30 Brand Collaboration Examples that Went Viral
If there ever were a practical way to describe the idiom ‘greater than the sum of its parts,’ a well-executed brand collaboration example would be it.
Brand collaborations allow your brand to:
- Build awareness with a new audience.
- Produce ambitious and creative marketing campaigns that are beyond your marketing budget.
- And boosts sales and revenue.
It’s a necessary tactic in your brand marketing strategy toolbox.
Here are some awe-inspiring brand collabs to swipe for your next brand partnership brainstorming session.
30 Notable Brand Collaboration Examples
Here are 30 memorable and impactful brand collaborations to inspire your next partnership.
1. Nike x Apple: Collaborating on the Apple Watch Nike+
Perhaps one of the most successful brand collaborations of all time, Apple and Nike have worked together for the last 20 years on various brand marketing campaigns.
One standout collab has been the Apple Watch Nike+, a Nike Sports Band combined with the technology of an Apple Watch. Apple created the watch for sports enthusiasts who want the convenience of an Apple watch, plus access to the Nike+ Run Club app, music, coaching, fitness tracking, and community support.
A major reason why this partnership has been so successful is the seamless handoff between both platforms, a trademark of Apple’s ecosystem. This has helped drive brand loyalty and new customer acquisition for both brands.
2. GoPro x Red Bull: "Stratos," featuring Felix Baumgartner's space jump
Red Bull sponsored skydiver Felix Baumgartner to freefall from the edge of space with the awe-inspiring event recorded through a GoPro camera and streamed to audiences worldwide.
The GoPro x Red Bull’s Stratos space jump broke three Guinness World Records and won a sports Emmy.
The collaboration brought together two adventurous brands known for pushing boundaries and delivering an incredible experience for their users. The video was viewed over 52 million times on YouTube alone.
3. Louis Vuitton x Supreme: A high-end streetwear collection
Louis Vuitton and Supreme are two fashion brands that might not seem like a natural pairing, but combining their unique strengths resulted in a fashion hit.
The limited edition collection brought together Louis Vuitton’s high-quality craftsmanship with Supreme’s recognizable street style to create a massive buzz in the fashion industry and help both brands gain kudos with each other's audiences. Louis Vuitton credited the collaboration with driving a 23% profit increase for the fashion brand.
4. H&M x Balmain: Affordable luxury fashion collaboration
H&M x Balmain is another example of fashion brands from different ends of the spectrum creating a hugely successful fashion range. The collection combined Balmain’s signature bold designs and intricate detailing with H&M’s extensive market reach to bring affordable luxury statement pieces to the masses.
The range gave high fashion credibility to H&M and gave Balmain a platform to build awareness with a broader demographic.
The range was H&M’s most successful designer collaboration to date, with a H&M spokesperson reporting that “The interest for this launch has exceeded all previous collaborations, both in-store and online.”
5. Uber x Spotify: Personalizing in-car music experiences
This unique collaboration between Uber and Spotify solves a problem experienced by both their customer bases - how to make your taxi journey more enjoyable.
Uber customers connected their Spotify accounts to the Uber app, allowing them to play their favorite music during their Uber journey.
The brand activation brought together two brands with massive customer bases totaling over 1 billion users. Both brands were able to grow their reach even further and gained new insights into their customer tastes—information they can use to create personalized marketing campaigns.
6. BMW x Louis Vuitton: Creating a set of exclusive luggage
Cars and luggage might seem like an obscure match, but the success of the BMW and Louis Vuitton collaboration lies in their shared brand values of luxury, high-quality craftsmanship, and style.
The collaboration saw BMW develop the sports car model BMW i8, while Louis Vuitton launched an accompanying four-piece luggage set that fit into the car’s parcel shelf.
The luggage design complemented the sleek, masculine style of the sports car, and the eye-watering price tag of $20,000 was in line with the cost of the sports car, which started at $135,700.
The collaboration was perfect for their target markets, and brand experts agreed. According to Brand 24: “The brand partnership between BMW and Louis Vuitton is a natural fit. Both brands are known for their luxury and high-quality products. The collaboration allows customers to experience the luxury of both brands.”
7. Target x Missoni: Designer fashion at affordable prices
The Target x Missoni collection combined iconic Missoni designs with affordable prices, creating a huge buzz in the fashion world. The range gave Target fashion credibility, while Missoni gained access to a new demographic through Target’s many retail channels.
Customers loved the collaboration so much that the collection sold out in hours and even eventually brought the Target website down. It drove massive sales for Target and even boosted its share price by 22% to $51.40 after the close of trading.
8. Adidas x Kanye West (Yeezy): A hugely popular sneaker line
One of the most successful collaborations between a fashion brand and music artist, the Yeezy sneaker collection was a hit with sneaker enthusiasts and fashionistas alike. The footwear collection combined Kanye’s unique aesthetic vision with Adidas' reputation for creating high-quality sportswear.
The collaboration was hugely lucrative for both parties and expanded to include various products. Forbes estimates West made as much as $220 million annually from his Yeezy partnership with Adidas, while Yeezy generated an estimated $2 billion a year for Adidas at one point.
There weren’t just financial benefits either, with the New York Times pointing out that “The benefits from the collaboration extend beyond selling $350 high-top shoes and high-end designer apparel. Almost overnight, Mr. West helped to make Adidas cool again.”
9. Doritos x Taco Bell: The Doritos Locos Tacos
The Doritos Locos Tacos is an excellent example of two complementary brands coming together to create a product that was a surefire hit with their overlapping customer bases.
Doritos Locos Tacos combined the popular Doritos tortilla chip with classic taco flavors to create a memorable snack full of flavor that customers could only get at Taco Bell.
The fun, eye-catching branding, and unique taste quickly made it a fan favorite, and it showed in sales. Taco Bell sold nearly a billion Doritos Locos Tacos in under three years, earning it the fastest consumer product to sell a billion units. Talk about brand equity on steroids.
10. Casper x West Elm: A better sleep experience
Casper and West Elm is an exciting collaboration as it brings together a mattress brand with a cult-like online following with a well-loved furniture and home furnishings brand known for its retail outlets.
The brand collaboration allowed customers to experience the top-rated Casper mattresses in person and purchase complementary furniture products, giving customers a high-quality sleep experience that combined comfort and style.
The collaboration worked for both brands because it helped build brand awareness and trust with new audiences while providing them with invaluable customer intel.
As Casper’s CEO remarked, the collaboration allowed them to learn “about who our different visitors are. Did they hear about Casper and want to come in? Are they passersby? Did they walk out with a product? We’re learning about what it means to be a part of a community. And we’re learning more about how to interact with customers.”
11. Airbnb x LEGO: Contest to spend a night at the LEGO House
As part of Airbnb’s “Night At” campaign, Airbnb partnered with LEGO to offer Airbnb users the chance to spend the night at the LEGO house in Denmark. This once-in-a-lifetime experience caught the imagination of LEGO’s avid fanbase and users of Airbnb worldwide.
The competition was a viral success because it reinforced the creativity and imagination of the LEGO brand with Airbnb’s reputation for delivering unique, unforgettable experiences. The competition was a massive hit on social media and helped build awareness of the Airbnb brand with the loyal customers of the biggest toy brand in the world.
12. Starbucks x Spotify: Music in coffee shops
The Starbucks and Spotify brand collaboration allowed customers at 7,000 Starbucks stores to experience personalized Spotify playlists tailored to each store.
Customers also had the opportunity to monetize My Starbucks Rewards on Spotify, further solidifying the collaboration.
Forbes referred to the collaboration as “digital co-branding genius.”. Through the partnership, Starbucks helped to create a more personal and rewarding relationship with its customers, while Spotify gained access to Starbucks' massive customer base of 10 million loyal customers. The proof is in the figures - during the first year of the collaboration, Spotify boosted its income by a staggering 80% to $2.1 billion in 2015.
13. Vans x Nintendo: Limited clothing range
In 2016, Nintendo launched a clothing and footwear range with Vans, which helped the business overcome several years of operating losses. Vans is known for producing fun, youthful footwear, so collaborating with a brand that created some of the most iconic and famous video game characters of all time was a win-win.
The sneaker range which featured retro Nintendo characters such as Mario and Legend of Zelda, was a massive hit with both Vans and Nintendo fans. The collaboration was credited with helping Nintendo hit profits of $920 million that year.
14. Lego x Star Wars: Special edition LEGO sets
The LEGO and Star Wars collaboration is an excellent example of two world-leading consumer brands creating something special for their customers. The special edition LEGO sets brought the iconic Star Wars universe to life, including characters, locations, and even vehicles from the hit film franchise.
The collaboration delighted fans of all ages, leading to a range of spinoff products. In 2005, LEGO launched the LEGO Star Wars video game, which developed into a whole series of video games with over 50 million product sales.
15. Pepsi x Peeps: Limited edition marshmallow-flavored soda
In 2021, Pepsi joined up with marshmallow brand Peeps to create a limited edition Peeps-flavored soda. It may have divided opinion, but the Pepsi x Peeps collaboration was a viral social media sensation.
The brands used scarcity tactics (only 3000 units were up for grabs) with a playful and eye-catching marketing campaign to create massive hype across all media channels. The limited release was so successful that the two brands teamed up again for a second nationwide run in 2023.
16. Uniqlo x KAWS: Clothing featuring designs from the famous artist
KAWS is a designer and artist with a cult following, so the fashion world noticed when he collaborated with the clothing brand Uniqlo. The clothing line combined art and fashion with pieces influenced by the designer's iconic street art style.
The collection was hugely successful for Uniqlo, while KAWS was able to use Uniqlo’s vast platform to gain attention from a much broader audience. In China, the collection sold in minutes, with stores descending into chaos as shoppers fought over products.
17. Alexander Wang x H&M: High-end fashion meets affordable retail
This Alexander Wang x H&M collaboration is another example of a successful high fashion and high street partnership. Alexander Wang is known for its urban-inspired, luxury clothing, while H&M is known for producing affordable clothing with mass market appeal.
The limited collection went down a storm with H&M shoppers who relished the chance to purchase Alexander Wang designs at affordable prices. The collection was so popular that H&M’s website crashed with the overwhelming traffic, and almost all the products sold out within hours.
18. Heinz x Absolut: Tomato vodka pasta sauce
The Heinz x Absolut collaboration is a great example of how to piggyback off a trend successfully. Noticing the surge in tomato and vodka pasta recipes on social media, Heinz partnered with vodka brand Absolut to create the UK’s first tomato vodka pasta sauce.
A hugely successful social media campaign saw food influencers sharing their reactions to the sauce as well as recipes for using it.
Within a week of the product release, the campaign had received over 6.2 million views on TikTok, and sales of Heinz pasta sauces were up more than 50% in the two months following.
19. Baskin Robbins x “Stranger Things”
Baskin Robbins saw the opportunity for a viral sensation when the Netflix show Stranger Things featured an ice cream shop called Scoops Ahoy in its third series. Jumping on the show’s popularity, Baskin Robbins renamed one of their stores Scoops Ahoy and served Stranger Things-inspired flavors such as Eleven’s Heaven.
The collaboration helped promote Stranger Things to a new audience while Baskin Robbins raked in five billion media impressions and saw sales rise at the Scoops Ahoy site by 150%.
20. Rihanna x Puma (Fenty Puma): A line blending athletic wear with fashion
Music artist Rihanna is known for her daring and distinctive fashion sense, so her collection with Puma was always going to catch the attention of the fashion media.
Puma is a brand known primarily for athletic apparel. Still, by partnering with Rihanna to create Fenty Puma, the brand generated credibility with a whole new segment of fashion-conscious consumers.
The range was hugely successful, with the Fenty X Puma Creeper being voted the best shoe of the year by industry-leading Footwear News. The Creeper shoe was so popular that it sold out in every color and helped Puma achieve nearly $1 billion in sales in the first year of release.
21. Dunkin' Donuts x Saucony: Special edition running shoes
Saucony, known for producing high-quality running shoes, and popular with Boston Marathon runners, released a special edition of shoes inspired by the distinctive colors and branding of Dunkin’ Donuts.
The tongue-in-cheek range was popular with runners and quickly sold out on Saucony’s website.
You might not immediately connect donuts with running. Still, this unusual partnership made a lot of sense when you consider that research from Strava found that “coffee” was the most common food and drink tagged in its app. So next time Saucony customers want a coffee, Dunkin Donuts will be front of mind.
22. IKEA x Virgil Abloh: A furniture and home accessories line
Virgil Abloh, the late Louis Vuitton designer and founder of streetwear brand Off-White, is revered in fashion. His wildly popular collaboration with IKEA featured a limited edition range of furniture with his unique artistic flair, such as a rug in the style of an IKEA receipt.
Launched at Paris Fashion Week, tickets for the launch event sold out in just 5 minutes. Fans of both Abloh and IKEA alike even queued overnight to get their hands on the range when it launched in stores.
23. Coca-Cola x McDonald's: Exclusive distribution partnership
Coca-Cola and McDonald's go hand in hand, thanks to a longstanding exclusive distribution partnership that has been in place since 1955.
The partnership allows McDonald’s to serve Coca-Cola products exclusively at its restaurants, giving McDonald’s customers the famed Coca-Cola taste that customers know and love. At the same time, Coca-Cola gets access to customers in over 40,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide.
Over the years, the partnership has led to numerous product ranges and exponential growth for both companies.
24. KFC x Crocs: Limited edition footwear
Although they may be in different industries, KFC and Crocs share the same playful, lighthearted ethos, which is why their limited-edition footwear collection was such a hit.
Their line of Crocs featuring KFC’s iconic bucket design with scented fried chicken charms was a viral hit after debuting at New York Fashion Week.
The KFC x Crocs Clogs sold out in just 30 minutes and even won KFC an award at the 2021 Ragan Media Relations Awards.
25. Ford x Eddie Bauer: Special edition SUVs
The Ford x Eddie Bauer partnership was a first for the automotive industry. In 1983, outdoor clothing and equipment brand Eddie Bauer collaborated with world-famous car brand Ford to create a special edition of SUVs aimed at outdoor enthusiasts.
The vehicle perfectly combined Ford’s reputation for quality and reliability with Eddie Bauer’s ethos of outdoor adventure. The car was a hit with both customer bases and led to a string of co-branded vehicles over the next 20 years, selling over 1.5 million units.
26. Apple x Hermes: Luxury edition of the Apple Watch
When Apple partnered with the luxury brand Hermes, they created a range of high-end wearable devices popular with fashion-conscious luxury lovers and die-hard fans of Apple technology. For both brands, it offered an opportunity to branch out into different markets and raise awareness with new consumers.
According to Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, “with Apple wanting a luxurious edge, and Hermès hoping to branch out from their ‘wealthy grandmother and mother’ clientele, the Apple-Hermès partnership also informs us about the millennial demographic targeted by both companies.”
27. Supreme x Oreo: Limited edition cookies
In 2020, Supreme collaborated with Oreo to create a limited edition of Oreo cookies featuring the iconic Supreme logo and its signature red brand color. Both brands are known for their fun, youthful values, and their customers snapped up the cookies as they hit the shelves.
The eye-catching cookies gained colossal buzz online, with one Supreme fan’s tweet about the cookie receiving almost 19,0000 retweets and over 67,000 likes. The cookies quickly sold out and could be found for extortionate sums on resell sites like eBay.
28. Tim Hortons x Justin Bieber (Timbiebs): A special donut line
The collaboration between Canadian fast-food chain Tim Hortons and Canada’s most successful pop star, Justin Bieber, was so successful it helped to turn around falling sales for the restaurant chain.
The donut line known as Timbiebs with flavors inspired by Justin Bieber was a massive success on social media thanks to the singer's huge following.
Tim Horton’s CEO José Ci commented that the collaboration led to “unprecedented social engagement and increased appeal with younger guests.” The pair have launched additional products, including a flavored coffee.
29. Semrush x Surfer: Digital marketing tools
It’s not just fashion brands and pop stars who can benefit from brand collaborations - the Semrush x Surfer collaboration is an excellent example of how SaaS businesses can pair up to create a unique offering for customers.
The two SEO software providers have created a free SEO tool for small business owners, which allows them to gain insights into competitor link-building strategies.
Through the tool, both businesses are building brand awareness and trust with a broader audience, which will generate more leads for their businesses. The tool has been well received with industry commentators such as Matt Diggity, CEO and Founder at Diggity Marketing, calling the tool “Simple. Efficient. Automated.”
30. Pangaia x Headspace: Sustainable clothing brand
Sustainable clothing brand Pangaia partnered with meditation app Headspace to create a range of ethically made clothing that benefits both the wearer and the environment. This is a powerful partnership thanks to the brands’ shared commitment to mental and physical well-being.
Shopify said the collaboration made sense for both brands because it “expanded their reach, resonating with individuals keen on both sustainable living and mental wellness.”
Collaborate and Grow Your Brand
Brand collaborations can be revolutionary for your business - widening your audience, securing brand credibility, and, most importantly, driving sales.
As these examples show, you don’t have to partner with a business in your industry or create a product that fits your existing product range. As long as you have shared values and complementary strengths, then you have the basis of a strong collaboration.
At the CMO, you can find all the information you need about different marketing tools and techniques you can use to make your brand collaboration a success. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with all the latest marketing insights and tactics.
