Mynewsdesk's 5 Favourite Campaigns Of 2016

With sparkly ads taking over our TVs, jingly tunes blaring out the radio and 5 gazillion gift discounts flooding our inboxes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And with a New Year on the horizon, what better time to take stock of what's been great in the world of PR and Marketing, this year?

For this, I asked the Mynewsdesk team for the campaigns that stood out the most to them and why. Here's their best of the bunch...

1. Heathrow Airport - Home For Christmas 

- From Emilia Villegas, Customer Success Manager

It's fairly unusual for an airport to advertise at all, let alone at Christmas, but Heathrow Airport tugged on all the heartstrings this year with this adorable ad which follows two teddies on their journey home for Christmas.

The 70-second spot trended on Facebook with more than 7.7 million views and is still growing. And no wonder—it's an adorable short story that shows the bears landing, going through immigration, getting their baggage and more.

This is Heathrow's first ever ad which marks their 70 year anniversary.

Emilia said: "I loved the fact that people all around the world can relate to it, especially during the festive season! In fact, quite a few people on my Facebook, from different parts of the world were sharing it. (And yes, I did have watery eyes when I saw it!). So, mission accomplished Heathrow!"

2. Make A Wish - Share Your Ears

-From Nick Johnson, Customer Success Manager

To honor the 100,000th Disney wish granted, and in celebration of Disneyland® Resort’s 60th Anniversary, fans were invited to share images of Mickey Mouse Ears, or any creative ears at all to help grant wishes.

By using the "Share Your Ears" photo frame on Facebook and sharing photos with the hashtag #ShareYourEars on Twitter and Instagram, fans unlocked a $5 donation from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, up to $1 million.

Disney Parks donated $2 million to Make-A-Wish®, double the original pledge - pretty impressive!

"This was HUGE at the beginning of 2016 and is a great example of excellent CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Disney really jumped on the selfie bandwagon and it went viral - for the greater good" - said Nick.

3. The "Cheater's" Range Rover

-Ruta Sudmantaite, Business Development Manager

Earlier this year, a brand spanking new, shiny white beast of a Range Rover was left outside Harrods. And it was daubed with the words "cheater" and "it's over"

At the time it was suggested the move could have been a publicity stunt - but no one was quite sure, with many taking to Twitter to share photos of the car which was parked outside the luxury store in Knightsbridge.

But the doubters were right - it was all a ploy - as it's now been confirmed after a luxury auto design and enhancement workshop confirmed it had painted the car in an advertising stunt for the new Revere Range Rover Vogue.

"Sure, it was a publicity stunt but Range Rover achieved what it set out to- it got people talking, and, perhaps more importantly, it got people sharing" - Ruta

4. "Make America Great Again"

-Kate Parker, UK Marketing Manager

In the face of ugly allegations and controversial statements, Trump won the US election for around half the cost of Hilary, with his votes coming it at approximately $4.57 (versus Hilary who spent around $8.80 per vote). 

How? Trump was very direct in his approach, using terminology which resonated with his demographic and he focused his attention on key swing states. What's more, he used social media effectively, using 140 characters to communicate in an "authentic" way and get his message across in short, snappy bursts. And this, of course, was amplified by media coverage.

"Whether you hate it or love it, Donald Trump is the next US president. But even if you don't agree with his politics it doesn't mean you can't appreciate, from a marketing perspective, the campaign that he and his team ran because, hey, they set out what they achieved to - and isn't that the marking of a successful campaign?" - Kate

5. #GiveABeep - Mynewsdesk

- Mynewsdesk!

Oh c'mon, we couldn't possibly have a top five campaigns of 2016 article without including our very own, multi award-winning masterpiece, #GiveABeep!

We helped our customer, Hövding, reach 100 million people with their story, Give A Beep - a campaign which highlighted the danger spots for cyclists in London and strived to make the city a safer place for cyclists and drivers alike. And sure, Mynewsdesk’s PR platform helped Hövding create and distribute their content and generate coverage from some of the most influential media, but it was story behind #GiveABeep that ensured they were heard by over 100 million people around the world.

And to say we're pretty chuffed with our 2016 campaign - and the numerous awards we won - would be an understatement. 

Let's see what 2017 has in store for us...