Top 7 Food Marketing Campaigns (Proven to Drive Massive Results)

In today’s competitive food and beverage industry, only the top food marketing campaigns manage to break through the noise and captivate audiences. The most successful campaigns combine creative ideas with smart execution – often leveraging influencer marketing, micro influencers, and user-generated content (UGC) to spark authentic engagement. From viral social media stunts to fan-driven contests, food brands have found ingenious ways to get people talking (and tasting). Below we highlight seven standout campaigns that made marketing history, and unpack what made each one so effective. These examples range from global brands to fast-food icons – each proving that with the right strategy (and a little creativity), a campaign can translate into real-world sales and brand love.

1. Burger King – “Moldy Whopper” Campaign

When Burger King set out to highlight the removal of artificial preservatives from its food, it took a bold and unconventional approach. The “Moldy Whopper” campaign showed time-lapse imagery of a Whopper rotting over 35 days – a jarring sight that hammered home the all-natural message. This risky strategy stirred massive buzz online. In fact, the campaign generated over 8.4 billion impressions globally and earned around $40 million in free media coverage. Controversial as it was, the stunt paid off: Burger King saw a 14% increase in sales following the campaign, along with an 88% bump in positive brand sentiment as consumers appreciated the transparency. The Moldy Whopper exemplified how creative content (even unappetizing content!) can get people talking and differentiate a brand’s positioning.

2. Coca-Cola – “Share a Coke” Personalization

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” is often cited as one of the top food marketing campaigns for its personal touch and viral reach. Launched first in Australia and then worldwide, the campaign replaced the iconic Coke logo on bottles with popular first names, encouraging customers to “share a Coke” with someone named on the label. This simple idea tapped into people’s emotions and desire for personalization. It led to huge social media interaction – consumers snapped photos of Coke bottles with their names and shared them widely. Over 500,000 photos were posted on Instagram with the #ShareaCoke hashtag, and Coca-Cola gained nearly 1 billion Twitter impressions from the campaign. Most importantly, it translated to business wins: after years of declining sales, Coca-Cola saw a 7% increase in teen consumption in Australia and a 2% boost in U.S. sales during the campaign’s run. The campaign ultimately spread to 70+ countries, selling 150 million+ personalized bottles and significantly lifting Coca-Cola’s market value. Share a Coke showed the power of content created by consumers – when fans become willing ambassadors, the organic reach is enormous.

3. Doritos – “Crash the Super Bowl” Contest

Doritos broke new ground in marketing by handing the creative reins over to its fans. The “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign was an annual contest (running 2006–2016) inviting consumers to create their own Doritos commercials, with the best fan-made ad airing during the Super Bowl. This crowdsourced approach generated a trove of creative content and kept Doritos front-of-mind each football season. In its very first year, Doritos received over 1,000 video entries from consumers, and the winning fan ad (“Live the Flavor”) ranked #4 on USA Today’s Ad Meter for Super Bowl commercials – outperforming many big-budget corporate ads. The campaign also delivered real business results: the buzz from the 2007 contest led to a 12% spike in Doritos sales in the month after the Super Bowl. Over the decade it ran, more than 36,000 entries were submitted by Doritos fans, yielding several famously funny ads and cementing Doritos’ image as a bold, fan-focused brand. Crash the Super Bowl proved that UGC contests not only excite the community but can also produce broadcast-quality content (and sales boosts) at a fraction of traditional costs.

4. Lay’s – “Do Us a Flavor” Crowdsourced Chips

Another stellar example of fan-driven marketing is Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign. Lay’s asked consumers to dream up the next great potato chip flavor, with the promise that the winning idea would be produced and win a cash prize. The response was staggering – during the first U.S. contest in 2012, Lay’s received 3.8 million flavor submissions (far exceeding their 1.2 million goal). Flavors like Cheesy Garlic Bread, submitted by an ordinary customer, ended up on shelves nationwide. The social media engagement was immense: Lay’s gained over 1 million new Facebook fans, and mentions of the brand online surged by 4,700% during the contest. This enthusiasm also showed up in the sales numbers – year-over-year sales grew 12% in the campaign year, reversing a prior decline. Later editions of Do Us a Flavor continued the momentum, eventually racking up over 14 million submissions across multiple years. By turning product development into an interactive game for its audience, Lay’s strengthened its connection with younger consumers and kept people eagerly checking stores for the latest bizarre flavor. It’s a masterclass in using social media and crowdsourcing to refresh a legacy brand.

5. McDonald’s – Travis Scott “Famous Orders” Meal

In 2020, McDonald’s scored a huge win by partnering with music superstar Travis Scott for a limited-edition menu item. The Travis Scott Meal, part of McDonald’s “Famous Orders” campaign, was essentially the rapper’s favorite order (a Quarter Pounder with bacon and extras, plus fries and a Sprite) marketed under his name. This influencer marketing collaboration turned out to be pure genius. Travis Scott’s fans flocked to McDonald’s; many filmed themselves ordering “Cactus Jack sent me” meals, flooding social media with free publicity. On launch day, the campaign trended #1 on Twitter and even caused some locations to sell out of ingredients. The hype translated into a notable sales lift – McDonald’s saw U.S. same-store sales rise 4.6% in the quarter of the Travis Scott promotion (after prior declines). In fact, the month the meal launched marked McDonald’s best monthly sales in nearly a decade. The campaign’s social reach was enormous as well: the Travis Scott Meal garnered 23 billion+ social media impressions and over 67 million views on TikTok for the hashtag #TravisScottMeal. McDonald’s followed up with other celebrity meals (like J Balvin and BTS), but the Travis Scott collab showed how aligning with a culturally relevant content creator can energize a brand. By making a pop culture moment out of a menu item, McDonald’s successfully engaged Gen Z and drove both digital engagement and in-store traffic.

6. Dunkin’ – Charli D’Amelio’s Signature Drink

Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts) tapped into TikTok fandom in 2020 by partnering with Charli D’Amelio – then the platform’s most-followed teen influencer – on a signature drink order. Simply called “The Charli,” the cold brew coffee with whole milk and caramel became a viral sensation thanks to Charli’s devoted followers. This campaign is a prime example of using a micro celebrity influencer to reach a younger demographic. Charli enthusiastically promoted the drink to her tens of millions of fans, and the results were immediate. Dunkin’ reported a 20% sales boost for all cold brew coffees on the day The Charli launched, and a 45% increase the following day. The Dunkin’ app also saw a 57% spike in daily downloads when the drink dropped, as the brand smartly tied the promotion to its loyalty app. Charli’s collaboration introduced Gen Z consumers to Dunkin’ and drove significant short-term sales. By the end of the campaign’s first week, hundreds of thousands of Charli drinks had been sold. Dunkin’ even launched a second Charli drink and a co-branded merch line due to the partnership’s success. The key takeaway: influencer marketing isn’t just for celebrity endorsements – even a teenager on TikTok can propel a legacy food brand to record-breaking engagement when the fit is right.

7. Popeyes – Chicken Sandwich Social Media Frenzy

One of the most explosive food marketing wins in recent memory came from Popeyes and its famous Chicken Sandwich in 2019. What started as a product launch turned into a full-blown cultural phenomenon, fueled largely by social media buzz rather than traditional ads. It began when Popeyes innocently tweeted about its new sandwich, sparking a tongue-in-cheek Twitter feud with Chick-fil-A (the reigning chicken sandwich champ). The cheeky exchange – Popeyes tweeted “y’all good?” at Chick-fil-A – went viral and unleashed the #ChickenSandwichWars online. Customers stormed Popeyes locations to try the sandwich, often sharing their experiences (and long drive-thru lines) on social media. The frenzy led Popeyes to completely sell out of the sandwich in just two weeks after launch. During that period, Popeyes reaped an estimated $65 million in earned media value from all the free publicity and conversation. Some Popeyes restaurants saw foot traffic jump by 67% to over 100% above normal levels in the days following the viral tweet – an unprecedented spike for a quick-serve restaurant. In response, Popeyes leaned into the hype with witty social content (and even told fans to BYO bun as a joke when supplies ran out). The chicken sandwich was relaunched later due to popular demand, and Popeyes sustained momentum as media dubbed it the “chicken sandwich that broke the internet.” The lesson here is that a bit of brand personality and perfect timing can create a social media firestorm. By engaging playfully with a competitor, Popeyes activated consumers’ FOMO and turned a product launch into a nationwide craze – dramatically expanding its customer base in the process.

Peak increases in sales or traffic from each campaign. Massive influencer-driven launches like Popeyes’ sandwich and the Travis Scott Meal led to huge short-term spikes, while long-term engagements like Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke had sustained growth.

Key Takeaways for Marketers

Each of these top food marketing campaigns offers insights that brands of any size – even e-commerce sellers on Amazon – can apply to their own strategy. Make sure your big idea connects back to a core brand message or value – this leaves a deeper impression on consumers beyond just a gimmick. In summary, great food marketing campaigns blend creativity with strategy – they speak to the culture, involve the audience, and often employ influencers or everyday fans to spread the word. By studying these examples, marketers can glean tactics on how to generate buzz and engagement for their own products. Even if you’re a smaller Amazon seller or startup, thinking outside the box and tapping into social networks of passionate micro influencers can yield outsized results. As Stack Influence notes, the right mix of influencers and UGC can amplify a brand’s story in an authentic, scalable way. The next “strong go-to-market plan” in food might just be inspired by these seven campaigns – or by your own creative twist on their playbooks.