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ADV121 Assignment 2 - Ad Review Blog

Snickers - You’re Not You When You’re Hungry

Snickers’ iconic “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign is one of the most awarded in advertising history, having won Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, Emmys, and multiple effectiveness awards! I remember seeing the iconic ads on cable television during my childhood. From the iconic Chinese goddess to goalie ad to the soundbites that they would play during the ad, every aspect of it captivated not just me, but snickers lovers all around the world. Snickers had reportedly passed 1 Billion Sales in the United States alone by the year 2013(HT School, 2022). I personally feel like they were the biggest leaders in using sound bites during their ads to entice viewers into feeling the desire of biting into the chocolate bar. Their successful ads, coupled with the fact that kids like me would always quote “You’re not you when you’re hungry”, makes this one of the most memorable ads in my memory!

Duolingo - Why Is This Chaotic Bird Everywhere?

Nobody is a stranger to this chaotic bird who started out just like any other app on the playstore, one that promised users that learning languages through the app would be one of the easiest things ever! However, the green bird mascot eventually became an icon to many, sparking a multitude of trends and “scandals” that increased the exposure of the app. While it sounds silly, Duolingo has a number of almost 116 million and 117 million monthly active users (MAUs), (Curry, 2025). From being in ‘relationship scandals’ with other brands, to their unhinged comments, Duolingo actually managed to expand their ‘brand identity’ into something much more- an internet personality. The best thing is, since the mascot wasn’t based on anyone from real life, they wouldn’t have to fear the consequences of potential real-life scandals happening to their biggest ambassadors, something most huge brands will have faced at least once. To this day, Duolingo has a fanbase of 4.6M followers. Even though the app itself has bad some issues with the users, there is no doubt that Duolingo’s advertising strategies is one of the smartest in the current generation.

Spotify - Spotify Wrapped

Everything that you’ve listened to in a year, packaged and analyzed just for you and from you! That’s what Spotify Wrapped is for many, but not only that, it also acts as one of the biggest trends that Spotify users await every end of the year. This trend alone amassed a whopping 461% increase when it came to downloads during the years 2020-2021 (Li, 2025). For loyal fans who wanted to flex their 1% top listeners, to casual listeners wanting to share their eclectic music taste to all, Spotify Wrapped created a movement and “identity” that was only exclusive to Spotify users. Although YouTube themselves have tried to replicate the same idea, Spotify acted as the catalyst and is considered to be the pioneers of one of the most successful advertising strategies in history.

Liquid Death - Badass Water

At a concert, thirsty but you don’t want to fall into the peer pressure of drinking alcohol and look like a total loser? Liquid Death has you covered. With their badass can design, you don’t ever have to worry about how you look beside people who drink. I remember the first time seeing Liquid Death in real life and thinking, “WOW, that can looks incredibly hardcore”, assuming it was just beer at first. Good design can actually increase sales (even though modern minimalism tries to convince us otherwise), and Liquid Death is great proof of that!! In just a few years, they’ve achieved over a billion-dollars in sales, garnering a solid fanbase of the canned water (Collins, 2024). One thing of note about Liquid Death is that, not only is their can design appealing to a wide audience, but the product quality actually matches the tastes of the same target audience, solidifying their place in the market. 

DeBeers - Marriage Essential

I always wondered why diamond rings are so closely associated with marriage, especially since no culture actually practiced the tradition of giving diamond rings to a potential wife as proof of love—at least not historically. It turns out we have none other than De Beers to thank for that. In 1947, De Beers launched an advertising campaign that painted the precious diamond as a rare stone, one that would come to symbolize love even until today. The tagline “A Diamond Is Forever” captured the attention of lovers everywhere, who began to believe that the stone’s longevity, purity, and sparkle mirrored the love they shared with their partners. Now, almost a century later, diamonds are still considered essential when proposing to a potential bride, cementing De Beers as the catalyst behind the diamond engagement ring tradition and one of the most influential advertising campaigns of all time.

Coca Cola - Taste the Fizz

Just like snickers, Coca Cola was also one of the pioneers when it came to using sound bites in their advertising campaign to entice viewers into desiring the product itself. Except, they also implemented the fizz from pouring the drink onto a cup as a visually appealing aspect of their ads, targeting those who would want to quench their thirst in the most satisfying ways. Not only that, Coca Cola also manages to make their product an essential in many situations such as gatherings with friends, and watching football together, hanging out with your loved ones and also spending time with the family. Their posted net revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter is up 6% from $10.85 billion in revenue reported at the same time last year and above expectations of $10.67 billion (Lucas, 2025). By now, I’m sure no one is a stranger to the fizzy drink, although not everyone drinks it, majority are sure to know it, making it one of the biggest successes in advertising history.

Dove 

I’ve always been curious about how certain brands manage to completely change the way we see ourselves and each other. Dove is one of those brands that really stands out to me. Before Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, beauty ads almost always featured models who looked nothing like the people you’d see in real life. But Dove flipped the script. Instead of airbrushed perfection, they showed real women celebrating what makes each person unique. It was pretty nice to see a brand do something different when it came to showing beauty on-screen for once. Their message really stuck with people. The campaign didn’t just sell soap and discussions on self-esteem and body image that are still going strong today. I think what made Dove’s approach so memorable was how genuine it felt. You could tell they weren’t just trying to sell a product, they really wanted to make a difference. And honestly, that’s probably why their campaign is still talked about as one of the best examples of positive, impactful advertising.

Dollar Shave Club

I remember when I first saw the Dollar Shave Club ad. Honestly, I thought it was a joke at first. If you didn't know what it was about, basically it had a guy, walking through a warehouse, cracking jokes about razors, and making punny jokes about shaving. But that’s exactly what made it work. The ad was so funny and unexpected that you couldn’t help but watch it all the way through. What really impressed me was how they managed to take something as boring as buying razors and turn it into a viral sensation. Their message was simple though, good razors delivered to your door for just a few bucks. The humor and honesty made people actually want to try it out, and before long, everyone was talking about it. It’s a perfect example of how a little creativity and personality can turn even the most ordinary product into something people are excited about. In my opinion, it’s one of the most memorable and effective ad campaigns of the last decade.

Wicked

As someone who has always wanted to watch musicals in person, Wicked was one of my top ten on the list. Even though it’s not the same as seeing the performers live, being able to watch it in theaters with my friend was an amazing experience. What made it even more memorable was the movie’s advertising techniques. Some might call the way they advertised it “excessive”—from creating absurd collaborations to singing the viral riff in various unorthodox places. However, as people often say, “bad publicity is still publicity,” and regardless of what you personally think about their methods, it’s clear that all of it contributed to the movie’s overall success. Some people even went to the theater expecting to dislike it, but emerged as new Wicked fans. I think this is one of the more successful cases of converting “haters” into “fans” through clever advertising strategies, making it a big success in marketing.

References

Curry, D. (2025) Duolingo Revenue and Usage Statistics (2025) - Business of Apps. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/duolingo-statistics/ 

Hernandez, Y. (2025) Duolingo social Media strategy: Unhinged stunts | NoGood. https://nogood.io/2025/03/10/duolingo-social-media-strategy/ 

HT School (2022). https://htschool.hindustantimes.com/editorsdesk/knowledge-vine/fun-fact-snickers-chocolate-bar-derived-its-name-from-an-adorable-horse 

Li, N. (2025) Spotify wrapped Marketing Strategy: viral phenomenon | NoGood. https://nogood.io/2025/01/20/spotify-wrapped-marketing-strategy/ 

Miller, J. (2018) 'Case study: How fame made Snickers' 'You're not you when you're hungry' campaign a success’, 14 August. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/case-study-fame-made-snickers-youre-not-when-youre-hungry-campaign-success/1410807 

Snickers Singapore (2012) SNICKERS You’re not you when you’re hungry TVC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziTmA8z6X2s 

Li, N. (2025) Spotify wrapped Marketing Strategy: viral phenomenon | NoGood. https://nogood.io/2025/01/20/spotify-wrapped-marketing-strategy/#:~:text=To%20put%20things%20into%20perspective,of%20tweets%20about%20Spotify%20Wrapped 

Collins, M. (2024) Liquid Death’s Billion-Dollar valuation stresses the power of brand. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcuscollins/2024/03/20/liquid-deaths-billion-dollar-valuation-underscores-the-power-of-brand/ 

American Gem Society (2023) Learn about the history & traditions of diamond engagement rings. https://www.americangemsociety.org/buying-diamonds-with-confidence/the-history-of-the-diamond-as-an-engagement-ring/ 

Lucas, A. (2025) Coca-Cola sales easily top estimates as global demand rises. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/11/coca-cola-ko-q4-2024-earnings.html