Ah, summer. The vacations, the pool parties, the sunshine. And … the heat. The blasted, blistering, blazing, heat. If only there was something that could make that heat a little more bearable.

Well, Burger King in Kuwait figured out how to do just that: as a region that regularly sees summer temperatures in the triple digits, Kuwait has some oppressive heat. Luckily, marketers are all about solutions. As the seminal philosopher Mr. Bigweld has remarked, “See a need, fill a need.” 

The burger chain’s latest regional campaign offers customers a special summer promotion: as temperatures rise, prices for frozen drinks drop in real time – based on specialized algorithms that factor in location. Now that’s a pretty cool deal. 

Burger King isn’t the only company with a creative summer marketing campaign. This season has brought dozens of innovative and engaging publicity stunts and promotions from a variety of companies. Here are some of our favorite picks from this year’s summer marketing campaigns! 

Halo Top

Summertime commercials typically exude happiness and sunshine, but Halo Top decided to take a different approach: appeal to consumers’ inner cynic to show them their need for ice cream. Strangely enough, it works. 

Scoops Ahoy

Whether you love Stranger Things or not, everyone loves ice cream. This summer Baskin Robbins decided to partner with Netflix to mimic the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop featured in the show. The ploy was a stroke of pure genius – with a replicated location in Burbank California, ice cream “ships” across the country, and Scoops Ahoy pints and gallons available at select grocery stores. Ahoy, extra revenue! 

Starbucks’ Summer Game

Starbucks recently introduced a Summer Game app for their reward members that gives them a chance to win a trip to Costa Rica, among other things! Download the app to play a virtual board game, where you earn a “play” through making a purchase. Plays can land you on a virtual mini-game space, and winning the mini-games can earn you “Gamepieces” that may be redeemable for prizes.  

Starbucks Summer Game

Source: Starbucks

Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day

An oldie, but goodie: as per annual tradition, Chick-fil-A offered customers a free meal for showing up to locations dressed like cows on July 9. In addition to garnering significant media attention, the campaign demonstrates that Americans have no shame when free food is involved.

Cow Appreciation Day

Source: Chick-fil-A