In 2018 brands were on a mission to connect with people more than even.
Sometimes brands (hey, Nike) felt it best to take a stand for an important issue or cause, while others used their creative prowess to make stunning ad campaigns that you could watch over and over again—think Apple’s HomePod ad. Then there were those that relied on clever stunts and activations to win some media coverage and attention from consumers.
Other brands, like Uber, needed to revamp their marketing and brand image to reposition after heaps of negative publicity, while some brands found themselves in the hot seat for various reasons.
2018 was a wild ride, so be sure to revisit the biggest stories of the year from Adweek’s Brand Marketing team below:
No. 25: Deadpool Has Invaded the Rest of Walmart’s Movie Aisle With a Brilliant Blu-ray Stunt
No. 24: A Nurse Drove His Tundra Through the California Wildfires to Save Victims. So Toyota Is Replacing It
No. 23: With a $0 Ad Budget, Tesla Just Pulled Off One of the Greatest Marketing Stunts Ever
No. 22: Pepsi CEO Says It’s Targeting Women With Doritos That Are Cleaner and Less Crunchy
No. 21: Inside M&M’s Absurd Gambit to Turn Danny DeVito Into a Super Bowl-Sized Spokescandy
No. 20: Ikea ‘Bullied’ a Potted Plant While Encouraging Another, Then Showed Schoolkids the Impact
No. 19: Trump Tweeted the NFL and Nike Are ‘Getting Absolutely Killed,’ but Here’s the Data
No. 18: Michelob Ultra Continues Its Commitment to Health and Wellness With New Premium Organic Brew
No. 17: Why KFC Turned a Tweet From One of Its Biggest Critics Into a U.K. Ad Campaign
No. 16: Under Armour Parts With Adrienne Lofton, SVP, Global Head of Brand Management
No. 15: The Princess Bride Star Cary Elwes Revives His Famous Role in New Ad for Culligan Water
No. 14: That Crocodile Dundee Reboot: Here’s the Whole Story Behind the Movie That Wasn’t
No. 13: 5 Brand Logo Redesigns That Pissed People Off
No. 12: Taco Bell Made the Perfect Trailer for a Fake Movie About Why They’ve Never Sold Fries
No. 11: H&M Is Under Fire for Modeling Its ‘Coolest Monkey’ Hoodie on a Black Child
No. 10: Get an Exclusive Look at Uber’s New Brand Revamp
No. 9: Ashley Wagner Didn’t Make the Olympic Team, but Did Make This Breathtaking Toyota Ad
No. 8: Apple’s Gorgeously Detailed Holiday Ad Has a Moral That All Creatives Should Take to Heart
No. 7: Lacoste’s Iconic Crocodile Makes Room for 10 Endangered Species on Brand’s Polo Shirts
No. 6: The Cult of Peloton: Reinventing the Fitness Industry, and Becoming a Microcultural Phenomenon
No. 5: Living Coral Is Pantone’s 2019 Color of the Year
No. 4: Spike Jonze and FKA twigs Made a Jaw-Dropping Short Film for Apple’s HomePod
No. 3: Every Ad Is a Tide Ad: Inside Saatchi and P&H’s Clever Super Bowl Takeover Starring David Harbour
No. 2: Macaulay Culkin Is Home Alone Again at Age 38 in Google’s Update to the Holiday Classic
No. 1: Payless Opened a Fake Luxury Store, ‘Palessi,’ to See How Much People Would Pay for $20 Shoes