girl’s home because its original home had been destroyed.
It’s an incredibly emotional experience, highlighting in an approachable way the issues that come with palm oil demand. Unfortunately, it was banned by Clearcast, the agency responsible for vetting advertisements before they are used.
However, through the use of social media, the video was shared thousands of times. The version currently on Iceland’s YouTube channel has over six million views.
What makes this advert innovative is its appeal to emotion and interesting cartoon format, which makes it incredibly easy to watch. The fact that it was banned only helped to increase the interest of the public, leading to an increase in social media shares.
5. Fabergé’s Projection Mapping Installation at Harrods
Harrods is a prestigious store. Taking over their window display for a whole month is a powerful move. That’s exactly what the famous jewellery firm Fabergé did.
To create something truly spectacular, Fabergé decided to use projection mapping in their month-long event.
Using projection mapping allowed them to create a huge, constantly changing Fabergé egg as the main eye-catching feature of the display.
The display was centred around the concept of Easter and tied in several interactive advertising activities that shoppers could take part in. Fabergé held a unique Easter egg hunt around the department store and allowed visitors to design their own custom Fabergé egg pendant on an iPad.
What makes this advertisement innovative is how interactive it is and how it utilises new exciting technology such as projection mapping. Creating advertising that is multifaceted is a great way of creating a fully-immersive experience, one that an audience will remember.
A lot of these examples require quite a bit of planning and capital to pull off. Especially if they involve going into space. For a more ‘down to earth’ advertising idea, why not try projection mapping?
Explore How Projection Mapping can Take Your Brand to the Next Level
Projection mapping is the next big thing for experiential marketing campaigns, innovative advertising and immersive exhibitions. A lot of brands, such as Fabergé are already capitalising on this technique.
Check out our useful guide to all things projection mapping where you can discover more information on the technique, how to pull it off for your events and the benefits it can grant you.
Click the link below to get started.
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