By The Network Reflects on 2023’s Brightest Spots

It’s never easy to sum up how a year has felt and 2023 was a cornucopia for adland and beyond. It was a particularly big year for by The Network, a global network of the world's best independent creative agencies, but instead of telling us about it they want to show you instead. So today we’re taking a quick look at the five pieces of work from by The Network’s agencies that embody their independent spirit and craft ethos.

“It never ceases to amaze me how different each year feels when looking at the work. Each of these pieces represents a unique original application of bold creative thinking from across our eclectic mix of minds and imaginations. Excited to see what we can achieve in 2024,” says Jack Smail, head of partnerships. 

WE❤️NYC

The agency Founders was tasked with the seemingly impossible in 2023: make New Yorkers fall back in love with their city amid social and political turmoil. The solution was the irreverent ‘We NYC’ campaign that took New Yorkers’ straight-talking nature and sense of humour and translated it into a city-wide conversation.

“There are 8.5 million people living in NYC. This campaign reached 123 million people in its first 48 hours, 16 times the size of the city. The equivalent of two Super Bowls and all without paid media. This type of viral effect is what we look for in a campaign. We touched a nerve, and generated conversation, and today NYC is back on top as the best city in the world. We feel extremely proud to have created the most viral campaign in NYC's history,” explain the Founders creative team. 

Prime Video - Thread Stories

Great stories come in all shapes and sizes and almost anything can be gripping if told with style and panache. How about the stories told on social media? That’s exactly what Prime Video decided to put to the test, as conceptualised by agency Herezie, by adapting a viral X (formerly Twitter) thread into a horror film and getting the French influencer Squeezie to direct it. 

Herezie saw this move as hitting multiple beats at once: capitalising on a viral story with an existing audience, the popularity of horror, and the need for Prime Video to find original ideas amid a battle for adaptations. 

Herezie’s executive creative directors Paul Marty and Etienne Renaux explain: “In a market as competitive as the entertainment market, streamers are often faced with the war of adaptations. Who will buy the rights to the best franchise? The best book? Who will be the first to adapt the human interest story everybody’s talking about? The problem with this war is that it’s extremely costly. So to communicate without having to rely on their catalogue, Prime Video needs to innovate constantly to seduce their target audience and stand out in conversations on social media. 

For the first time ever, Prime Video purchased the rights to what their community is talking about: a Twitter thread. And not just any thread: a horror story! And they chose the biggest French YouTuber, Squeezie, to direct it. Each of the thread’s tweets was then adapted in images to make a short film that was published on YouTube on the night of Halloween. An innovation in the way people consume a story on social media networks, but also in terms of storytelling. The Youtube video ended up the number one trending on both Youtube and Twitter France and 3.7 million organic views in just 24 hours.”

Esselunga - La Pesca

‘La Pesca’, created by the agency SMALL for the Italian retail store chain Esselunga, certainly sparked a discussion when it first aired. It shows a little girl trying to reconcile her divorced parents, using a peach as a clever ruse. Many lauded the spot’s realism and bravery in representing modern families, not the idealised versions that sidestep life’s thornier sides. 

“Knowing that Italians have a wide range of views on the concept of family, we anticipated that airing this commercial would spark a lively discussion. And that's exactly what happened. In the words of psychiatrist Paolo Crepet, "The ad ignited a collective psychoanalytic session that speaks to the Italians' sense of guilt.” The ad generated 136,000 mentions and 2.5 million interactions within the first 48 hours. The hashtag #esselunga was the number one trending topic on Twitter/X for four days in a row, making it arguably the most talked-about ad in Italian history,” says executive creative directors Luca Pannese and Luca Lorenzini.

Google - Black Owned Friday 2023

Google’s ‘Black Owned Friday’ spots aim to highlight the importance of spending with Black-owned businesses during Black Friday and beyond. Rather than simply featuring Black-owned businesses, Google - with the help of agency Rehab - conceptualised of a visually-arresting digital platform where shoppers can go to browse a selection of Black-owned businesses, promoted by a spot-in-disguise: a fully shoppable music video starring the one and only Keke Palmer. It’s the third consecutive partnership for Rehab and Google, each time building on the creative and strategy that came before. 

“We developed a beautifully crafted experience that features a shoppable music video starring Keke Palmer and set to a remix of Crystal Waters’ ’90s hit “100% Pure Love, featuring 12 businesses, 25 brands, and over 50 shoppable products in a captivating fusion of music and commerce. 

As well as entertaining the audience, the platform is filled with valuable resources aimed at assisting black-owned businesses in enhancing their visibility and sales. Our work on Black-Owned Friday has already made a significant impact in the three years since we began. We've seen a surge in support and sales for black-owned businesses, not just during Black Friday but throughout the year,” says Blair Richardson, Rehab’s business director.

Blockbuster - Until the Bitter End

When was the last time you rented a DVD or - wait for it - a VHS tape? If you don’t remember then you won’t be surprised to hear that Blockbuster, the physical video rental business, hasn’t been doing very well lately. The company’s next move surprised everyone: airing a spot during the Super Bowl, which cost only $19.95 to make. The spot reached an audience nine times larger than Super Bowl’s average viewership and sales went through the roof. 

Agency Atlantic was behind the viral marketing campaign. “America loves rooting for the little guy. We found a place in their hearts to root for one of its littlest. And in that process, we celebrated what the Super Bowl is all about: gathering around a screen with your friends and family to watch something special happen. An experience Blockbuster happens to know a thing or two about,” explains Atlantic’s creative team. 

In 2023, by The Network and its agencies continued on their mission to set creativity free. Bolstered by big ideas and a spirit of independence, we can’t wait to see what the year ahead will look like for the network.