Technique
Comparison
Ads that take on a rival directly, by naming them, implying them or answering them in public.
All ads
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2019Burn That Ad
The app turns McDonald's billboards, print ads and coupons into triggers for its own offer, so the rival's media spending works for Burger King.
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Order a Whopper for a penny — at McDonald's.Burger King2018
Whopper Detour
A one-cent Whopper unlocks only within 600 feet of a McDonald's, then the app navigates buyers away to the nearest Burger King.
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2015The Greatest Interception Ever
Without buying airtime, the brand ambushes rivals' costly ad slots, turning their spending into a conversation about Volvo.
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2015McWhopper (an open letter to McDonald's)
A full-page open letter publicly invites McDonald's, the brand's oldest rival, to a ceasefire, so any response it makes helps the challenger.
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2012Our Blades Are F***ing Great
The video takes aim at the economics of the established razor industry, positioning the subscription as the sensible alternative to a century-old category leader.
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2011Break Up
Takes direct swipes at its rivals, flying banners past their offices and serenading one competitor's headquarters with sad songs.
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2006Get a Mac ("Mac vs. PC")
Personifies Mac and PC as two men side by side, turning every product difference, from viruses to crashes, into a direct swipe at the rival.
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Let's Motor.MINI USA (BMW Group)2002
Let's Motor (MINI USA launch)
A deliberately anti-SUV stance sets the tiny car against the big vehicles of American roads, giving it a culture of its own.
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New Labour, New DangerThe Conservative Party (UK)1996
New Labour, New Danger ("Demon Eyes")
Attack advertising aims squarely at the opposition, later tearing a strip from its leader's photograph to reveal the same glowing eyes.
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1991Não é assim uma Brastemp
Ordinary owners damn rival appliances with faint praise, measuring them against Brastemp so the brand becomes the category benchmark without boasting.
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Still going. Nothing outlasts the Energizer.Energizer (Eveready)1989
The Energizer Bunny
Parodies Duracell's drumming-bunny ads, borrowing the rival's own imagery to take a swipe at it.
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19841984
Casts the dominant rival as Orwell's Big Brother and the new computer as the hammer that shatters it, positioning the brand by its enemy.
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1984Fluffy Bun ("Where's the Beef?")
Mocks an unnamed rival's absurdly fluffy bun, implying its burgers lack substance without ever naming the competitor.
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Labour isn't working. Britain's better off with the Conservatives.The Conservative Party (UK)1978
Labour Isn't Working
A direct attack on the governing party blames it for unemployment and declares Britain better off with the Conservatives.
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1975The Pepsi Challenge
Pits the brand directly against the market leader, with unlabelled glasses of each cola side by side.
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1973The 60-Year-Old Swede
Pitting the average 30-year-old Canadian against the average 60-year-old Swede turns national fitness into an unflattering head-to-head with another country.
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1964Daisy ("Peace, Little Girl")
Never names the opponent, leaving viewers to supply the rival themselves, so the attack happens entirely in their heads.
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Avis is only No. 2 in rent a cars. So we try harder.Avis1963
We Try Harder ("Avis is only No. 2")
Calling itself number two implicitly measures the company against the market leader, casting it as the hungrier challenger.
Comparison: how it works
Comparative advertising sets a brand against a competitor, either by name or so clearly that everyone knows who is meant. It ranges from side-by-side tests and price comparisons to public jokes at a rival's expense and open letters between brands.
How to spot it
- A named or unmistakable competitor.
- A test, a contrast or a challenge the audience is invited to judge.
- Underdog positioning against a market leader.
Why it works, and the risks
Comparison creates drama and gives a smaller brand a bigger stage. It can also invite retaliation, legal challenge or sympathy for the target, so the most admired examples are usually confident, specific and good-humoured.