The most memorable merch campaigns ever

Merch is everywhere.

In every home, in every office, at every event. 

We’re surrounded by logos and branding and quirky mascots who we can’t help but adore. 

From that must-have gig poster, your favourite football shirt and those M&S Percy Pigs you’ve hidden at the back of the kitchen cupboard, having your merch become iconic is no easy task thanks to all that brand noise. 

But, it is doable. It has been done! And by some very much-loved brands and household names, too.  

Here are just a few of the most legendary, renowned, and memorable merch campaigns from the last 75 years that we remember. Let us know if we’ve missed your favourite!

Looking to level up your merchandise game and make your campaign as memorable as the ones below? Get in touch with us today and we’ll help your brand reach new heights with mind-blowing brand activation. From branded merchandise to unforgettable, brand-defining moments, isn’t it time to revolutionise your brand?

What makes a memorable merchandise campaign?

Right, close your eyes. Take a breath. Think back to your favourite brand merch campaign. 

What hooked you? What made it so memorable? 

Was it the story, the characters, the quality? 

Was it the brand, the product, the style? 

By figuring out what makes your own favourite merchandise campaigns memorable, you’ll be able to decide what tactics would work best for your own merch, too.

1. The narration and storytelling 
We’re all dreamers, really. We all love a good story. With loveable characters, a decent plot, and maybe a complex twist or two to keep us on our toes. 

Brands that incorporate storytelling devices such as brand mascots with questionable personalities (looking at you, Duolingo owl) build on that emotional connection to a character with its customers, increasing profits by up to 41%.

2. Exclusivity 
Use your customer’s FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) against them. If you limit your merch and make it exclusive (say, for a limited run time or produce a small quantity), then the demand for it will most likely increase. It’ll have that luxury feel to it, with those lucky enough to get their hands on it feeling more emotionally connected to the merch.

3. Quality 
Your merch choices are a reflection of your brand values, so make sure you don’t skimp on the quality if you want it to be memorable (for the right reasons).

4. Product 
When it all comes down to it, the most important element of your merchandise campaign is the merch itself. Make sure your merch is out of this world fantastic. If you have a unique, useful product perfect for your target audience, you can’t go wrong.

Read more: 10 easy hacks for building brand awareness

What was the first piece of promotional merchandise?

It all began with a bag 

Yep, bags have been the staple of promotional merchandise since the very beginning, and we can thank Jasper Freemont Meek for that! 

Now, Jasper owned a newspaper in Ohio way back in 1881. On one rainy day, he saw a child drop their school books in a puddle because they didn’t own a bag. Aww. Sad. Poor books. 

See where this is going? 

He decided to team up with his friend Cantwell, who owned the local shoe shop, to create some printed burlap bags. Every child that came into his shoe shop would then be given a bag printed with the message, “Buy Cantwell Shoes” on it (and no more books had to fall into puddles - hooray!). 

Cantwell saw his profits soar, and with them, for Meek, an idea took flight.

Or should we say, he ‘bagged’ a great idea? (Sorry!)

Meek ended up saying goodbye to his newspaper and saying hello instead to ‘The Meek Company’ in the early 1900s, where he printed promotional advertising full-time for the rest of his career. 

And thus, the concept of printed promotional merchandise was born.

Don’t forget your change
However, the idea of promoting oneself through products wasn’t new and had been seen before Jasper’s bags were everywhere. 

Back in 1788, George Washington (yes, THAT George Washington) experienced how wonderful things happen when you bring together a brand and promotional products.

During his presidential campaign, George Washington utilised commemorative coins and campaign badges to gain popularity and build a following among the US citizens.  

This worked so well, that in 1789, when the first presidential election took place, George Washington was unanimously elected by the 69 electoral votes. This has never happened since. 

The power of merch strikes again!

When did promotional merchandise get popular?
In the UK, promotional merchandise rose in popularity during the 1950s.

From there, its popularity increased in the 1970s when its potential for building brand recognition was, well, recognised, and it was cemented into marketing lore as a fantastic way to spread your brand message. 

It also probably helped that this was all being spurred on by the music industry.

Read more: In our merchandise era: what can marketers learn from Taylor Swift?

Memorable merchandise of the last 75 years

Now, for what you’ve been waiting for: the most memorable merchandise campaigns from the last 75 years.

What’s great about all the examples below is that they are all memorable for different reasons. Most for good, some for, err, not-so-good reasons.
  
But, what all of these campaigns have in common is that they utilise the four memorable merch strategies above. Either they’ve paired a loveable character with amazing brand storytelling, they had a limited run of their merch product, the quality of the campaign was fantastic, or the product was so insanely good it’s gone down in merchandise history. 

Do you remember any of these campaigns? Which was your favourite? We love the nostalgia of cereal box toys, but can never say no to a Colin.

1945 - Kellogg’s first cereal box prize
In 1945, Kellogg's decided to include a prize in its Pep cereal boxes in the form of pin-back buttons. 

This early success of promotional buttons led to the brand coming back to using merch to bolster its brand image again and again. 

From its iconic cereal bowls that were first released in 1987, to the Tip&Sip bowls in 2014 (designed to encourage children to drink every last drop of milk in their cereal bowl), Kellogg’s made history by inviting branded merch to breakfast. 

And cereal merch is still as popular today as it was back in 1945. Nestle’s Save the Bees campaign is a perfect example, where we actually helped send out branded seeds to customers for them to grow their own beautiful bee-friendly gardens.

Read more: Save the bees with Nestlé

The 1950s - the first ever band tee was made
The first-ever official band tee was reportedly made by an Elvis fan club in the 1950s.

However, it’s thought teenagers created the very first example of band merch with ‘bobbysoxers’ grabbing pens and writing the names of their favourite bands across their clothing. Rebels.

In the 1960s, with the invention of the first rotatable multicolour garment screen printing machine, band merch could now be produced in mass, and official band merch was born.

Not too shabby for a few pens and some plain tees.

Read more: From Elvis to Kanye: Here’s everything you need to know about band merch

1979 - McDonald's launches its first Happy Meal
Popular the world over, you can’t get more memorable and iconic than a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy.

It was originally the box that was meant to be the main appeal of the Happy Meals, with it being printed with riddles and games (and you know how much we love a piece of printed merch). 

However, it’s the toys in the Happy Meals that made them memorable. From Barbie and Hot Wheels to Beanie Babies and Pokemon, the toys in a Happy Meal have ranged from the latest films to trending childhood favourites, making them beloved and collectable for years.

And now, McDonald’s works with some of the largest toy distributors in the US to bring that same magical excitement from the late 70s to children today, with The Grinch currently taking over Happy Meals in the UK for the festive season.

Read more: Do you remember these games from your childhood?

1981 - Charles & Diana’s wedding memorabilia.
From coronation memorabilia to wedding favours, the royal family aren’t ones to miss out on a good merchandise opportunity. And what better excuse to go wild with the merch than for the ‘wedding of the century’: that of Charles and Diana.

The wedding of Charles and Diana took place on 29 July 1981. It was watched by 750 million people in 74 countries, setting the world record for the largest TV audience for a wedding.

The merch had to capture the imagination of spectators and fans alike and live up to such a momentous day.

From limited edition cocoa-cola bottles, coins, and china plates to even commemorative Rubix cubes, there was a piece of merch for all ages, so everyone could be a part of the big day.

1990 - M&S launch Colin the Caterpillar 
A staple of 90s birthday parties, everyone’s favourite caterpillar, Colin, is the perfect example of a brand using a mascot to create a memorable marketing strategy. It also probably helps that underneath his caterpillar exterior is a truly delicious chocolate roll cake.

But, unlike other chocolate cakes, Colin has a birthday (26th August) - now known as National Colin the Caterpillar Day. He has his own Instagram account (with over 75,000 followers). He’s even had a makeover. 

Every year Marks & Spenser sells 450,000 Colins. You can even get a supersized version of him (that feeds 40 people) so you can invite him to your wedding. Or, how about wearing him on your feet (along with other cool Colin merch)?

His cheeky grin and the pitter-patter of his teeny tiny chocolatey feet mean Colin has scuttled right into the nation's hearts. And competitors to M&S haven’t let their success go unnoticed.

Several big food retailers now offer their own versions of Colin. From Charlie (Co-op), Morris (Morrisons), and Wiggles (Sainsbury's), they’ve each tried to get in on the caterpillar hype, with varying levels of success. 

Including Aldi with Cuthbert.

The problem with Cuthbert is that he used to strike a really strong resemblance to Colin. So much so, that M&S decided to sue Aldi in 2021. And so began a social media caterpillar popularity contest the likes of which had never been seen before, or since.

Colin was blamed for Margaret Thatcher. For being the perfect example of that faux egalitarianism beloved of middle England. For being a Tory. Yet, Cuthbert cannot match Colin’s superiority. He’s a radical newcomer. One that Aldi launched a whole marketing campaign about called #freecuthbert. And who can forget the #CuthParty ad from 2023?

You can’t make this up.

In the end, M&S and Aldi reached a confidential settlement, and Cuthbert (or Cuthy B) was let out early on good behaviour.    

There can only be one Colin: one that has to be the most memorable chocolate caterpillar, ever.

2001 - PG Tips Monkey
And you know what would go really well with a slice of Colin? A good ol’ cup of PG Tips. 

Monkey was the mascot for PG Tips from 2007-2017. With his sidekick Al (played by the hilarious Johnny Vegas), he’d help Al get cosy and enjoy that perfect cup of tea. 

However, Monkey didn’t start as the PG Tips mascot. He was originally the mascot for ITV Digitial, from 2001- 2002. What makes Monkey so iconic is that he’s one of a handful of characters that has eclipsed the popularity of the product they originally advertised to be reused in adverts for a completely different product.

This was possible thanks to a messy legal battle in 2002 between ITV Digital and PG Tip’s ad agency, Mother (the creators of the original ITV Digital ad using Monkey). In the end, Monkey was donated to Comic Relief. His “fee” for appearing in the PG Tips ads was also donated to Comic Relief. 

The idea to use Monkey and Al to advertise PG Tips came after a slump in the brand’s tea sales. With an £18 million marketing spend to play with back in 2007, Unilever backed PG Tips with a free Monkey in-pack promotion to try and increase sales. The PG Tips website also began to sell monkey merch, from slippers and bags to soft toys.

“Great advertising is fantastic, but it is very effective to give consumers something back from the brand. I honestly think people are most influenced in the store environment."
Kate Hick, PG Tips brand manager at subsidiary Unilever Foods

However, since May 2024, Monkey has been retired from appearing in ads after a long and tea-fuelled career.

2011 - Compare the Meerkat 
Meet Aleksander Orlov, your loveable aristocratic Russian meerkat.

Aleksander Orlov began his career at Compare the Market, a price comparison website, back in 2009. He was featured in a series of ads that told the story of his life as a Russian oligarch, with Sergei, his sidekick, and baby Oleg. 

And he has a whole backstory. He became rich in the 1970s, lives in Moscow, and spends his money on different projects such as self-portraits, petitions, film productions etc.

Orlov was such a successful marketing device for Compare the Market, that since he joined the team, the company has grown by an astonishing 70%. 

He’s even gone on to do even more than just ads. Orlov partnered with blockbusters like Frozen, Star Wars and Batman and even released an ‘autobiography’ that got more preorders than Tony Blair’s memoir in 2010.

Since 2011, each new customer of Compare the Market has been given a meerkat cuddly toy of either Aleksandr himself or another member of his meerkat family.

In 2015, Meerkat Movies was launched, where you can get 2-for-1 cinema tickets if you buy any qualifying product via the company’s price comparison website.

He might just be a rich Russian meerkat trying to teach us how to get onto a website, but his endearing relationships with Sergei and Oleg and the adventures they go on were a joy to watch unfold on our screens, putting Aleksander up there as one of the most memorable merch campaigns. 

Simples.

2013 - John Lewis’ Bear & the Hare Christmas Ad
Now for the festive addition to our list!

John Lewis’ Bear & the Hare Christmas ad from 2013 is the most effective John Lewis Christmas ad of all time, with 48% of viewers having an intense emotional reaction to it.

Designed by Disney artist Aaron Blaise, who previously worked on The Lion King and Brother Bear, the ad has a nostalgic 90s feel to it thanks to the charm of 2D animation mixed with a 3D set. 

The ad proved to be so popular that John Lewis took £101m in sales the week after it was shown.

This helped the characters, Bear & Hare, to become highly sought-after merchandise for fans, too. They were so popular, that John Lewis actually ran out of the plushies in all their major stores! Surprisingly (or, maybe not) they decided to not replace them. 

This is a perfect example of John Lewis utilising the limited run of their merch to become a more memorable campaign - clever.

2023 - Mary Earps football shirt 
We couldn’t end this list without including a piece of sports memorabilia!

One football shirt specifically, that is. 

Back in 2023, there was a massive dilemma over the availability of Mary Earps’ England shirt. 

Fans were in an uproar because you couldn’t purchase an official Earps shirt like other players. This was because Nike, who is the creator of the replica shirts, doesn’t create goalkeeper replica kits for either the England women's or men’s teams.

“For my own family and friends and loved ones not to be able to buy my shirt, they are going to come out and wear normal clothes and I know that sounds like 'Oh Mary, what a horrible problem', but on a personal level that is really hard.”
Mary Earps, England goalkeeper

A petition was launched to request Nike to rethink its decision. And luckily, it did! What makes this so memorable too, is that the petition gained over 170,000 signatures, which is just insane when you think about it! 

But that’s the power of merch, after all.

Read more: Top-scoring sporting memorabilia through the ages

Make memories with merch

We hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane of all the best merch campaigns over the last 75 years. From captivating characters to nostalgic favourites, there’s so much you can learn from the merch examples above. From including cute mascots and gifts, merch is always the best way to bring your brand into a home and cement your campaigns into memory.  

Are you ready to make your brand just as memorable? Get in touch with us today and we’ll help your brand reach new heights with mind-blowing brand activation. From branded merchandise to unforgettable, brand-defining moments, isn’t it time to revolutionise your brand?