Fun and Fandoms

Biscuit brand Oreo capitalised on India’s love of cricket and superstitions to relaunch its brand in 2022. It achieved a 45% sales growth rate increase – of which 56% was gained from rival brands. Creative Effectiveness Lions Juror Islam ElDessouky, Global VP, Creative, Coca-Cola, praised the “creative architecture”. He said: “They have a celebrity legend, they’ve picked a huge passion point…but Oreo was always the centre of gravity.”

McDonald’s ‘Raise Your Arches’ positioned a simple eyebrow raise as an invitation to eat at McDonald’s. The fun film, directed by Edgar Wright, captured this simplicity – and the concept spread across 35 countries. In the UK alone, it increased sales by 7.1% and generated £45m in incremental revenue. Chaka Sobhani, former Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett, revealed the insight behind this facial signal: “An invitation to eat at McDonald’s is so universal it doesn’t actually need words.”

A regenerative farm eggs brand fitted its chickens with wearable fitness devices to show how freely they move across fresh pasture. It printed the chickens’ step counts directly onto the eggs, leading to a 40% increase in orders. By using a fun and memorable idea to turn its product into a media channel, Honest Eggs brought transparency to the industry, justifying its premium brand status.

Health and life insurance company Partners Life took an unconventional approach to engaging an apathetic audience in New Zealand by partnering with popular crime series The Brokenwood Mysteries. It integrated with the show’s storylines, showing the ads after each episode had ended. This prompted a 135% increase in visitors to its website and a 75% increase in direct leads. It demonstrates how to use levity and joy to tackle avoidance.

Business platform Workday’s humorous campaign saw musicians reclaiming the word ‘Rock Star’ from the corporate world. It grew leads by 50% and helped lift Workday’s share price. “Brands need to demonstrate to chief financial officers that investing in creative drives growth. Not just short-term or long-term growth from the sales, but also company value,” said 2024 Creative Effectiveness Lions Juror Laila Mignoni, Global VP of Creative at Bacardi. “Humour personalised the brand. It gave it personality.”