This brand got 100x more reach on social media for this TV ad

Today, I want to talk about something brilliant I recently saw from Calm—yes, the same Calm app that many of us know and love for meditation and mindfulness. I’ve used Calm for years, and I’ve always appreciated their design, their user experience, and even their content strategy, which I’ve written about in this newsletter before. But this time, they took things to a whole new level with an ad that’s gone viral for all the right reasons.

Here’s the backstory: during the recent election coverage on CNN (a time filled with nonstop updates, stress, and noise), Calm bought a prime-time TV ad slot. But instead of a flashy, high-budget production, they kept it incredibly simple. The screen read something like, “We bought this ad space to give you 30 seconds of silence in between the chaos of election results.” And that was it—no visuals, no sound, just a moment of silence.

It was the perfect reflection of Calm’s brand ethos. They’re all about mindfulness, peace, and stillness, so what better way to reinforce that message than by giving viewers a literal moment of calm in the middle of all that election-night anxiety? It resonated deeply with people and spread across social media, giving them 100x the reach they might’ve expected from a single ad slot.

This campaign is such a great reminder that you don’t always need a huge budget or complex production to make an impact. Sometimes, a simple idea that aligns perfectly with your brand can be more powerful than any flashy campaign. Calm understood the cultural moment and gave people exactly what they needed—some peace and quiet—and it paid off big time.

It’s one of those rare examples of marketing genius that we don’t see every day. What do you think? Could this approach work for other brands too?

If you found this newsletter interesting, please forward this email to your one friend who loves marketing :)