Since being rolled out last month, Instagram ads have appeared in its users feeds and now are being published nearly once a day. Here is a list of the top five Instagram ads so far:
5. Lexus
Lexus utilised Instagram ads to highlight and bring more attention to it’s existing #LexusLens campaign as they took pictures of various Lexus cars on road trips across the nation. This is a great strategy for brands to emulate in future hashtag campaigns on Instagram to gain more likes and followers. Keep in mind that Lexus was the only brand of the first advertisers to utilize the location tagging feature on Instagram. This could be a feature that could be creatively utilized in the future for other campaigns.
4. Levi’s
Levi’s approach into Instagram advertising takes more subtle way than other brands. Their image is refreshingly simple and has the feel and look of any other photo on the platform, a good approach in this early rollout of advertising to not annoy Instagram users. Levi’s does a great job with integrating the #LifeinLevis hashtag and asking a question to prompt more comments and engagement.
3. Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s Instagram feed is full of fun, creative, and delicious photos and they were a perfect partner for Instagram to select for it’s first ads. Their intuition was right, with Ben & Jerry’s gaining more than 50,000 new followers because of the ads and the sentiment in the comments being much more positive than other ads. “Most of the comments include mentions which of course have a positive impact on engagement and reach” said Romain Ouzeau of Statigram.
2. Michael Kors
Michael Kors made headlines everywhere by being chosen as the first brand to advertise on Instagram. The photo is very well done and looks native to the platform, but the real reason this ad is a winner is the impressive engagement metrics. The promoted post received 217,700 Likes, a 370% increase and 33,000 new followers, or almost 16 times more than usual. While a lot of the comments were negative about the use of ads in users’ feeds, the metrics show that the ad was a success despite the vocal minority.
1. Ben & Jerry’s (Again)
Ben & Jerry’s wins the top spot for best Instagram ad with this funny, timely photo inspired by the Will Ferrell character Ron Burgundy. The picture is simple and succinct, and the pint of ice cream is directly in the center where the Instagram heart appears when users double tap the screen, which is a clever user experience device. They nail the copy with a famous quote from Anchorman, simultaneously promoting their limited edition product and the new Anchorman movie. This is the type of Instagram ad that all brands should aspire to make.