1. The 20 Best Social Media Campaigns
August 2010

2. From the Forbes Magazine article entitled
“The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns”
Author - Victoria Taylor
August 17, 2010

3. #20 Career Builder “Monk-e-Mail”
This popular CareerBuilder
promotion, created in 2006, allows
users to send personalized,
primate-themed e-cards for all
occasions. According to Oddcast,
a viral marketing company, more
than 100 million Monk-e-Mails
have been sent since the
campaign launched.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

4. #19 Bing – Farmville
To monopolize on the widely popular
"Farmville" Facebook game, Microsoft's
Bing search engine bribed players with
Farmville cash, used in the game to
buy more crops and farm animals, if
they clicked on a sponsored ad for the
search engine in early May.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the
results showed the campaign's
success, as Bing acquired 425,000
new fans, a 360% jump in less than
one day. Seventy percent of the fans
visited Bing in the following month.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

5. #18 BMW “1 Series Graffiti Contest”
In honor of BMW's "1 Series," in
2008 the German carmaker
created an online graffiti contest
where participants answered the
question "What drives you?"
through designs on the outline of
the car.
Participants submitted about 9,000
drawings, which garnered about
500,000 total votes. The winners
received car models rather than
actual vehicles.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

6. #17 Cadbury “Gorilla”
This 90-second video ad, created
in 2007, features a person in a
gorilla suit drumming to the
music of Phil Collins before it
directs viewers to Cadbury's
website. Reportedly, Cadbury
Schweppes sales jumped 7%
between 2007 and 2008.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

7. #16 Quicksilver “Dynamite Surfing”
A 2007 video for the surfer clothing
manufacturer shows surfers
making waves in a lake with the
help of some explosives. The
staged video, which consists of
grainy footage to make it appear
more authentic, has been viewed
35 million times. It developed
something of a cult following,
leading to the Discovery Channel's
Mythbusters investigating the
legitimacy of dynamite surfing.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

8. #15 The Dark Knight “Why so serious?”
This alternate reality game was created
by California-based 42 Entertainment to
promote the Batman movie. Players took
to the streets dressed as the Joker, the
movie's villain, and campaigned for a
new mayor of Gotham City.
More than 10 million people in 75
different countries participated, and the
film went on to become the highest-
grossing movie of 2008. However, one
of the Forbes judges questioned whether
the high development cost needed for an
alternate reality game this extensive
yielded strong returns given the initial
investment required.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

9. #14 Smirnoff “Tea Partay”
The Diageo-owned vodka brand
launched this viral rap parody
music video featuring preppy white
guys promoting Smirnoff's Raw
Tea drink in 2006. The Web video,
which directed viewers to the
drink's Web site, was
supplemented with billboard and
radio ads.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

10. #13 Vitaminwater “Facebook is now homepage”
The beverage made the risky move of
having its Facebook fan page double
as the brand's official website. It also
embarked on an interactive campaign
that allowed Facebook fans to create
their own flavors of Glaceau
Vitaminwater. The creator of the wining
flavor received $5,000.
The Forbes judges concluded that what
made this effort successful was its
commitment to getting the brand name
out there and promoting this social
component through TV and online ads.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

11. #12 Target “Bullseye Gives”
This social media campaign
empowered its Facebook fans by
putting $3 million in their hands. Over
two weeks Facebook users voted on
which among the 10 selected charities
would receive the greatest proportion
of the money. St. Jude's Children's
Hospital received 26.6% of the votes,
so Target donated $797,123 to it.
The effort attracted 291,399 votes from
167,000 fans. That's not a staggering
number, but it helped raise awareness
for Target and its charitable efforts.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

12. #11 Whopper “Sacrifice”
This Burger King campaign wasn't
afraid to ask the tough question: What
do you love more, your friends or the
Whopper? The Facebook application
bribed consumers to "unfriend" 10
people from their Facebook friends list
in exchange for a free burger.
Ad agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky
says the application terminated some
234,000 "friendships." Ultimately,
Facebook decided that letting its users
know that they had been let go
contradicted its business plan, and the
application itself was sacrificed.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

13. #10 Windows Hotmail
The judges were strongly divided on
this campaign, which started in 1996,
with one ranking it as the top social
media campaign and another placing it
at the very bottom.
The debate was over whether the
groundbreaking technique of running
ads like "get your free email at Hotmail"
at the bottom of every email message
qualifies as a social media campaign.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

14. #9 Ikea “Facebook Showroom”
To promote the opening of a new store
in Malmo, Sweden, Ikea had the store
manager post pictures of the the new
showrooms on Facebook. The first
people to tag the items won them.
Awareness spread rapidly from
participants to their Facebook friends.
The campaign won a 2010 Gold Cyber
Lion at Cannes. "[This is] a great idea
that not only is highly viral but gets
consumers engaging with actual
merchandise," says Brandon Evans of
social marketing agency Mr. Youth.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

15. #8 Evian “Roller Babies”
The Guinness Book of World
Records says this YouTube
megahit, which features computer-
generated babies on roller skates
breakdancing and backflipping, is
the most viewed online ad in
history.
This one is purely about the
numbers, with the effort, from Euro
RSCG in Paris, receiving more
than 54,000 comments and tweets
to date, as well as more than 60
million views.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

16. #7 OfficeMax “Elf Yourself”
For its 2006 holiday campaign, the
office supply retailer encouraged Web
users to upload pictures of themselves.
An elf, with those faces, would then
dance. The campaign, created by New
York-based independent agency Toy
and San Francisco-based EVB, led to
the creation of more than 122 million
elves during that holiday season.
It increased site traffic and generated a
number of wannabes and spin offs,
driving sales and brand awareness,
according to the judges.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

17. #6 VW “Fun Theory”
This social experiment campaign
looked to see if making things more
"fun" would influence consumer
behavior. This included Volkswagen
transforming a Swedish subway
staircase into a giant, functioning
piano, which resulted in 66% more
people choosing the steps rather than
an escalator.
Created by DDB Stockholm, the
campaign was awarded a 2010 Cyber
Grand Prix Lion at the Cannes Lions
International Advertising Festival.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

18. #5 Pepsi “Refresh”
While Pepsi's Refresh campaign,
which gives people the chance to
get funding for philanthropic and
charitable ideas, is ongoing, the
Forbes judges highlighted the use
of "Refresh" as a way for Pepsi to
push toward a new identity while
still maintaining its youthful image.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

19. #4 Burger King “Subservient Chicken”
With the help of a person in a chicken
suit, dubbed the "subservient chicken,"
Burger King and agency Crispin, Porter
+ Bogusky's campaign was created in
2004 to promote the chain's
TenderCrisp Sandwich.
According to the ad agency, the Web
site, where a participant can still type in
commands like "moonwalk" and "make
a sandwich" and watch the chicken
obey the order, received 15 million hits
in the first five days.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

20. #3 Old Spice “Smell Like a Man, Man.”
Old Spice spokesman Isaiah
Mustafa was popular in TV
commercials, but what really made
this campaign an interactive hit
was the recent Web-based
element with Mustafa responding
to questions submitted by fans on
Twitter and other social media
outlets in as many as 180 Web
videos this summer. He proposed
marriage to one fan's girlfriend.
She accepted.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

21. #2 Blendtec “Will it blend?”
Web videos for the Blendtec Total
Blender show the kitchen accessory
destroying just about everything from a
baseball to an iPhone. Our judges
unanimously ranked this series of
destructive shorts as one of the best
social media campaigns.
According to Jeff Robe, Blendtec's
director of marketing, the videos have
done more than boost awareness of
Blendtec blenders. Home sales of
blenders have increased 700% since
November 2006.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

22. #1 The Blair Witch Project
This is considered the best-ever social
media campaign and one of the first viral
marketing efforts. The marketers behind this
horror flick were able to generate big buzz
for a movie with a teeny budget by using
Web sites and message boards to stoke
interest in the flick months before its release
in the summer of 1999.
Was the story of young documentary makers
lost in the woods true or false? Fake
newspaper clippings about the
disappearance of the movie's main
characters and police photos of their missing
car were posted. Movie site Box Office Mojo
reports that the film made more than $29
million during its first week of wide release. It
has generated about $249 million to date
worldwide.
From the Forbes Magazine Article entitled “The Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns” Author - Victoria Taylor – 8/17/2010

23. If you’d like to find out what we can do to help you build
a social media campaign or have some interesting
case studies of your own to share, please contact –
Paula Murgia
VP, Digital Strategy – Palio
paula.murgia@palio.com
or
Mike Myers
President, Palio
mmyers@palio.com