Hit or miss? How marketing can make or break a brand

Brands across the globe have had a marketing wins or losses; sometimes both. At The Orchard, we're always paying attention to the campaigns that capture audiences and the ones that fall flat, because understanding the difference is what helps us create meaningful campaigns for our clients. So, what makes a campaign hot, or not?

Let's begin with a hit.

Due to FIFA's long-standing 'clean stadium' policy at the World Cup, they covered the logo in Levi's own arena. The logo was hidden under white tarp, preserving the batwing silhouette, thus making it obvious the Levi's logo remained underneath.

Instead of backing down, Levi's changed their profile picture on Instagram to match the covered-up logo with the iconic batwing silhouette. Using humour to deal with what had originally seemed like a setback deeply resonated with the public.

At The Orchard, the tactics Levi's used are extremely familiar to us as we consistently combine strategy and creativity to deliver exceptional results for our clients. Being insight-led and culturally aware are important valuesfor us, and Levi's displayed these principles perfectly, turning a potential issue into a positive talking point that generated widespread publicity.

These moments often define a brand's success; their ability to adapt depending on the circumstance. Despite this being a simple change, it boosted Levi's brand image and reinforced the strength of the company. It serves as a reminder that sometimes the most effective marketing comes from responding to a situation in the right way, rather than sticking rigidly to a plan.

AI adverts guarantee a miss.

AI advertisements are controversial, yet they have become omnipresent in everyday life, particularly online. Although they can be time-efficient and cost-effective, they continuously underperform in comparison to human-made adverts. This comes down to the fact that audiences find it difficult to connect with AI campaigns. After all, how could a robot relate to human experiences?

In our view, AI can be a valuable tool when used correctly, but it should support creativity rather than replace it entirely.

A real example of AI falling short is the McDonald's Netherlands advert titled The Most Terrible Time of the Year. The advert was a forty-five-second, fully AI-generated video. From the 'actors' to the 'sets', it included almost no human input apart from the prompt.

The video was supposed to be a satirical parody of Christmas chaos, but instead completely missed the mark, causing the company to receive strong backlash from users on social media platforms such as X. Users described the AI advert as "uncanny" and "creepy", causing McDonald's to pull the video from YouTube within only three days.

The Most Terrible Time of the Year is one of many AI advertisements that struggle to perform up to the standard of their human-made counterparts. Trusting AI campaigns is tough for audiences due to the rapid rise of these unfamiliar tools. Already, artificial intelligence has many horror stories attached to it and often discloses that it has the possibility of being wrong, causing a lack of certainty around the subject.

From The Orchard's perspective, the issue is not necessarily AI itself, but how brands choose to use it. Campaigns that rely solely on AI risk losing the creativity, empathy and emotional understanding that audiences connect with.

Many agree that human experience should not be able to be accurately replicated by a machine. If AI can replace people, what does it mean to be a person?

Campaigns using AI for the whole project can negatively impact a brand's reputation as the public are quick to paint them as 'lazy' or 'money hungry'. This is because it simply generates people and does not use human actors, actresses or camera crews, reducing the overall cost of the campaign. Cutting marketing costs is attractive to a brand, not customers.

Ultimately, we believe humans should use AI as a tool, not as a replacement.

Brands relating to real experiences receive positive reactions.

Recently, easyJet launched a Drop Everything campaign to make spontaneous travel more accessible.

The campaign includes a new Within 48 hours filter located within the Inspire Me tool. Customers can now easily discover a vast range of flights that depart in the following forty-eight hours.

Drop Everything is easyJet's response to the common feeling many people have – the desire to drop everything and travel. In a 2020 survey, 72% of people said they feel happier after an act of spontaneity (Psychology Today), highlighting the positive reaction people have when embracing impulsive decisions. easyJet acknowledged this insight and decided to assist with their customers' unplanned desires to travel.

More broadly, this campaign stands out because it starts with an audience insight rather than a product feature. By understanding how people feel and what motivates them, easyJet was able to create a campaign that connects on an emotional level.

To travellers, this decision demonstrated easyJet's commitment to supporting a growing market for spontaneous holidays and breaks. Thanks to easyJet listening to its consumers, the new feature has received a positive response and further improved the brand's reputation.

"Travel has always been filled with excitement. Our new campaign inspires customers to experience it in a brand-new way – through ultra last-minute bookings. We know spontaneous acts generate happiness, and we want to help make it even easier for people to escape the everyday and enjoy a trip that creates memories for a lifetime," said Tom Hazelden, Head of Brand, Planning & Content at easyJet.

Tom Hazelden demonstrates that easyJet understands the emotional pull behind spontaneous travel. The campaign is not only selling flights; it is selling the feeling of freedom, excitement and escape. By making last-minute bookings easier, easyJet has transformed a common impulse into a simple customer experience, which is what makes the campaign effective.

At The Orchard, we often see the most successful campaigns emerge when brands focus on solving a customer need whilst creating an emotional connection. easyJet has achieved both.

Reacting to a tragedy with a campaign falls flat every time.

A few weeks ago, a young child was seriously injured in a crocodile attack. Wowcher referenced the attack in a marketing email to customers, using language that made light of the child’s ordeal to sell a discount deal.

For obvious reasons, customers were not impressed with the email and screenshots started circulating on social media. Many recipients questioned how this wording was ever approved, causing a large number of consumers to unsubscribe from Wowcher's mailing list.

At The Orchard, we know that attention-grabbing marketing must be balanced with empathy and good judgement. Brands should always consider context before attempting to capitalise on trends or current events.

Attempting to capitalise on a tragedy demonstrates a lack of empathyand poor judgement. While generating attention may have been the intention, the outcome highlights the dangers of prioritising shock value over sensitivity.

After the public outrage, Wowcher published an apology and stated that "the wording should have never been approved for use." Because the incident had a negative effect on the brand's reputation, Wowcher also mentioned that it was working to "strengthen [its] creative approval and sign off safeguards."

Ultimately, Wowcher's email proves that shock value is not the same as smart marketing. Referencing someone else’s suffering for a sales pitch is extremely careless. The incident demonstrates why every campaign should be reviewed carefully and why reputation can be damaged in a matter of moments.

Overall, the difference between a marketing hit and miss comes from understanding your audience, responding to culture in the right way and creating campaigns that feel genuinely human. Whether it's Levi's turning a setback into a success, easyJet tapping into genuine customer insight, or brands learning the hard way from poor judgement, the lessons remain the same. Three questions every marketer should ask before launching a campaign

• Does it start with a real audience insight?

• Is it aligned to culture and context?

• Will it strengthen or weaken trust in the brand?