Introduction

The world of social media marketing in 2024 is hyper-competitive, with companies and creative agencies battling it out for users’ attention. To put it bluntly, social media advertising needs to have instant impact to stop someone’s scroll, and brands are using everything from influencers to AI to get ahead of the trend.

Top creative agencies know this, though, and they’ll often resort to audience analysis, social platform data insights, creative brainstorming and formatting experience to ensure that their content campaigns are pain-stakingly optimised to create the most impactful social ads.

Top Social Media Ad Campaigns of 2024

So, what social media ad campaigns are capturing the attention of online audiences at the moment? Here, we round up top-performing, viral sensation campaigns that feature jaw-dropping creativity, high-calibre marketing techniques and, above all else, have that digital stardust to get audiences engaging with the content. So, if you’re currently reworking your social media strategy for 2024 or devising a new campaign for a client, take stock of the below and prepare to be wowed – these campaigns have more than upped the social media ad campaign game.

Assume That I Can for CoorDown / World Down Syndrome Day 2024 by SMA

You know you’re onto an influential winner when major news outlets such as CNN say your campaign “is smashing assumptions from every angle”. This is the most important aspect of a successful piece of marketing: it not only boasts potency, virality and longevity, but it tests the audience and prompts them to think deeply about a topic – or even reconsider their position on something entirely.

SMALL agency, working on behalf of Down’s syndrome awareness organisation CoorDown for World Down Syndrome Day 2024, pulled this off expertly with its recent #AssumeThatICan campaign, which is being considered as one of the best social media ad campaigns of 2024. The campaign centres around a hero video, which tears down stereotypes about the preconceived notions we may have around people with Down’s syndrome and the unconscious limiting beliefs we may place on the demographic as a result. For example, the Down’s actress in the video riffs about bartenders not expecting a person like her to order a margarita and go clubbing.

The video was also supported by a TikTok campaign, featuring user-supplied videos of people with Down’s syndrome sharing examples of the biases they’ve overcome. The combination of high-quality video production supported by authentic, self-shot videos makes the campaign really well-rounded and enhances its reach potential.

Meet Marta: The Movie by Marta Puerto with Filmograma

Sometimes, a difficult and testing situation can be the catalyst for creative and outside-of-the-box thinking. That’s exactly what prompted Marta Puerto, a Madrid-based Product Marketing Manager whose job had been made redundant at her previous company, to get creative.

After sending hundreds of job applications, the majority of which she never received a response to, Puerto leaned on her marketing skills to help her bag an interview. She realised that she had to market herself and the skills she brings to the table.

Cue Puerto ideating, writing, producing and distributing a snappy, vibrant video explaining her situation and showcasing her skills and expertise. The video culminates with a call to action for interested companies and recruiters to visit her website to find out more.

The LinkedIn post went viral, racking up 150,000 reactions to date and thousands of comments. And the best thing about it? It worked. Puerto has stated she was inundated with invitations to interview for jobs – she even had to create a separate email inbox to handle the high volume of requests. Who says you need to be a multinational corporation to create impactful social ads?

Liquid Death Proves Decades of Soda Marketing is BS by Liquid Death

Canned water brand Liquid Death has already become a mandatory inclusion in any ‘best of the year’ advertising lists for 2024 due to the meteoric buzz that the company’s videos generate. The challenger brand’s most popular video this year is its comical, exposé-style spoof take on the mass-manufactured soda industry and the use of superficially attractive models and athletes falsely claiming they drink fizzy drinks crammed full of sugar.

The video has clocked up 3,654,580 views in just over a month on YouTube, which is phenomenal when you consider that the brand’s product is water. Could the likes of Evian capture the attention of audiences in such a way?

The secret behind Liquid Death’s runaway marketing success, according to founder and CEO Mike Cessario, is that his team is never content with sticking to a tried-and-tested format. As an irreverent brand with punk ethos heritage, Cessario explained on the Uncensored CMO podcast that it’s important the company treads its own path. To do so, Cessario and his team don’t turn to traditional marketing or advertising experts to come up with the concepts and scripts for their ads. They turn to comedians and comedy show scriptwriters in a bid to keep their adverts original, funny and witty.

What Makes These Campaigns Stand Out?

While all of these wildly successful ad campaigns cover vastly different topics and differ in execution, there’s a common thread that connects them all: they’re wholly original and unique in their own ways. While generative artificial intelligence tools have helped to catapult productivity and made video editing more accessible and user-friendly, it’s not renowned for creative, original ideation: the social ads featured in this list needed human ingenuity to come up with the concepts. 

The campaigns also use a social video as their hero asset, with supporting content and posts all helping to drive awareness of it. With 82% of people claiming they are convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video, according to Wyzowl research, this is a wise move.

Lessons Learned from the Best Ad Campaigns

• No beige concepts: think creatively, be bold and break the mould 
• Build your campaign around a hero video
• Embrace humour (if it’s a good fit for your brand)

How to Elevate Your Social Media Campaign and Reach Vast Audiences

Looking to turbo-charge your social media strategy in 2024 and create social ad campaigns that rival the examples featured above? Well, it’s not too late to get started. Get in touch with us and let’s get brainstorming.