Five Standout Retail Campaigns That Made an Impact

When Brands Build Worlds You Can Sleep In: Mattel x Airbnb

This is Barbiecore, but make it hospitality rendition.

To mark the 60th anniversary of Barbie back in 2019, Mattel Inc. teamed up with Airbnb to create a limited-time stay that lets guests step inside Barbie’s world — no imagination required! Open for two days, guests could book an overnight stay at a fully pink, immersive beachfront dream house property in the heart of Malibu.

From panoramic ocean views and an outdoor infinity pool to a hobby room, personal cinema, and Zen deck, the house was more than just a camera ready spectacle—it was an IRL homage to six decades of Barbie’s aspirational legacy. Every corner of the home, from the design to the copy, was dipped in her signature tone of playful empowerment.

And just when the world thought Barbie couldn’t get any bigger, 2023 rolled in. With the release of the blockbuster film, Mattel reopened the dream house for bookings, giving the campaign a second wave of virality. Guests were welcomed by some of Barbie’s most accomplished friends; athletes, entrepreneurs, changemakers and creators – adding even more substance to the spectacle.

IP storytelling at its finest!

Beyond offering a unique hospitality experience and a pink glazed PR machine, the initiative had a philanthropic angle. Airbnb made a donation to The Barbie Dream Gap Project GoFundMe initiative, reinforcing the brand’s mission to empower the next generation of girls to dream big.

Turning Competition into Conversion: Burger King’s 'Whopper Detour'

What do you do when your rival’s everywhere (cc: every street corner)? In true Burger King style—you turn their locations into your sales funnel.

In one of the boldest fast-food flexes ever, Burger King launched the "Whopper Detour" in 2018, offering 1-cent Whoppers to anyone who ordered through their app while standing within 600 feet of a McDonald's.

The brand geo-fenced and drew virtual perimeters around 10,000+ McDonald’s outlets across the U.S., triggering app notifications that lured customers to ‘unlock’ the deal — but only when they were within striking distance of the Golden Arches.

Once the order was placed, the app redirected them to the nearest Burger King for pickup, effectively turning McDonald's locations into Burger King's marketing touchpoints.

Petty? Maybe. Brilliant? Absolutely!

By combining offline geo-targeting with online app exclusive rewards, the brand cleverly 'hijacked’ competitor’s foot traffic, gamified fast food run, and drove serious digital adoption.

Results? 1.5M app installs, 3.5B media impressions, and 3X spike in mobile sales - all in just nine days of the campaign.

This wasn’t about burgers; it was about stealing a share of mind (and GPS coordinates)!

When Ethics lead the Aesthetics: Lush's 'Go Naked' Campaign

Lush's Go Naked Products Campaign represents a significant shift towards sustainability and eco-consciousness. By introducing packaging-free alternatives to traditional cosmetics, Lush is leading the charge in reducing plastic waste and promoting environmental stewardship.

Already 100% vegetarian and against animal testing, these packaging-free stores are another way for the cosmetics chain to add to its ethical credentials.

The Naked Products Campaign features a range of cosmetics, including shampoo bars, solid body scrubs, and bath bombs, all designed to be packaging-free or minimally packaged. These innovative products not only reduce plastic waste but also encourage consumers to rethink their consumption habits.

In addition to this launch, Lush also opened the doors of its newest Naked shop in Manchester, UK, in 2019. The store only stocks packaging-free products, even eschewing labels and allowing shoppers to scan their purchases via an app. The specialist store is the brand’s third of the kind, following openings last year in Berlin and Milan.

"In Lush we work in an industry where the packaging costs the customer more than the product," said Mark Constantine, Lush Co-founder and Managing Director. "Now, the customer needs to worry about how to recycle something they didn’t want to buy in the first place. This seems like a raw deal to us. If we can cut out all the plastic packaging, we can give our customers better value for money."

At a time when plastic waste pollution is a growing problem - according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, at this rate the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050 - Lush is giving a major contribution based on creativity, research and innovation.

Demand-wise, nine out of ten people would like to see a plastic-free aisle in supermarkets, according to a survey, and millions of people participate in Plastic Free July every year.

“Lush is recognizing that there is a demand and they are the first mass market retailer to do that,” explained Emily Salter, associate analyst at GlobalData Plc.

Stunt That Went Viral for All the Right Reasons: Specsavers' Parking Blunder

Specsavers, UK optical retail chain, orchestrated a stunt in March 2024 in Edinburgh, where a car was humorously “parked” in an unusual spot, causing a spectacle. This was later revealed as a cheeky marketing move by the optical chain.

Why it Went Viral: The unexpected visual and the brand’s clever play on their tagline, “Should’ve gone to Specsavers,” resonated with audiences, leading to widespread sharing and discussions.

This installation was part of the brand's long-standing “Should’ve Gone to Specsavers” campaign, known for its humorous take on visual misjudgments. Promoting the brand's optical services, the stunt plays on the well-established campaign that highlights scenarios that probably wouldn’t have happened if people were wearing the right glasses or contact lens subscription.

Graham Daldry (he coined the phrase!) arrived in Guernsey in 1999 to lead the Specsavers creative team, the company was in a very different place to the household name brand of today. The UK spectacles market was dominated by independent opticians. Alongside Specsavers, bigger chains such as Vision Express , Boots Opticians, and Dollond & Aitchison all held 10-15% market shares, with the independents taking 50%. By the early 2000s the situation appeared fairly static.

In collaboration with the Marketing Director, Graham’s team spent four years making their case to achieve buy-in from key stakeholders across the organisation. But when it did go live, “It caught on very quickly. It had been a long journey, but within a month of the line coming out, we were getting unheard-of PR, and people were repeating it. It was insane actually, the way it took off.” added Graham.

This stunt, latest from the series, was so convincingly executed that passersby believed it to be a genuine accident, leading to widespread sharing on social media and coverage in various news outlets. Viewers were also left in hysterics after being fooled by the driver's alleged mishap.

Specsavers didn’t buy ad space; they made it, with just a car and a classic catchphrase. In a world of overproduced campaigns, this was pure meme-worthy minimalism.

Fashionably Unfurnished: IKEA's 'Real-Life Roomsets'

IKEA isn't just about stylish furniture anymore. In collaboration with housing charity Shelter, the brand launched a powerful campaign across four of its UK stores that brought attention to the country’s growing housing crisis, using a stark contrast to its signature well-designed & inspiring showrooms.

Through a series of eye-opening installations, IKEA unveiled ‘Real Life Roomsets’—temporary living spaces based on the real stories and harsh conditions experienced by those in temporary accommodation. Instead of the picture-perfect rooms we’re used to seeing, these roomsets highlighted cramped, unsafe, and downright dismal living conditions faced by many people in the UK struggling with homelessness.

This wasn’t just about awareness; it was a direct call to action.

With 59% of UK adults believing the housing crisis is at its worst, IKEA and Shelter used the campaign to advocate for the construction of 90,000 new social homes each year by 2030.

‘Real Life Roomsets’ was a powerful reminder that while IKEA may be known for its beautifully curated spaces, it’s the lived reality of the most vulnerable that needs our focus.

The public response was immediate and so was the brand impact, with a 20% rise in people associating IKEA with doing good, and a 12% increase in those viewing the company as a values-led business.

Decoding Retail: Your Insider Glossary

'Guerrilla Marketing'

An unconventional and bold marketing tactic that relies on surprise, creativity, and real-world placements to grab attention, provoke strong emotions and drive word-of-mouth.