These 6 Great CPG Commercials Were the Whole Package

Consumer packaged goods aren't usually considered a creative canvas for agencies. But these six campaigns proved otherwise—showing that even staid categories can be fertile ground for fascinating creative ideas, and massive viral hits. 

• Old Spice

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Year: 2010

W+K had been revitalizing the P&G brand for a while, but nothing could prepare the world for Isaiah Mustafa in his towel—at once, the ideal man and the ultimate parody of him. With its sharp writing and hyperbolic visuals, this spot defined postmodern masculinity and created a whole, often-imitated style of self-aware advertising.

• Honey Maid

Agency: Droga5

Year: 2014

Mondelez also took up the cause of inclusive advertising with "This Is Wholesome," a campaign showing the full range of real American families. The launch spot showed gay dads, two mixed-race families (one military) and a single dad—and the lauded campaign has also touched on everything from divorce to disability to immigration.

• Axe

Agency: 72andSunny

Year: 2016

For years, this Unilever brand was stubbornly troglodytic in its ads, appealing to young men with bluntly sexist portrayals of women. But lately it's been evolving, and this year rolled out a campaign with an impressive, grownup take on manhood. One guy in high heels, another in a wheelchair—this isn't your older brother's Axe.

• Knorr

Agency: MullenLowe

Year: 2016

Tatia Pilieva, who directed the famous "First Kiss" film a few years back, returned with this great branded work for Unilever's soup mixes and condiments brand. It was another social experiment about affection—to see if strangers could fall in love over food. With almost 60 million views, it's one of 2016's most viral ads to date.

This story first appeared in the June 20, 2016 issue of Adweek magazine.

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