On Strategy Showcase

The amazing planning story behind Fallon's win over Chiat Day for the Citi account: one that resulted in the best un-bank-like advertising ever. And it would never have happened if not for two guys on a speakerphone.

The first in our new series on classic campaigns. DDB used a comment from an AVIS employee to turn what many considered a weakness into a highly relatable strength. 

Coming out of lockdown, the convenience store brand, faced with a dramatic reduction in store visits, used products and subcultures as distinctive brand assets to expand its share among those whose idea of “convenience” had changed. 

The name change from Uncle Ben's Rice to Ben's Originals was a response to claims of racial stereotyping. The subsequent campaign is a masterclass in strategic thinking that grew household penetration 20%. Because doing what's right is also right for business.

Skinny Mobile, originally a youth brand, needed to explore a way into the general market to return to growth, but brand perception got in the way. ColensoBBDO and their client share the award winning strategy that flipped a negative, with "Skinny will do anything to keep prices low and customers happy."

After decades of “Choosy Moms Choose JiF,” how could a brand your mom served you as a kid now be the brand you choose for yourself? Publicis, New York shares the strategy story behind "That Jifing Good."

The New York Times was targeted as "fake news" by the previous administration. This was their award-winning response and what led to record breaking subscription levels.

With financial advisors resisting recommending the brand to clients, this is how an inventive idea reframed its value. A great B2B2C case.

How Sacha Baron Cohen's team and Leo Burnett made a National Rifle Association President undermine his own organization on a national stage in an effort to save lives. 

John Kenny (then head of planning at FCB Chicago) shared the story behind the distinctive "Social Athlete" label and campaign. Subsequent work from W+K has built on this campaign's original line "It's only worth it if you can enjoy it." 

From the 1960s’ “Think Small” to the 1990s’ “Drivers Wanted” to the current “Drive Bigger,” VW’s audience has always been those frustrated with the status quo.

The food spread dramatizing the tension between lovers and haters further pushed the product into popular culture and consideration with this latest installment "The Marmite Gene Project."

A chat about the streaming wars and the back-story on the amazing "Great Shows Stay with You" strategy with Tim Whirledge, while at Droga5 London.

Effectiveness data in B2C is robust, but not so in B2B. The Institute plans to change that. Jon Lombardo shares their latest work and some new  concepts that can help your CFO support your case for effective investment.

In a campaign from  Fred & Farid, Los Angeles, Ladder, an online life insurance company, is embracing brand marketing (not simply performance) with a totally unexpected campaign in an uptight category.  

In 2019, the brand went through TBWA’s Chiat Day’s “Disruption” planning process, which attempted to realign enterprise-wide activities around a refreshed expression of the brand’s platform. This is the strategy story. 

In his new book, Conflicted, Ian explains how we lose the benefits of diverse thinking because of our inability to disagree well. And how productive disagreement leads to better strategy.

In his new book, Look out, Orlando builds on the work of Jenni Romaniuk, Les Binet, Peter Field, Byron Sharp and others with his research on how we can better ensure we are producing work that works.

A must listen Masterclass that begs the question, does loyalty exist, or is it just a habit that can be broken? Facing two massive competitors, Yorkshire Tea went from 5th to 1st with a hilarious creative and strategic effort that reignited consumer interest in what was thought to be a deeply entrenched category.  

The story of 13 years of growth following a crisis for the McDonald's brand. A recovery built on a rethink of operations, tone and messaging. One that put humility and relatability at the center of everything.  A 2021 APG Award winner.

We talk about planning and cover a bunch of topics including why labels are used in strategy as proxies for genuine knowledge, how our industry’s fetish with “insight” has caused so many to lose sight of our deliverables. And whether we ever really know enough to really know.

A Gold WARC award for effectiveness winner, we hear how, after a series of hate crime attacks, McD’s used an update of their iconic Kiwiburger song to drive an important cultural conversation in New Zealand, resulting in the best sales period ever recorded. 

The tagline is one of the most iconic in advertising history. It's embedded itself in popular culture in ways few campaigns have ever achieved.  I talk with R&R Partners about how it came about, and why, in 2022, it's about to change. 

This award winning case from TBWA Hong Kong shows how reallocating upper funnel media dollars across the customer journey helped Lexus successfully launch the UX in one of the toughest auto markets in the world.

How EOS and Mischief brilliantly capitalized on a TikTok moment with a genius response that went viral. CMO, Soyoung Kang and Mischief's ECD, Bianca Guimaraes share the back story of the brand and the moment.