Top Marketing Campaigns This Year

The Gist

• Data-driven insights redefine ROI. Grammarly’s campaigns exemplify how data-centric marketing drives productivity and efficiency.
• AI and immersive experiences dominate. Brands like McDonald’s leverage AI for personalization and augmented storytelling.
• Social impact marketing strikes a chord. Innovative campaigns like SightWalks highlight brands’ societal contributions.

The past few years have seen brands push the boundaries of marketing innovation across industries. From harnessing the power of AI to creating immersive experiences, this year’s top marketing campaigns not only captured audience attention but also reshaped how brands connect with consumers.

This article highlights the most creative, effective and memorable campaigns that left a significant mark on the marketing world, offering insights into what made them successful in a marketplace that continually battles for consumer attention.

In 2024, marketers found themselves riding a wave of technological advancements and creative breakthroughs. From AI-generated content to immersive brand experiences powered by augmented and virtual reality (AR & VR), this year’s standout campaigns pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in marketing. It wasn’t just about flashy visuals; brands leaned into personalization, real-time consumer feedback and interactive platforms to forge deeper, more meaningful connections with their audiences. 

This shift blurred the line between entertainment and advertising, delivering bold, imaginative campaigns that put the customer at the heart of every interaction.

Below, we explore some of the most innovative, socially impactful and effective campaigns that caught the eyes of consumers and marketers alike in 2024.

Grammarly’s Saved By The Email Campaign

Grammarly’s Saved By The Email campaign humorously highlights the role of AI-powered writing assistants in streamlining professional communication. The ad features relatable scenarios where characters use Grammarly to handle tasks such as scheduling, summarizing plans, and simplifying messages, all without the need for extra meetings or confusing emails.

By showcasing how the tool improves email clarity and efficiency, Grammarly emphasized its value for professionals who rely on precise, polished communication to enhance productivity and avoid miscommunication in workplace interactions.

Hellmann’s Mayo Cat Campaign

The Hellmann’s Mayo Cat campaign features comedian Kate McKinnon alongside her talking cat, Mayo Cat, who helps her realize the versatility of Hellmann’s mayonnaise in transforming leftovers into delicious meals. Launched during the Super Bowl, the ad emphasizes the brand’s “Make Taste, Not Waste” platform, focusing on reducing food waste. 

With a humorous narrative and a cameo by Pete Davidson, the campaign engages viewers by highlighting creative ways to use leftovers with mayo while maintaining a lighthearted tone and memorable visuals.

The campaign’s Super Bowl placement is a strategic choice, capitalizing on one of the year’s most-watched events to maximize exposure. Super Bowl ads are known for creating buzz, and Hellmann’s cleverly uses this high-profile slot to amplify its “Make Taste, Not Waste” platform, a message that aligns with growing consumer interest in sustainability.

Related Article: 10 Super Bowl Marketing Moments That Made History

CeraVe, or Is It?

Michael Cera’s collaboration with CeraVe stood out as one of 2024’s most memorable marketing moments, blending humor with brand identity. The campaign’s initial intrigue came from a playful misinterpretation of Cera as CeraVe’s founder, generating buzz through its quirky concept.

As the campaign progressed, it morphed into humorous pranks and luxury brand satire, with Cera’s signature awkward charm contrasting CeraVe’s clean, dermatologist-backed reputation. 

This clever pairing not only captivated audiences but also demonstrated the brand’s ability to balance relatability with sophistication.

Dev Nag, founder and CEO at QueryPal, an enterprise-level AI-powered chatbot for employee and customer queries, told CMSWire that the campaign could only exist because of a naming coincidence, and that for him, it stands out for its use of comedy and satire.

“Taking advantage of the contrast between Cera’s awkward, underdog persona and CeraVe’s demographic, the campaign first created a buzz around the question of whether Cera was the founder of CeraVe, before evolving into pranks and luxury brand satire,” said Nag.

Innovative Campaign Winners and Losers Leveraging AI

In 2024, AI became a game-changer for brands looking to deliver hyper-personalized marketing campaigns. From predictive analytics to chatbots, AI allowed marketers to tailor messages, recommendations, and even entire customer journeys in real-time.

Winner: McDonald’s and Personalization

Tim Peters, CMO at software and services company Enghouse Systems, told CMSWire that McDonald’s leveraged AI to create hyper-personalized menu experiences based on real-time customer data, including location, weather, and past purchases. “What made this campaign impactful was its seamless integration into the consumer experience,” said Peters. “The use of AI wasn’t just a gimmick but a tool to enhance relevance, which resulted in higher engagement and sales.”

McDonald’s launched a multi-faceted AI-powered marketing and operational initiative that enhanced customer experiences and drove personalization. With AI voice assistants now taking drive-thru orders, McDonald’s ensures quicker, more accurate orders, even personalizing recommendations based on factors like weather.

The mobile app also leverages AI to offer personalized menu suggestions based on previous orders. This campaign demonstrated McDonald’s innovative approach, blending cutting-edge technology with convenience to enhance the fast food experience. “The key lesson here is that when AI is used to make consumers feel understood, it drives loyalty and real business outcomes,” said Peters.

View all

Loser: Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Content

On the other hand, sometimes AI-generated content isn’t quite ready for prime time. Nag shared just such a case with CMSWire.

“Queensland Symphony Orchestra released an AI-generated Facebook ad with a couple enjoying a QSO show,” explained Nag. “Except…the faces were plastic mannequins and there were at least four too many fingers between the unlucky couple—a common artifact when generating images with AI.” 

“An industry union called it ‘the worst AI-generated artwork we’ve seen’, ‘inappropriate’, ‘unprofessional’. AI’s ability to generate enormous amounts of content only means that taste has become that much more important,” said Nag. 

Related Article: Lost in Translation: AI Hallucinations Wreak Havoc on Big Tech

Social Impact Campaigns

In 2024, social impact marketing became a powerful way for brands to connect emotionally with consumers. Many companies used their platforms to address pressing social and environmental issues, such as climate change, diversity, and mental health.

Renee Miller, founder and CEO at marketing and advertising agency The Miller Group, told CMSWire that work beyond traditional advertising is making a difference in people’s lives.

“One of my all-time favorite 2024 campaigns is called SIGHTWALKS,” she said. “Sol Cement, the leading cement company in Peru, and the agency Circus Grey developed the idea in collaboration with several organizations for the visually impaired.”

The SightWalks campaign is an innovative social impact initiative designed to improve accessibility for visually impaired pedestrians. The cement company introduced special sidewalk tiles with numbered lines, allowing individuals to identify nearby businesses by counting the lines with their walking sticks. Each set of lines corresponds to different types of establishments, such as banks, grocery stores, or hospitals, helping to encourage independence and mobility for the visually impaired. 

“Sol decoded specific venues with vertical bars embedded in the sidewalk – i.e. restaurants, banks, grocery stores,” said Miller. “Then Circus Grey taught the visually impaired this new tactile vocabulary designed to improve their autonomy. Circus Grey developed a program with Braille brochures and audio descriptions.”

Because of this campaign, Miller said, the idea became an international open-source project that has helped 285 million visually impaired people around the world experience a bit more independence. 

Key Trends and Takeaways

Several important themes emerged from the standout marketing campaigns of 2024. AI-driven personalization played a crucial role in enhancing customer engagement across industries.

Social impact marketing continued to be a differentiator for brands. Campaigns such as Cemento Sol’s SightWalks demonstrated that authentic engagement with social causes can create emotional connections with consumers and build brand loyalty. Consumers increasingly expect brands to align with their values, pushing companies to be more authentic in their social impact efforts.

Marketers can learn valuable lessons from these campaigns. Investing in emerging technologies such as AI, AR, and VR can offer significant competitive advantages, while authenticity in social impact marketing will continue to resonate with consumers. Data-driven strategies and seamless omnichannel experiences remain key to delivering consistent and personalized interactions across all touchpoints. Additionally, building community engagement through user-generated content will help brands build stronger relationships with their audience.

The standout marketing campaigns of 2024 offer valuable lessons for the future. By embracing emerging technologies, cultivating authentic social impact, and fostering community engagement, brands demonstrated how to create campaigns that resonate powerfully with modern consumers.