The B2B campaigns that made Dude London’s CCO say “I wish I’d done that”

Like any “honest LinkedIn post”, “tiny wedding”, or “affordable rent”, “creative B2B” does sound like an oxymoron. Maybe that’s because we’ve always believed that the word ‘business’ is the opposite of creativity, when setting up a business might actually be one of the most creative things humans can do. It’s the word business itself. It must be that. That’s why we no longer have businessmen and businesswomen. We have entrepreneurs and “leaders”. The word business still makes the creative world’s skin crawl.

But then I remembered. Wasn’t Volvo selling trucks to businesses with an epic split? Didn’t JCDecaux turn an old woman from a small village in northern Spain into an influencer to sell media space? And didn’t Apple introduce us to ‘The Underdogs’ to sell productivity tools and gadgets for businesses?

All these campaigns never felt like B2B, because the best ones rarely do. When a B2B idea is good, we don’t call it B2B. We call it a great idea. Or, as I usually say: “F***, I wish I’d done that.”*

Let’s get to business.

Squarespace ‘Launch it’ by Squarespace

I know, I know. I’m starting with one that’s a little borderline. But I didn’t want to open with the ultra-famous B2B just yet. I love this film in every single way. Every detail, every radio transmission, the characters, the carrots!, the small business ideas. It’s all perfectly crafted.

But what I love the most is how it feels. How it nails that rush, that mix of fear and pride that comes with putting something of your own out into the world.

A wordplay turned into a cinematic ode to entrepreneurship.

Volvo Trucks: ‘The Epic Split’ by Forsman & Bodenfors

Yes, this one’s mega-famous, and for all the right reasons. And it’s not a one-hit wonder either. Volvo Trucks built a whole saga of incredible B2B campaigns, such as ‘The Hook,’ where Volvo’s president hung from a crane to demonstrate a new tow hook. You cannot go more B2B than announcing a tow hook for Trucks.

But we’re here to rewatch the ultimate masterpiece. The one where two perfectly synchronised trucks made possible the most epic split of all time. It was supposed to sell only steering precision. It ended up selling inner peace, a bit of madness and lots of Enya tracks.

Is this the most viral B2B campaign in history? Probably. And by the way, I can say viral. We are in 2013 in this paragraph. I can even say ‘flashmob’ if I want to.

Apple: ‘The Underdogs’ by TBWA/Media Arts Labs

Now let’s move on to selling boring office equipment, business efficiency, and productivity.

Yes, I had to mention that just to ensure this Apple commercial qualifies as B2B.

Isn’t ‘The Underdogs’ one of the best business-productivity ads ever made?

I know, Apple has delivered more iconic work: Think Different, I’m a Mac, I’m a PC… and lately, they can’t seem to make a bad one. But ‘The Underdogs’ was different. It was about convincing thousands of businesses around the world that Apple is the way to go when you actually want to get things done.

Once you start watching it, you can’t stop. And while you do, you can’t help but notice feature after feature after feature. We’ve all been there, trying to convince a client to focus on one message, one feature.

This one does the opposite. And it works. It’s so well written, so well shot, that every single feature builds the story instead of breaking it.

JCDecaux: ‘Marina Prieto’ by David Madrid

And now, let’s talk about the influencer we never saw coming. Marina Prieto, 100 years old, living in a small town in northern Spain, and suddenly the face of JCDecaux billboards across Madrid.

She wasn’t selling makeup, protein shakes, or crypto courses. She was selling advertising space. Or, more than selling it, proving its efficacy. This ultra-meta campaign by JCDecaux became a national talking point, even landing on Spanish TV. The irony is perfect.

It didn’t just sell media space; it created a new category where media companies run their own high-visibility B2B campaigns. Like the one they did the following year, ‘Still Open,’ inspired by the catastrophic floods in Valencia.

American Express: ‘Small Business Day’ by Crispin Porter + Bogusky NY

Finally, a B2B campaign that became a national holiday.

And one that even featured a bigger celebrity than Marina Prieto, who, by the way, collaborated for free. This campaign had a young Barack Obama. Those were the days when a US president inspired safety, optimism, and… sorry, back to B2B.

This is an example of a simple idea taken to the extreme. They didn’t just say, “Hey, let’s support small businesses the Saturday after Black Friday”. They help small businesses set up online stores, open Facebook pages, and print promotional materials. They even involved local politicians across the nation and got Obama himself to go shopping for a good cause, if that’s even possible. 

I love that the campaign is still alive, and that American Express continues to fuel it year after year. It works for everyone: the small businesses, the shoppers, and most of all, American Express, the card we’ve all seen rejected in small shops under that dirty, half-broken handmade sign: “No AMEX.”

Well done.