3 Famous Risky Marketing Campaigns Which Got Successful

Your marketing campaign can be unsuccessful if you follow the same old conventions as everybody else in your field. A bold marketing campaign can catch a lot of attention, even of people who are not your general target and, as a result, it can give you more traction than usual and increase your sales. It can make your brand more well known, so it definitely is worth a try. Check out these three major risky marketing campaigns that got successful to inspire you for your next campaign.

1. Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign

Seeing people from different walks of life and of diverse colors, shapes, and sizes in the media might be common now, but that was not the case before. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty took a plunge in 2006 by discarding the age-old extremely photo-shopped photos of skinny, white models who fulfill the European standards of beauty, and swapped them with unfiltered photos of women belonging from different ethnicities. What was further refreshing was that the greying hair, cellulite, wrinkles, all were visible, and not photoshopped as though they are flaws.

This campaign seemed risky, but it turned out to be a game-changer for the skincare company. The declining sales took an upward surge as the campaign touched the hearts of a wider audience.

2. LEGO and, well, all its movies

All of us have played with LEGO toys in our lives. These are small bricks that one can piece together to create unique and sometimes even complex structures. They are fun to play with and every child’s favorite. But over time, the LEGO brand has evolved into something a lot bigger than that. By acquiring licenses of franchises that are popular, such as Marvel, Star Wars, and DC etc, LEGO has transformed itself from a limited company that sold toys to a full-fledged entertainment company. Fans widely accepted the LEGO movies, and recently the brand secured a five-year deal with Universal.

3. Gillette fighting against toxic masculinity

Although Gillette’s “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” ad did not really show anything that was related to shaving or men’s grooming, it touched the hearts of a vast audience with how it portrayed itself as a brand which is socially responsible. The commercial promoted positive masculinity by challenging toxic stereotypes of masculinity and question men about whether the boys will be boys rhetoric is really a way to lead one’s life.

This campaign got positive reviews and a lot of backlash. The backlash was mostly from men as they felt like they were being viewed in a negative light, but were they really? It abided by the Millennial perception that social responsibility comes above everything else and now has over 35 million views and has gained a lot of attention. Even with all the hate and controversy, the brand got millions of engagements and media coverage, targeting the new generation effectively.