In 2018, Tide didn’t just run a commercial — it hijacked the entire Super Bowl.
With the now-iconic line “It’s a Tide Ad,” the brand pulled off one of the smartest, funniest, and most disruptive campaigns of modern advertising history.

The campaign didn’t just sell detergent; it rewired how audiences watched ads. And in the process, it became a masterclass in brand dominance, category ownership, and creative disruption.

**The Big Idea: What If Every Ad Is Actually a Tide Ad?**

Created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York, the campaign posed a brilliant question:

If every actor in every commercial is wearing spotless clothes… isn’t every ad technically a Tide ad?

This simple insight created a creative loophole that no brand had ever exploited:

✔ Clean clothes are present in almost every Super Bowl commercial
✔ Tide owns the category of clean clothes
✔ Therefore, Tide could claim ownership of every other ad

Boom — the “It’s a Tide Ad” campaign was born.

How Tide Hijacked the Super Bowl

The campaign ran four main spots, all led by actor David Harbour (from Stranger Things), who appeared across multiple genres of ads:

1. The Fake Starter Ads

Harbour opens in what seems like a normal pharmaceutical ad.
Then he breaks the illusion:

👉 “Wait… look at those clean clothes. This is a Tide ad.”

2. The Genre Parodies

The campaign spoofed:

Car commercials
Perfume ads
Insurance ads
Beer ads
Even Old Spice–style hyper-masculine spots

And every time, Harbour revealed:

👉 “It’s a Tide ad.”

3. The Recurring Gag Throughout the Game

The brilliance?

Tide didn’t just run one ad — it ran an idea.
Viewers started questioning every commercial during the game.

“Wait… is this also a Tide ad?”

This psychological takeover is what made the campaign legendary.

Why the Campaign Worked: A Breakdown

1. Category Ownership — Tide Became the Symbol of “Clean”

Instead of selling features (whiteness, fragrance, stain removal), the campaign sold a concept:

If it’s clean, it’s Tide.

That single idea made the brand unavoidable.

2. Disruption — They Broke the Super Bowl Formula

Every brand fights for attention with ONE mega ad spot.
Tide flipped the rules:

⚡ Many small appearances
⚡ Unexpected placements
⚡ Parodying competitors
⚡ Owning everyone else’s narrative

This wasn’t advertising.
This was advertising jiu-jitsu.

3. Humor & Self-awareness

The charm of the campaign was its tone:

Funny
Self-aware
Meta
Unafraid to troll other genres

It made the audience feel “in on the joke.”

4. Strong Recall

You may forget the brand behind a car or perfume ad.

But in 2018, people remembered one thing:

👉 “It’s a Tide ad.”

Brand recall: historic.

Impact: What Tide Achieved

🚀 Sales Boost

Tide saw a massive uptick in brand talk and purchase intent following the campaign.

🏆 Awards

The campaign swept the world’s biggest advertising awards, including:

Cannes Lions
Effies
D&AD
Clio Awards

🧠 Cultural Impact

For weeks, memes, jokes, and parodies flooded social media:
“Is this a Tide ad?” became part of internet culture.

Key Lesson for Marketers

The “It’s a Tide Ad” campaign teaches one powerful truth:

The best advertising doesn’t fight for attention — it hijacks the attention already there.

By owning the idea of “clean clothes,” Tide didn’t have to shout louder.
It simply made every other ad work for it.

“It’s a Tide Ad”: The Genius Campaign That Hijacked the Super Bowl