Spotify Hits 2024: USA
Here at Spotify, we love to watch creative campaigns come to life and take flight on our platform. Especially when they soar above and beyond benchmarks like shooting stars.
We also love to see breakthrough audio and video ads engage fans as effectively as the content heard or seen right before—a trend that is backed by our Sonic Science research.1
This year, we’re recognizing advertisers who achieved great success with Spotify in our first US edition of Spotify Hits. These trophy-toting campaigns highlight the many exciting ways brands can effectively reach deeply engaged audiences, surrounded by culture-defining music and podcast creators on Spotify.
So get set for a best-in-class parade of strategy, creativity, and effectiveness on our platform—and be inspired to create your own standout campaign with Spotify Advertising, so you can make the list next year!
Drumroll please…
Took the Stage: Best Stage Experience
Indeed, Job Jukebox
Indeed and Spotify teamed up to create Job Jukebox, a personalized experience that combined job search data with Spotify listening habits to inspire unique career paths. Job Jukebox shared fun facts and a custom playlist to encourage job seekers to discover better work and new career paths.
- Industry: Tech
- Ad Formats: The Stage, Podcast Ads, SPAN, Mobile Overlay
- Agency: EssenceMediacom
Hear the spot for yourself:
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🎧 Soundcheck. Turn on your audio.
Fan Favorite Campaign
McDonald’s, Grimace’s Birthday
McDonald’s created an engaging and nostalgic custom experience for Spotify users, who were encouraged to gift Grimace a song for his birthday celebration. Once users submitted their song, they could listen to the birthday playlist or visit the McDonald’s app to order Grimace’s Birthday meal. Over 41k songs were submitted.
- Industry: QSR
- Ad Formats: The Stage, Audio, Video
- Agency: Starcom (Strategy), Wieden+Kennedy (Creative)
IRL: Best Live Activation
Salesforce, Ask More of AI
Salesforce leveraged a full 360 approach across music, podcasts, The Stage and a live podcast event to share their new AI messaging with Business Decision Makers throughout the day. The multi-format campaign culminated in Salesforce’s exclusive sponsorship of Ryen Russillo Live in Las Vegas, which was cut into a full-length podcast episode on Spotify and received over 80k streams.
- Industry: Tech
- Ad Formats: Live Event, Audio, Podcast Ads, The Stage
- Agency: Initiative NY
Hear the spot for yourself:
00:00 / 00:00
🎧 Soundcheck. Turn on your audio.
Stat-isfaction: Most Creative Test
Free People, FP Collection
Free People were eager to run podcast media on Spotify for the first time, believing that Call Her Daddy was the best fit for their campaign due to host Alex Cooper being a known fan of the brand. However, Free People ended up choosing a handful of podcasts—including Call Her Daddy, Serial Killers, Ringer Reality TV, and Higher Learning—to test podcast advertising and host reads, and discovered that each podcast drove lifts in different key areas.
- Industry: Retail
- Ad Formats: Podcast Media, SPAN
Host with the Most: Best Host-Focused
NARS Cosmetics, NARS Cosmetics x Call Her Daddy
In this campaign, NARS Cosmetics set out to own the months of November and December with their presenting sponsorship of the Call Her Daddy podcast, as well as Alix Earle host reads in Hot Mess. The host reads on Call Her Daddy were particularly authentic, with host Alex Cooper proclaiming herself a “NARS hypewoman”.
- Industry: CPG
- Ad Formats: Audio, Podcast Media
- Agency: Dentsu
Ear Candy: Best Immersive Audio
Glossier, Holiday 2023
Glossier’s holiday campaign used 3D audio as the hero of the strategy. The use of unique sound mixing and dynamic audio effects created an authentic scene of two friends giving each other beauty recommendations in the bathroom of a holiday party. A balanced brand voice plus on-point seasonal messaging also helped to make this a highly immersive audio experience.
- Industry: CPG
- Ad Formats: Audio, Mobile Overlay
Hear the spot for yourself:
00:00 / 00:00
🎧 Soundcheck. Turn on your audio.
Sound & Story: Best Multi-Format Campaign
Gatorade, Fueling Greatness
Gatorade used a powerful combination of behavioral and contextual targeting to reach their audience through user-generated playlists relevant to moments like Running, Biking, and Weightlifting. The brand also leveraged first-party data to target Sport Drink Buyers and Sports & Fitness enthusiasts through a mix of targeted audio, video and display ad units. The creative achieved an inspirational and playful tone.
- Industry: CPG
- Ad Formats: Audio, Video, Sponsored Sessions
- Agency: TBWA Chiat Day (Creative), OMD (Media)
Hear the spot for yourself:
00:00 / 00:00
🎧 Soundcheck. Turn on your audio.
Seized the Moment: Best Cultural Campaign
Lionsgate, The Hunger Games: Ballad of the Songbirds & Snakes
The SAG-AFTRA strike lifted in time for talent and Spotify to join the premiere, creating record-breaking Spotify social metrics. A newly designed Spotify Fandango ticketing study underscored the role that Spotify ads played in the film’s success.
- Industry: Entertainment
- Ad Formats: Audio, Video, Podcast Media, Sponsored Playlists
- Agency: Horizon
Context Excellence: Best Use of Format
TickPick, TickPick’s Original No-Fee Marketplace Campaign
TickPick leveraged host-read podcasts ads across Spotify podcasts including Call Her Daddy and multiple shows on The Ringer Network to reach concertgoers, live event enthusiasts, and sports fans. The campaign exceeded benchmarks across resonance and reaction metrics, demonstrating the full potential of a strategically integrated podcast ads campaign on Spotify.
- Industry: Entertainment
- Ad Formats: Podcast Media, SPAN
Future Sounds: Most Innovative Audio Campaign
7-Eleven, Slurpee Song of the Summer
This campaign aimed to build on the strong connections 7-Eleven and Spotify already had with Gen Zs and Millennials, with a creative strategy that felt native to both brands. The creative hooked fans in with a specially made 7-Eleven Brand song—Anything Flows (feat. Maiya The Don, 2Rare & Kari Faux)—and offered the chance to feature in a music video by shopping in-store. The original song generated millions of streams through paid media—and even organically surfaced in Spotify’s flagship RapCaviar playlist.
- Industry: Retail
- Ad Formats: Audio, Video, Overlays, Sponsored Playlists, Sponsored Sessions
- Agency: Dentsu
Spotify Mic Drop: Best Overall Campaign
7-Eleven, Slurpee Song of the Summer
7-Eleven’s Anything Flows campaign, inspired by Slurpee, not only led by example when it came to innovative audio—it utilized a range of formats to outstanding effect. The brand leveraged Spotify’s Sponsored Playlist offering—taking over our flagship RapCaviar playlist—as well as Sponsored Sessions to provide immersive and engaging experiences that resonated with digitally-native Gen Zs.
- Industry: Retail
- Ad Formats: Audio, Video, Overlays, Sponsored Playlists, Sponsored Sessions
- Agency: Dentsu
- Spotify x MindProber, Sonic Science Vol.2, February 2023