Five Black Friday marketing campaigns worth stealing from

Executive overview

Most Black Friday campaigns are lazy: slap a discount on the site and call it done. The best ones take months of planning, a distinct brand angle, and pre-committed audiences.

Five campaigns — Cards Against Humanity, Patagonia, Chubbies, Amazon, REI, and AppSumo — show two viable paths: go bigger and weirder on the promotion, or go against it entirely.

The real edge is long lead time, a pre-commit list, and a campaign that fits your brand — not just a coupon.

Campaigns that leaned into the chaos

• Cards Against Humanity built a parody site (99%offsale.com) with absurd discounts running every 10 minutes from 10am–7pm.
• The campaign hit 50,000 simultaneous visitors and earned coverage on The Verge, Business Insider, and others.
• Planning took months; the execution was highly produced — photography, scrolling UI, comedy throughout.
• Key question it raises: are you having fun with your promotions?

Campaigns that opted out entirely

• Patagonia ran a full-page New York Times ad in 2011 telling readers not to buy their jacket.
• The ad argued consumption culture is straining natural resources beyond what the planet supports.
• Sales rose 30% after the campaign. The founder says every decision made for the planet has made them money.
• They also encouraged buyers to resell or donate old gear — consistent brand signal, not a stunt.
• REI closed stores on Black Friday, paid all 12,000 employees, and launched the #OptOutside hashtag campaign.
• Result: 7,000% increase in social impressions; 2.7 billion impressions in the first 24 hours; 16 million Instagram posts.
• REI partnered with 275 national organisations including Google to amplify the message.

Chubbies: Thighber Monday

• Chubbies rebranded Cyber Monday as "Thighber Monday" with 12 hourly unlockable deals tied to purchases.
• High-production humour videos targeted their core "bro buyer" audience directly.
• They've run the same campaign structure every year since 2013 — find what works and repeat it.
• App users got 30-minute early access to deals — a simple but effective loyalty incentive.

Amazon's cat bed ad

• Amazon repurposed its own boxes in a Facebook ad showing them used as cat beds.
• The ad earned 21,000 likes, 4,500 shares, and 1,400 comments — strong organic engagement from a simple idea.
• The creative used the product itself; no external concept needed.
• Missed opportunity: they didn't encourage customers to submit their own photos for future ads.

AppSumo's Tesla giveaway

• Planning began six months before Black Friday; the team asked what would be the most fun, attention-grabbing thing they could do.
• They gave away Noah's personal Tesla plus other prizes, using their own KingSumo giveaway software.
• Over 20,000 entries at launch; they needed ~30,000 to reach ROI.
• Homepage featured an opt-in to a dedicated Black Friday list — capturing intent before the day.
• Countdown timer on the page added urgency.
• Text messaging and email (2–3 sends on the day itself) were the primary channels.

Six-step planning framework

1. Set a clear goal before choosing any tactic.
2. Pick something fun that you and your audience are genuinely excited about.
3. Start planning — at minimum 3 months out; 6–12 months for larger businesses.
4. Map every promotional channel: email, SMS, YouTube, TikTok, social.
5. Identify partners — brands opting out, complementary products, or shared audiences.
6. Build a pre-commit list: get people to opt in ahead of time via phone number or email, then message them a dedicated send.