From Tinder’s inclusive storytelling to MTN’s viral humour, explore five more campaigns that turned cultural insights into brand legends.
These campaigns prove that creativity doesn’t follow borders. Whether it’s the US, Japan, South Africa, or Nigeria, powerful ideas can travel across languages and cultures when they connect authentically with people’s lives. In Part 2 of this series, we explore how local insights can lead to global impact. We'll also discuss how our online, part-time MA in Creative Marketing and Branding can help you bring the next iconic marketing campaigns to life.
If you missed the first part of this two-part blog post series, you can read it here.
6. Tinder: “It Starts with a Swipe™”
Tinder’s first global brand campaign, “It Starts with a Swipe™” (Feb 2023), repositioned the app from a hook-up platform to a place for meaningful, authentic connections. Reflecting how Gen Z has reshaped modern dating, the campaign used bold, inclusive visuals to celebrate the full spectrum of relationships on Tinder.
Shot by Pol Kurucz and produced by Early Morning Riot, the campaign presented a vibrant, fairy-tale-like world that captured the curiosity, fluidity, and emotion of Gen Z dating. As Global CMO Melissa Hobley noted, Tinder daters are redefining what dating looks like, and the campaign aimed to mirror that shift through colourful, value-driven storytelling.
Created with Mischief, the concept highlighted everything from spontaneous moments to genuine relationship milestones, using witty lines like “Realizing You’re Not Dead Inside” and “Comfortable Silences” to show the humour and honesty of dating today.
Audience insight shaped the work: 31% of Gen Z Tinder users wanted long-term relationships, 63% prioritised shared values, and LGBTQIA+ members were the platform’s fastest-growing community. The message was simple: Tinder is for every kind of connection.
A diverse, representative creative team brought the campaign to life, with video spots directed by Los Pérez and rolled out across TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Hulu, YouTube, and major markets including the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Australia, and Brazil.
Lesson: Great creative concepts begin with great insight. Tinder tapped into the mindset of today’s young dating community, who see connection as fluid, inclusive, and emotionally rich. By mirroring their values with humour and authenticity, the brand transformed its perception and celebrated modern love.
7. Got Milk? Creating scarcity and FOMO
Sometimes the simplest question is the most powerful.
Launched in 1993 by the California Milk Processor Board, the “Got Milk?” campaign asked consumers to imagine life without milk and used that sense of loss to drive desire. Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, it flipped traditional advertising by relying on loss aversion rather than health messaging. The first ad, “Aaron Burr,” directed by Michael Bay, showed a historian unable to answer a trivia question because he was out of milk. It was strange, funny, and instantly memorable.
The campaign quickly expanded, producing hundreds of variations and introducing the famous milk moustache. Celebrities from Beyoncé to Jennifer Aniston appeared in the ads, turning the slogan into a cultural icon. Awareness soared, with surveys showing that more than 90% of Americans recognised the line. It was essentially influencer marketing before social media.
Yet despite its success and awards, the campaign couldn’t reverse broader consumer trends. Milk consumption in the US continued to decline as health concerns, lactose intolerance, and plant-based alternatives grew. “Got Milk?” remains a creative landmark, and a reminder that even standout branding cannot always overcome shifting habits.
Lesson: Awareness doesn’t always equal conversion. “Got milk?” proved that a clear message, consistently delivered, can define an era, but not always the market.
8. KFC Japan: “Kentucky for Christmas”
Sometimes the most iconic campaigns solidify entire traditions. In Japan, the usual Christmas meal isn’t a turkey dinner. Thanks to KFC, it became a bucket of fried chicken. The story began in 1974, when KFC Japan launched its first Christmas set: a party bucket paired with wine. It was inspired by a foreign customer who quipped, “I can’t get turkey in Japan, so I’ll celebrate with Kentucky Fried Chicken”.
Over the decades, “Kentucky for Christmas” evolved into a nationwide ritual. Colonel statues don Santa suits, festive limited-edition menus drop, and KFC opens pre-orders from late October to manage demand. The 24th December is KFC Japan’s busiest day of the year — up to ten times busier than average — with lines out the door and delivery slots booked out. What began as a clever seasonal promotion became a cultural phenomenon that proves localisation, timing, and joyful consistency can reshape habits at scale.
Lesson: Embed your brand in local culture. When a campaign aligns with a seasonal moment and fulfils a real-world need, it can turn into a beloved tradition.
9. Nando’s South Africa: sharp-witted satirical billboards
Nando’s has long been South Africa’s master of OOH (out of home) advertising with bite. It often does this with cheeky, topical billboards to riff on politics and pop culture in real time. The brand’s satirical outdoor ads don’t just sell peri-peri chicken; they spark national conversation and dominate social feeds.
The results show the power of culturally tuned OOH: one political satire execution generated 50,000+ social shares in 48 hours. Nando’s also reported a 10% uplift in foot traffic following some of its most talked-about boards. The brand has turned billboards into a two-way medium, launching headlines on the street that echo online.
Lesson: Speak the country’s language. Hyper-relevant, witty OOH can punch far above its weight when it taps the national mood and invites the public in on the joke.
10. MTN Nigeria: “I Don Port”
When mobile number portability arrived in Nigeria in 2013, it could have been a dry policy update. Instead, MTN turned it into a pop-culture moment with “I Don Port”. This joyful, meme-ready campaign starred comedian Saka, who famously “switched sides” from a rival network in bright MTN yellow.
The jingle, “I don port o, I don port to MTN!”, leapt into everyday slang. “I don port” became shorthand for switching anything, not just networks. By wrapping a technical benefit in humour, music, and a beloved personality, MTN turned a functional message into national entertainment. It also accelerated switching intent at the exact moment consumers had new freedom of choice.
Lesson: Translate utility into culture. If your proposition is technical, deliver it with a familiar face, a catchy hook, and a wink. Then let the street carry it for you.
How this course can help you create iconic campaigns
These landmark campaigns show how creativity and strategy can reshape culture. Understanding why they worked is one thing, but learning how to apply the same principles of storytelling, psychology, and audience insight to your own work is what sets great marketers apart.
The online MA in Creative Marketing and Branding gives you the creative confidence and strategic tools to build campaigns that make an impact. Through modules in consumer behaviour, integrated marketing communications, brand building, and marketing analytics, you’ll learn to decode audiences, design cross-platform stories, develop meaningful brand identities, and turn data into ideas. You’ll also work on projects that mirror how agencies and brand teams operate, blending creativity with analysis.
You can tailor your studies through three pathways: Creative Marketing and Branding for brand storytelling and strategy, Digital Campaigns for high-performing digital experiences, or Global Advertising for campaigns that resonate across cultures. All pathways are delivered 100% online, part-time over two years, so you can develop your skills flexibly while advancing your career.
Great campaigns aren’t about big budgets. They’re about bold thinking, cultural understanding, and ideas that connect at the right moment. If you’re ready to move from admiring campaigns to creating them, this course will help you lead with creativity, insight, and confidence.
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