It’s that time of the year when we look back and delve into our most-read features that held our readers’ interest. 2022’s round-up includes a collection of thought-provoking sounding boards, in-depth industry interviews on digital transformation, brand positioning and sustainability, updates on festive campaigns, and off course something to do with the metaverse. In short, this holiday reading list has something for everyone.
1. Behind Sprite’s first-ever global rebrand
Our most popular feature was an exclusive in-depth look at the making of the first global campaign for an iconic brand, fresh off WPP’s massive global Coca-Cola win. It’s rare to get this much access to a brand’s creative process and preview its elements, including Sprite’s own ad that references the article.
2. Adidas defends decision to tweet image of bare breasts
We all know why this article was our second-most popular. It’s the same reason why Adidas conceived of this campaign in the first place. There is still something titillating about images of bare breasts, when there really shouldn’t be. How media, including us, reports on this, then only adds a second layer of debate.
3. Unilever oral-care brand asks couples to get married in the metaverse
Can’t get legally married as a same-sex couple? That’s the sad truth for most in this region. Unilever’s Closeup toothpaste brand’s solution created a City Hall of the Love in the metaverse for a ceremony complete with an NFT marriage certificate. It’s a novel idea and on-brand gesture, even if it doesn’t solve the greater problem of discrimination.
4. Why DBS wants to be seen as a tech startup rather than a bank
Everyone wants to be able to use their money quickly and easily and access their savings with ease. A story about a popular consumer bank trying to communicate this very thing clearly resonates.
5. Behind the ‘overly successful’ launch of Trust Bank in Singapore
Hmm, another Singapore-based user-friendly digital banking story–looks like we’ve tapped an audience nerve. But this story also had the unique twist of the service becoming too popular too quickly, leading to some rare admissions and extra headaches for the marketing team.
6. How Unilever ships Walls ice cream to Maldives, St. Ives moisturiser to Australia and Vaseline lip balm to Mongolia
Aseem Puri, CMO of UI
Unilever International, a billion-euro entity, is the consumer goods giant’s in-house ‘challenger business’, CMO Aseem Puri talks about how he helps identify new growth opportunities for brands in new markets.
7. They’re grrrrreat: Our favourite Year of the Tiger campaigns
Campaign Asia-Pacific editors voted on their favourite Year of the Tiger work, sorting the year’s crop of festive campaigns into a top three, a few runners up, and…the rest.
8. Behind Spotify’s new Southeast Asia campaign
Jan-Paul Jeffery, Spotify’s head of marketing, SEA
Campaign exclusively sat down with Jan-Paul Jeffrey, Spotify’s head of marketing, on the streamer’s ‘Magic of Music’ SEA campaign, its biggest and most ambitious regional campaign at the point.
9. McDonald’s Asia CMO on his first-ever global World Cup campaign and more
Eugene Lee spoke in a wide-ranging interview about its 2022 FIFA campaign, leveraging creativity, the metaverse, their menu and his own marketing role.
10. Cultural appropriation vs appreciation: Can luxury brands in China tell the difference?
Dior ‘hallmark silhouette’ on the left, traditional Chinese horse face skirt on the right
Dior came under heavy criticism in China after a flared skirt from its Fall ’22 collection branded as its ‘hallmark silhouette’ was found to closely resemble a traditional Chinese horse-face skirt dating to the Song and the Ming dynasty. Brand experts discussed with Campaign if high fashion has an appropriation problem.
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