Skip to content
In this article, we spotlight the kings and queens of native advertising and branded content in 2019.
Each week, we picked remarkable content campaigns to feature in This Week in Native Ads (sign up to the newsletter here). Being included in This Week in Native Ads automatically got you in consideration for the best ads of the year. See 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018.
Submit your own work for consideration for 2020, here. (See 2020/2021/2022 here).
Also visit Intel by Nudge, a platform which has all of the world’s branded content organized in one place. If you want to learn more about how Nudge increases the ROI on content by 20-80% click here.
If you haven’t been able to find relevant examples for you, feel free to send us a note. The team would be happy to send some across.
Summary list
- ColeHaan [Retail]
- Visa [Finance]
- Mailchimp [Technology]
- Hulu [Entertainment]
- Shutterstock [Photography]
- Amazon Prime [Entertainment]
- Hennessy [Alcohol]
- TurboTax [Finance]
- Orbit [Food & Drinks]
- Visa [Finance]
- Microsoft AI [Technology]
- Nike [Apparel]
- BT [Technology]
- Deloitte [Consulting]
- The Yacht Week [Travel]
- Hilton [Travel]
- P&G [CPG]
- Oreo [Food & Drinks]
- Oracle [Technology]
- Apple [Technology]
- Patagonia [Retail]
- Accenture [Consulting]
- Beats by Dre [Technology]
- Singapore, Ministry of Communications and Information [Travel]
- Home Depot [Retail]
- Hotels.com [Travel]
- March For Our Lives [Non-profit]
- Heineken [Alcohol]
- Teradata [Technology]
- EcoWorld [Real Estate]
- Mercedes-Benz [Auto]
- HYPEBEAST [Media]
- BMW [Auto]
- HBO [Entertainment]
- Netflix [Entertainment]
- Sun Chips [Food & Drink]
- Visa [Finance]
- Facebook [Media]
- US Bank [Finance]
- Audi [Auto]
- Destination Canada [Travel]
- WeWork [Co-working]
- Nike [Apparel]
- eBay [Internet]
- Geico [Insurance]
- Accenture [Consulting]
- British Airways [Travel]
- Lenovo [Technology]
- C&A Foundation [Fashion]
- Canon [Technology]
- Neustar [Technology]
- Deloitte [Consulting]
- Rolls Royce [Auto]
- Honduras Maya Hotel [Travel]
- Lynx [Beauty]
- Guinness [Alcohol]
- Philippine Department of Tourism [Travel]
- Visit Scottish Twitter [Travel]
- Amazon Prime [Entertainment]
- Outer Banks Visitors [Travel]
- Visit Sweden [Travel]
- I Feel Slovenia [Travel]
- Showtime/a> [Entertainment]
Q1
ColeHaan: Changemakers
ColeHaan and Giant Spoon worked with Forbes’ BrandVoice on Changemakers. We especially like the Smorgasburg co-founder interview.
Category: Retail
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 1/18
Visa Presents Urban Survivalist
Visa created a funny ‘Reality’ show starring Ronny Chieng as part of a Branded Content Campaign. It demonstrates the convenience of mobile pay.
Category: Finance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 1/25
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Visa, click here.
Mailchimp presents: Wi-finders
MailChimp launches Wi-Finders, an unscripted original documentary series exploring the projects people are working on in various locations.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 1/25
Intel by Nudge: For more content by MailChimp, click here.
Hulu Is Experimenting With a Charmin Bear Chilling on Your Pause Screen
Hulu, pause screen ads. The new feature promises for a more pleasant ad break. Genius.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/1
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Hulu, click here.
Shutterstock Recreated the Notorious Fyre Festival Promo, This Time Using Only Stock Video
Shutterstock found a creative way to bring excitement to stock images. The promo brought luxury vibes on a deceptively small budget.
Category: Photography
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/8
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Shutterstock, click here.
Amazon Prime Student
Amazon Prime on The Tab, developed a quiz for students on what series they should binge watch next.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/8
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Amazon, click here.
Hennessy Debuts Ridley Scott-Directed Branded ‘Seven Worlds’ Short Film
A Ridley Scott short film ahead of the Oscars telling the story of Hennessy tasting notes.
Category: Alcohol
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/15
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Hennessy, click here.
Deductions 101: What You Need To Know About Tax Deductions This Tax Season
TurboTax on BroBible brings you Tax Deduction advice. Video + article (the best performing format from Nudge’s data) and multiple calls to action woven through, driving brand recall and conversion.
Category: Finance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/15
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Turbo Tax, click here.
Dating with Footnotes: Valentines Day
Orbit with College Humor – Dating Footnotes. “Your date might stink, but your breath doesn’t have to”. Funny and engaging, just as you’d expect from College Humor’s team.
Category: Food & Drinks
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/15
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Orbit, click here.
How Women In Hollywood Are Using Awards Season To Call For Pay Equality
Visa on Bustle, how women in Hollywood are using awards season to call for pay equality. Using the big stage to get an important message across.
Category: Finance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/22
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Visa, click here.
Awards Predictor Powered by Microsoft AI
Microsoft on The Hollywood Reporter, present an Awards predictor powered by Microsoft AI. A good demonstration of what the product can do, tied to audience participation (you vote) and cultural relevance.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 2/22
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Microsoft, click here.
Dream Crazier
Nike with Dream Crazier, talking about the stereotypes women are faced with and how they don’t let that stand in their way. Good follow up to their Kaepernick ad.
Category: Apparel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/1
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Nike, click here.
How 5G Will Fuel Future Business
BT on Wired, talking about how 5G will transform future business. Lots of good points on usage and how 5G will actually come to the UK.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/1
Intel by Nudge: For more content by BT, click here.
The Strategy Paradox
Deloitte on The Atlantic, The Strategy Paradox. Very simple, informative and to the point.
Category: Consulting
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/1
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Deloitte, click here.
Every reason Croatia is the worst place to spend your summer
The Yacht Week on The Tab taps into a bit of reverse psychology to get you to come and enjoy the festivities. Well done, we’re packing our bags!
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/8
Intel by Nudge: For more content by The Yacht Week, click here.
Hilton Marks 50th Anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-In for Peace with Groundbreaking New Video Series ‘Room 702’
Hilton dropped its latest limited video series to celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-In for Peace (which took place at the Hilton Amsterdam).
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/29
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Hilton, click here.
Water Champions
P&G and National Geographic, how P&G’s water purification method is helping it achieve its goal of providing 15 billion liters of clean drinking water to people in need.
Category: CPG
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 3/29
Intel by Nudge: For more content by P&G, click here.
Q2
Oreo x Game of Thrones Title Sequence
Oreos recreates the Game Of Thrones intro! This is the thesis of Nudge, content is becoming front and center of any good marketing initiative. And here it is.
Category: Food & Drinks
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/5
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Oreo, click here.
Owning your message means more than brand safety – it also means brand suitability
Oracle on The Drum. A B2B piece about optimizing campaigns for suitability – a goot marketing practice targeted at the right audience.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/5
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Oracle, click here.
Apple at Work — The Underdogs
We enjoyed the Apple Underdogs, reflecting the current work realities of collaboration, voice calls, mobility, all in a short time frame.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/5
Artifishal
Patagonia’s new documentary Artifishal, shows us how to defend the wild fish we love and tells the truth about the devastating cost of hatcheries, fish farms and the willful ignorance of scientific fact for political expediency.
Category: Retail
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/12
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Patagonia, click here.
From Me to We: The Rise of the Purpose-Led Brand
Accenture on WSJ, From Me to We: The Rise of the Purpose-Led Brand. A simple but nice touch on this piece is the LinkedIn embed, putting a face to the authors and building the profile of the very experts Accenture wants to.
Category: Consulting
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/12
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Accenture, click here.
Beats by Dre
Beats by Dre, a campaign which features many famous sports personalities, whilst ensuring that their headphones remain front and center.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/19
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Beats by Dre, click here.
All Singapore under one roof
Singapore’s Ministry of Communication and Information via National Geographic. With this piece, we’re invited to explore Singapore’s hawker centers, a second home for many and a melting pot of cuisines where a number of subcultures have formed.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/19
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Singapore, click here.
Spring Reboot
Home Depot via Apartment Therapy. The execution of this content is quite unique and fun to interact with.
Category: Retail
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/26
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Home Depot, click here.
Hotels.com on the “hate-like”
Hotels.com has come up with a name for the unspoken behavior of liking people’s travel photos from a place of jealousy – the “hate-like.” As someone who has the ultimate travel bug, this campaign really spoke to me.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 4/26
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Hotels.com, click here.
Generation Lockdown — March For Our Lives
What to do in the event of an active shooter for March for our Lives. Telling (and showing) a story is a million times more powerful than a banner ad.
Category: Non-profit
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/3
Bring Your Beer to Work Day
Bring your beer to work day, with Heineken 0.0% and stars from The Office.
Category: Alcohol
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/3
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Heineken, click here.
Analytics +: From Data to Answers
Teradata on Forbes, on the power that analytics have to turn raw material into actionable insights. A great piece, which effectively puts Teradata at the center of big data.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/10
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Teradata, click here.
Building a greener world takes a world of change
EcoWorld on National Geographic. This is an educational piece that hammers home the need for corporations, individuals and families alike, to review their own practices to understand how they are affecting the planet, in order to save/preserve it.
Category: Real Estate
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/17
Mercedes-Benz x Matchbox: No Limits
Mercedes Benz shines the light on gender stereotypes by telling the story of Ewy Rosqvist, the first female driver to win the Grand Prix. In celebration they’ve partnered with Matchbox to release a car for young girls. Also, check out the short film on Ewy here.
Category: Auto
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/24
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Mercedes-Benz, click here.
Streetwear Impact Report
Hypebeast’s Streetwear report in partnership with Strategy&, a PWC agency. In depth, smart and great positioning.
Category: Media
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/24
Retirement is about exploring your wide open future
BMW saluting the retired CEO of Mercedes in a classy respectful way.
Category: Auto
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/31
Intel by Nudge: For more content by BMW, click here.
Chernobyl. The Human Cost of Misinformation: How Silence and Lies Exacerbated the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster
HBO on The New Yorker on how silence and lies exacerbated the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, pushing off of HBO’s new miniseries ‘Chernobyl’. This piece highlights the propaganda and obfuscation that contributed to history’s worst nuclear tragedy. Also interesting how the modern observer is likely to notice the same distortions at play in today’s online landscape.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 5/31
Intel by Nudge: For more content by HBO, click here.
Coerced
Netflix on The Atlantic with a piece called ‘Introduction Coerced’, on how police interrogation methods lead to false confessions of the Central Park five. A great article created on the back of Netflix’s ‘When they see us on Netflix’ series.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/7
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Netflix, click here.
Moms: Reclaim your snack break
Category: Food & Drink
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/7
In a league of their own: the team who paved the way for women’s football 100 years ago
As one of the Fifa Women’s World Cup sponsors this year, Visa teamed up with the The Guardian. They make a stand for female empowerment and acceptance, as well as being a catalyst for the game.
Category: Finance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/14
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Visa, click here.
The New World of Sports Sponsorship
Facebook on Adweek. With all the big games, a perfect time for this piece and we love the ‘meta’ nature of the campaign.
Category: Media
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/14
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Facebook, click here.
How Companies Are Tackling a Lack of Cybersecurity Experts
US Bank via NYTimes, talking about the importance of cybersecurity and a need for more people in this field. Consider us sold!
Category: Finance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/21
Intel by Nudge: For more content by US Bank, click here.
Audi Presents: Science Fair
Tapping into the hype surrounding the new Spiderman movie. Watch as Peter Parker and his best friend’s science project gets a last minute boost from the e-tron GT concept.
Category: Auto
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 6/28
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Audi, click here.
Q3
The Idyllic Lakeside Getaways of Canada
Destination Canada on Washington Post ideates how to plan a luxurious getaway in the country with the most lakes in the world. A nicely executed and visually eye-catching piece.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/12
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Destination Canada, click here.
In Minnesota, A Marriage Between Business Giants And Growing Startups
WeWork is partnering with FiveThirtyEight to tell the story of the American business landscape (while, of course, highlighting their locations).
Category: Co-working
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/12
Intel by Nudge: For more content by WeWork, click here.
Never Stop Winning
Nike, never stop winning, celebrating the USWNT win. Very inspiring ad, with lots of women empowerment.
Category: Apparel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/12
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Nike, click here.
Honest Alexa
Alexa, what is Prime Day? eBay riffing off Amazon’s Prime Day this week.
Category: Internet
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/19
Intel by Nudge: For more content by eBay, click here.
The Get it Together Project
Geico on The Washington Post cover a couple who want to save for their kids’ college fund. And takes views on that journey.
Category: Insurance
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/19
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Geico, click here.
Future proof: is your business ready for the post-digital age?
Accenture on The Irish Times on the necessity for business to future proof ahead of the post-digital age. Pointing at the need for companies to master emerging technologies, but also to prioritize trust, responsibility, privacy and security.
Category: Consulting
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/19
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Accenture, click here.
Indulge in local wines, lounge on the famous beaches or explore the cradle of Minoan civilisation: There is something for everyone in Heraklion
British Airways on Metro exploring Heraklion, a city in Crete. From beaches and ruins to delicious food there is something for everyone.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/26
Intel by Nudge: For more content by British Airways, click here.
The fallout: a real-world cybersecurity story
Lenovo shares The FallOut, a real-world walkthrough of how the Korea hack happened to Sony and why hacks are inevitable now. Hattip to The Drum. “When it comes to data security there are those that play the wait and see game and those that are still in business”.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/26
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Lenovo, click here.
‘Making a T-shirt for one dollar is not realistic’: The ethics of trading in Africa
C&A Foundation with Glossy shining the light on Africa Fashion Guide – a social enterprise focused on sustainable textile sourcing.
Category: Fashion
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 7/26
Intel by Nudge: For more content by C&A Foundation, click here.
A new lens on life
Canon via The Washington Post exploring the lives of “The Bucket List Family”.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/2
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Canon, click here.
When Scandinavian Airlines adopted analytics, it got more than tools and technology
Neustar on AdAge. When Scandinavian Airlines adopted analytics, it was able to identify which parts of its marketing investment are most effective and why.
Category: Technology
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/2
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Neustar, click here.
Consumers Want Automakers to Do Better – Here’s How to Meet Their Expectations
Execute with humanity, this AdWeek piece with Deloitte. On delivering a better customer experience.
Category: Consulting
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/9
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Deloitte, click here.
Rolling with… Jammer
Rolls Royce has been a smart player in content, you may recall their National Geographic work last year. This one is focused on the next generation of owners.
Category: Auto
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/9
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Rolls Royce, click here.
Hotelbnb Case Study
Hotelbnb Case Study for Honduras Maya Hotel. A “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality in our ever changing, technological world.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/16
Speed Dates In An Ice Bath
LadBible & Lynx do speed dating over an ice bath.
Category: Beauty
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/16
Guinness shines a spotlight on female rugby pioneers
Guinness shines a light on a Japanese women’s rugby team who stood together, in the face of societal pressure, to pursue their passion for the game.
Category: Alcohol
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/16
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Guinness, click here.
It’s more fun in the Philippines
Philippine Department of Tourism on CNBC with a 2-part, fully immersive content experience. This one explores depth of Visayas region through a dynamic page design that re-calibrates the order of content depending on the traffic driver used to direct audiences to the page. Make sure to check out the second article – a journey through Camiguin island complete with authentic perspectives from local residents filmed across the islands.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/23
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Philippine’s Department of Tourism click here.
Welcome to the #ScottishTwitter Visitor Centre
An appropriately Scottish take on Scotland… by Scottish Twitter.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/23
Myths and Magic
Amazon Prime on The Guardian, shining a light on their latest series Carnival Row with a piece on Myths and magic – A brief history of the world’s most storied legendary creatures.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/30
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Amazon, click here.
Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island
Outer Banks Visitors Bureau on Atlas Obscura, on the lesser-known lost colony of Roanoke was a safe haven for formerly enslaved people during the Civil War. A great and enlightening read.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/30
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, click here.
10 Amazing Places to Eat Outdoors in Sweden
Visit Sweden on Conde Nast Traveler. 10 Amazing Places To Eat Outdoors In Sweden – to be honest, I wouldn’t mind eating at either of those places.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 8/30
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Visit Sweden, click here.
Discover the Treasures of Slovenia
Discover the treasures of Slovenia, by I Feel Slovenia on NYT. A visually attractive piece which blends great storytelling with compelling imagery and videos. But overall, why is this a good piece? Because after reading it, you want to go to Slovenia.
Category: Travel
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 9/6
Intel by Nudge: For more content by I Feel Slovenia, click here.
Who Rises to the Top of a Pyramid Scheme?
Showtime on The Daily Beast with a piece called Who rises to the top of a pyramid scheme? A piece which effectively shines a light on Showtime’s new series, “On Becoming A God in Central Florida”, and links through to the brand site throughout the article.
Category: Entertainment
Featured in: This Week in Native Ads 9/6
Intel by Nudge: For more content by Showtime, click here.
Check out 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 and submit your own work for consideration here.
|
|---|
