From Zoolander to Mean Girls: the Top 10 Licensed IP Campaigns of 2023
Each year the Born Licensing team gather to review the advertising campaigns of the year which licensed characters or thematic elements from popular films, TV shows, animation and video games.
Before revealing the top 10 licensed advertising campaigns of 2023, take a look back at our countdowns from the previous five years:
- 2022: From Barbie to Mr. Krabs: The Top 10 Licensed IP Campaigns of 2022
- 2021: From Edward Scissorhands to Angry Birds: The Top 10 Licensed IP Campaigns of 2021
- 2020: From RoboCop to Groundhog Day: The Top 10 Licensed IP Campaigns of 2020
- 2019: From E.T. to Oscar: The Top 10 Licensed IP Campaigns of 2019
- 2018: Deadpool to Dorothy: 2018’s Top Use of Character Licensing in Advertising
10. Pepsi x Zoolander
Pepsi’s 'Great Acting or Great Taste' campaign premiered during Super Bowl LVII with actors Steve Martin and Ben Stiller promoting Pepsi Zero Sugar in two 60-second commercials. In the campaign, Stiller briefly reprised his role as Derek Zoolander, from the iconic 2001 comedy. Fans of the original movie may remember the fake ad in which Zoolander poured Diet Coke over his head: Pepsi effectively leaned on these feelings of nostalgia to create an entertaining ad!
Client: Pepsi
Agency: VaynerMedia
Property: Zoolander
9. T-Mobile x Grease
John Travolta paid tribute to the 1978 film Grease in T-Mobile’s new commercial, which also debuted during Super Bowl. In the spot, Travolta recreated some of the signature dance moves and poses from the movie on the notes of ‘Summer Nights’, alongside Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison.
Client: T-Mobile
Agency: T-Mobile (in-house) and Panay Films
Property: Grease
8. PopCorners x Breaking Bad
Again for Super Bowl, PopCorners licensed Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. In the commercial, we see the two characters going back to the iconic recreational vehicle, this time cooking up a batch of delicious air-popped snacks. The result of their efforts seems promising: “Everyone’s going to want a taste”, Jesse says to his partner in crime, Walter.
Client: PopCorners
Agency: D3
Property: Breaking Bad
7. Barilla x Lady and the Tramp
For pasta brand Barilla’s new product, Barilla Al Bronzo, Le Pub/Publicis Italy recreated the memorable spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp. The scene from this Disney classic accurately represents the joy of eating good food and, while doing so, creating unforgettable memories. The ad encapsulates the joy of sharing with loved ones, and the beloved thematic elements from Lady and the Tramp worked perfectly for these purposes.
Client: Barilla
Agency: Le Pub/Publicis Italy
Property: Lady and the Tramp
6. United Airlines x Sesame Street
In United Airlines’ ad campaign featuring Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch has been named the airline’s first Chief Trash Officer. The campaign follows the character’s journey from the interview process to obtaining his new position, alongside real United employees. The green, rubbish-loving muppet is the perfect testimonial for the initiative behind the campaign, which promotes the benefit of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) more broadly.
Client: United Airlines
Agency: 72andSunny LA
Property: Sesame Street
5. The AA x Street Fighter
For the next phase of their marketing campaign ‘It’s OK, I’m with the AA’, the UK’s leading driving services business, the AA, wanted to harness the amazing potential of nostalgic characters. Born Licensing managed the entire licensing process of iconic Ken and Ryu from the arcade game Street Fighter. The campaign launched in July 2023 with social posts and high-impact full-motion sites all over the UK.
Client: The AA
Agency: The Gate
Property: Street Fighter (licensed by Born Licensing)
4. PGA Tour Superstore x Happy Gilmore
Born Licensing also contributed to bringing back the iconic Chubbs Peterson from Happy Gilmore in the latest campaign for America’s largest specialty golf retailer, PGA TOUR Superstore. Again, the brand and the agency effectively harnessed the great potential of a well-known character like Chubbs: the three 30” films managed to attract the emerging generation of golfers, while also appealing to the more seasoned ones.
Client: PGA Tour Superstore
Agency: Tombras
Property: Happy Gilmore (licensed by Born Licensing)
3. Capital One x Saturday Night Fever
John Travolta also made it in our top three: in the campaign for Capital One, the Grease star dressed up as Santa Claus and strutted his way around the city performing Christmas miracles. At the end of the ad, he can be seen recreating his famed ‘Staying Alive’ routine as Tony Manero: the affiliation with the original movie made the spot an instant classic.
Client: Capital One
Agency: GSD&M
Property: Saturday Night Fever
2. Rakuten x Clueless
Alicia Silverstone became Cher Horowitz once again. The actor reprised her legendary role from Clueless in this campaign for Rakuten, which ran during the last Super Bowl. By including some of Cher’s most iconic lines (“As if!”, “Who put that there?!”, “What?!”), the commercial was immediately infused with a deep sense of nostalgia that resonated with fans all over the globe.
Client: Rakuten
Agency: Rakuten (in-house)
Property: Clueless
1. Walmart x Mean Girls
By bringing together the original ‘Plastics’ (Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert) from Mean Girls, Walmart really did try to make 'fetch' happen in this campaign for Black Friday! In order to make their new offers and low prices stand out amongst the rest, Walmart reunited the iconic cast of the 2004 movie: the result is an eye-grabbing, unmissable campaign which premiered on traditional advertising channels and social media.
Client: Walmart
Agency: Publicis
Property: Mean Girls
Because we couldn’t fit all our favourites into our top ten, here’s some honourable mentions of other amazing campaigns from the year that featured licensed entertainment IP:
McDonalds x Various Properties
Client: McDonalds
Agency: Publicis
Property: Various
Client: NerdWallet
Agency: Deutsch LA
Property: Sesame Street
Client: Spotify
Agency: Spotify (in-house)
Property: The Muppets
