Adaily's Year of Brilliance #18: Challenge Yourself
This week, we explore brands that earn respect by Challenging Themselves. Setting a difficult, public goal creates a compelling story of determination and innovation. The key is that the ambitious pursuit itself builds admiration, making success almost secondary to the attempt. See more in Adaily here.
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1. New Brew • Carlsberg
FOLD7 London • 2019 • Alcoholic drinks - beer • United Kingdom • Europe
Campaign Summary:
Carlsberg addressed its poor reputation by publicly challenging itself to create a better beer, even amplifying negative tweets about its old product to announce the re-brewed lager. This radically honest pursuit aimed to regain consumer trust and change perceptions.
The bold move was successful, boosting quality perceptions by 15%, recommendations by 23%, and reaching millions via its "Mean Tweets" films.
2. The Bigger Crash • Hyundai
Jung von Matt AG Hamburg • 2022 • Cars • Cross-country • Global
Campaign Summary:
Hyundai's "The Bigger Crash" campaign publicly challenged itself by announcing its audacious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, aiming to raise awareness about climate change's severe impact.
The initiative successfully communicated this commitment to a global audience, reaching over 42M people, generating 87M+ impressions, and significantly increasing positive social reactions by 210%.
3. The 7 Wonders Challenge • Travelport
2023 • B2B/Travel Tech • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
Travelport challenged itself by setting a seemingly impossible logistical goal: sending an adventurer to the 7 New Wonders of the World in under 7 days using only public transport, booked entirely on its platform. This pursuit aimed to showcase Travelport+'s ability to manage complex itineraries.
The campaign successfully shifted perception of the platform as easy-to-use, drove new business leads, and garnered extensive global media coverage.
4. Miss America 2.0 • Miss America
VMLY&R New York • 2019 • Festival • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
The Miss America Organization challenged its own 98-year-old identity by setting a public goal to eliminate the controversial swimsuit competition, aiming to become Miss America 2.0. This difficult internal rebranding sought to shift focus from physical appearance to women's empowerment, leadership, and scholarship.
The decision sparked widespread media coverage and conversation, successfully repositioning the brand to align with modern cultural values.
5. Start Your Impossible • Toyota
Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles • 2018 • Cars • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
Toyota's "Start Your Impossible" campaign framed its entire brand ethos around the challenge of providing "mobility for all," publicly committing to this difficult, inclusive goal. This initiative aimed to reposition Toyota from a car company to a broader mobility company.
The campaign, which won a Gold Cannes Lion, successfully communicated this new mission and brand identity on a global stage like the Super Bowl, highlighting diverse stories of overcoming limitations.
Quick Takeaways: Challenge Yourself
Challenge Your Own Past: Publicly admitting a past flaw and committing to a better future, like Carlsberg did with its "New Brew," can build immense trust and respect. Think: Is there a past perception or product flaw your brand could bravely challenge itself to overcome?
Set Audacious Public Pledges: Announce a massive, long-term goal that pushes your company and industry forward, as Hyundai did with its carbon neutrality pledge. Think: What big, societal or environmental goal could your brand publicly commit to, making the pursuit a part of your story?
Use Human Achievement to Showcase Your Tech: Create a difficult human challenge that can only be solved with your product's capability, like Travelport's "7 Wonders Challenge." Think: What seemingly impossible human feat could your product or service enable, turning the attempt into a compelling demo?
Challenge Your Identity to Evolve: Don't be afraid to challenge your brand's core identity to stay relevant, as Miss America did by eliminating the swimsuit competition. Think: What long-standing tradition or "sacred cow" of your brand could you challenge to signal a powerful evolution?
About Adaily Inspiration
Adaily Inspiration is your weekly dose of creative fuel. Each Tuesday, we explore a powerful creative thinking tool from the Deck of Brilliance (a collection of 52 methods by Juggi Ramakrishnan and Todd McCracken). We break down the tool, show you how to apply it to your marketing, and analyze five award-winning campaigns from the Adaily database that demonstrate its effectiveness. Our goal is to help you generate breakthrough ideas and create campaigns that truly resonate.
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Disclaimer: All campaign descriptions in this post are AI-generated, based on real-life descriptions provided by the authors.
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