How 100 Brands Were Marketing Their Cyber Week Deals in 2020

Cyber Week 2020 was in full swing when I created this campaign round-up. I knew that in 2021, many business owners will want to look for inspiration in last year’s BFCM campaigns, so this collection goes out to them—and anyone who simply enjoys looking at campaign visuals and language.

So let’s take a look at what 100 world’s leading fashion brands were up to during the most exciting shopping event of the year. I paid a visit to them all—from fast fashion brands to luxury fashion houses, from indie brands to industry titans.

Scroll through these Black Friday promos one by one or click straight to the brand that interests you the most!

But first—some observations and stats.

Black Friday marketing campaign trends in 2020

• Out of 100 brand campaigns, 81% advertised a discount or a bundle deal
• Out of those brands that reduced prices, the majority offered a 30% discount
• 8% used a countdown timer to create urgency
• 32% offered free shipping, conditional free shipping, or free express shipping to promote their deals
• 24% used promo codes to enter at checkout

Black Friday marketing campaign examples from 2020

ABLE

The slow fashion brand greeted visitors with a promo code and a site-wide sale.

Alternative Apparel

Alternative Apparel sells “fashion basics for a sustainable future.” For their Cyber Weekend deal, the brand offered a site-wide sale with a promo code.

Anthropologie

The clothing retailer welcomed shoppers with an adorable animation, conditional free shipping, and a site-wide sale.

Apple

The tech giant kept things classy with stylish visuals featuring Apple products. The deal advertised was a gift card that the shoppers could get for purchases over $150.

Armani

Armani went for a sophisticated color combo and invited visitors to browse the website for holiday gifts.

Asos

Asos welcomed shoppers with comic book vibes and didn’t hold back in terms of the offer.

Bath & Body Works

The retailer stuck to classic winter holiday visuals and invited shoppers to mix & match the whole store, offering a discount for 3 lower-priced products.

Benefit

Benefit looked pretty in pink and hosted a site-wide sale with a cheerful promo code.

Bobbi Brown

The skin and makeup brand offered a site-wide sale and a conditional free gift.

Boden

Boden made Black Friday its own by calling it Technicolor Friday Event. The offer was a site-wide sale with a promo code.

Boohoo

The fashion retailer offered a generous site-wide sale, promoted afterpay, and went for color black and neon lights in visuals.

Burberry

The luxury brand opted for a toned-down color palette and offered visitors to look for Burberry gifts on its website.

Cartier

The luxury brand greeted visitors with a futuristic video reel and promoted extended returns.

Caudalie

The skincare brand chose adorable Yuleitde-y visuals in classic red and offered a free gift with the purchase.

Chanel

Just as the majority of luxury brands you’ll see on this list, Chanel didn’t offer price reductions. Instead, the visitor was invited to discover the holiday collection.

Notice how luxury brands call shipping “complimentary,” rather than “free.”

Converse

The Converse ad featured Chucks, their staple product, and offered a discount on selected styles with a promo code.

Deciem

Deciem, the umbrella for beauty brands like The Ordinary, Hylamide, and NIOD, repeated what it did last year and closed their website and offline stores “for a moment of nothingness.” Although Deciem urged people to shop slowly, the brand didn’t leave customers without a deal—the discounts were available for the whole of November.

Drunk Elephant

Nothing black about this Black Friday campaign. The brand used a beaming color scheme and offered a site-wide discount. A banner about possible delays and a thank you for customers’ patience added a thoughtful touch.

Eileen Fisher

There were no price reductions offered, but this wholesome and uplifting ad definitely grabbed attention and acknowledged the fact that this year’s holidays will be different for many people.

Equa

The reusable water bottle brand went for shimmer and gold, and offered a bundle deal with free shipping.

Escada

The luxury brand featured a model wearing a chic black outfit and offered a voucher code for selected items.

Estée Lauder

The skincare brand opted for a festive red-and-gold in its visuals and kept things simple with a site-wide sale and a themed voucher code.

Everlane

This year, the fashion brand Everlane that’s known for their sustainable wardrobe staples and pay-what-you-want sales, launched their “first Black Friday sale” with a noble purpose—to donate to a charity that provides free meals to people in need.

Fendi

The luxury brand didn’t advertise any discounts on its page, but invited the visitors to browse the holiday gift guide.

Fenty

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna chose black and gold for the visuals and launched a site-wide sale, applicable to the favorite product.

FILA

The cult sportswear brand offered a discount on selected products, advertised in small print.

Fjällräven

Instead of launching a sale, Fjällräven renamed Black Friday to “Long Term Investment Friday” and reminded visitors to shop responsibly.

For Love & Lemons

The Los Angeles fashion brand launched a site-wide sale and is the first one on this list to use a countdown timer to build urgency.

Free People

The boho clothing brand invited the visitor to make a “purchase with a purpose” and made a pledge to donate proceeds to a non-profit organization.

French Connection

The retail fashion brand offered a site-wide sale, conditional free shipping, free returns, and a chance to win back the Black Friday spending.

Function of Beauty

The personalized hair, body, and skincare brand used neon colors in its ad and offered a site-wide discount.

House of Versace

The luxury fashion house invited shoppers to discover Versace’s holiday gift guide and offered complimentary shipping and returns.

GAP

The clothing and accessories retailer offered conditional free shipping, free returns, and a generous site-wide sale.

Glossier

Gen Z’s beloved makeup brand launched its “only sale of the year” and stuck with the color black for the ad.

GUCCI

No price reductions were offered, but the photo used to advertise the gift guide is an absolute treasure.

Gymshark

Gymshark’s ad celebrated life in motion and offered shoppers a discount with a promo code.

Hermès

Hermès’ video reel created a winter fairyland starring the brand’s products.

H&M

The retail giant kept things simple offering a modest discount on the website and in offline stores.

Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss stuck with grey and black shades in its Black Friday Event visuals and sought to create urgency with a timer.

Kat Von D

The vegan beauty makeup brand steered away from their signature dark and deep color palette and invited shoppers with a vibrant ad, a site-wide discount, and conditional free gifts.

Kate Spade

The luxury handbag brand greeted the holiday shoppers with a slightly unusual ad and rainbow confetti that made you wait to see if the image moves. (It didn’t.)

Kiehl’s

The skincare brand showcased the deal with vibrant colors and offered a site-wide discount with a promo code.

Kosas

Kosas offered three levels of conditional discounts and was the only brand among the 100 listed here to use emojis on their website.

Lancôme

Just like the previous brand, Lancôme offered three levels of discounts nudging shoppers to spend more in order to save more.

Levi’s

Levi’s was yet another brand to rename Black Friday. The Indigo Friday offered half off hundreds of styles.

Louis Vuitton

The luxury brand sought to elevate shoppers’ spirits and surrounded the holiday campaign around the “journey home.”

Lululemon

The athletic apparel retailer kept the promo visuals simple with festive gold foil lettering.

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs offered a discount for “marcdowns.”

Marks & Spencer

Home goods and fashion retailer brought a holiday vibe with a cozy fireplace setting. Instead of promoting deals, M&S guided the visitors toward its product categories.

Missguided

The youth fashion retailer offered a hefty discount that added up with first-time shopper’s discount or student discount.

Morphe

Morphe Cosmetics offered a “real deal” promo code for its entire line and added conditional free shipping on top.

Moschino

Moschino knew what most shoppers are after, and went for a classic Black Friday ad + an offer without any fluff.

Murad

The skincare brand offered a site-wide discount with a conditional free gift and reminded shoppers about holiday order deadlines.

Nasty Gal

Nasty Gal launched a Black Friday pre-sale for the most impatient shoppers, followed by an even bigger sale on the Nasty Friday. Lesson from Nasty Gal and other brands:

If you decide to run a Cyber Week sale, you might as well give it a name that embodies your brand.

Nike

The sportswear and athleisure giant goes for neon lights and inspo: “outshine your excuses.” Notice how Nike reminds shoppers to place orders asap to receive them in time for giftwrapping.

Neutrogena

The skincare brand offered a site-wide discount, free shipping, conditional free samples, and wrapped the entire thing in a bow.

Nordstrom

The department store chain offered half off and reminded shoppers about curbside pickup.

The North Face

The North Face’s ad breathed adventure and offered two levels of conditional discounts. The brand also used a timer to create urgency and offered free shipping and extended returns.

Old Navy

The clothing and accessories retailer offered half off everything and a curbside pickup in 2 hours to “get gifts fast & worry-free.”

Ole Henriksen

The skincare brand launched a “Hygge haul” showcasing Scandinavian aesthetics in the ad.

& Other Stories

& Other Stories offered shoppers to pre-select their shopping bag, which is a great way to hook attention and give customers time to browse catalog. On Black Friday, the brand launched a site-wide sale to seal the deal.

Pact

The sustainable clothing brand Pact didn’t advertise specific discounts, but used the word “doorbuster” suggesting that there were sweet deals inside waiting for shoppers.

Patagonia

Instead of launching a sale, the brand urged shoppers to shop responsibly, “shop less, buy used” (available on Patagonia website), and repair existing clothing pieces.

Peach&Lily

The skincare brand greeted visitors with juicy colors and an eye-catching product display as well as a site-wide sale with a promo code.

People Tree

This sustainable clothing brand was yet another one to rename Black Friday. People Tree’s Fair Friday offered a site-wide discount and showed examples of eco-friendly gift wrapping.

Pixi Cosmetics

Pixi Cosmetics welcomed visitors with a buy-one-get-one deal, a timer to motivate shoppers to seize that deal, and an on-brand color scheme.

Prada

Prada dressed in black and showcased its holiday gift catalog.

Pretty Little Thing

The fashion retailer went all out with a doorbuster deal. ⚡

Puma

Puma wass the only brand on this list to specify the exact discount range.

Ralph Lauren

The luxury brand kept things classy and simple with festive tartan and a clearly stated deal.

Ray Ban

Ray Ban looked at the Cyber Weekend through holographic lenses and created urgency with a countdown timer.

Reformation

The sustainable clothing brand offered a site-wide sale, free shipping, and reminded visitors to shop responsibly.

REI

Similar to other eco-conscious brands, REI closed its door on Black Friday and invited the visitors to #OptOutside instead of going on an online shopping spree on Cyber weekend.

Revolve

The fashion brand stuck to black and offered impressive discounts that followed a generous pre-sale.

River Island

The fashion retailer brought a bit of magic into the shopping weekend with vibrant colors and a wonder-themed promo code.

Samsung

The tech giant made it clear that Black Friday was here and so were the deals.

Sephora

Sephora went for black with a splatter of color and offered the shoppers a discount on selected products, a promo code, and free shipping.

SKIMS

Kim Kardashian West’s brand didn’t launch a special sale, but gave a nod to Black Friday by featuring black products in the “Just In” carousel.

Steve Madden

This BFCM, looked like you couldn’t go wrong with neon lights, black products, and a promo code. Steve Madden was also among the brands to promote afterpay.

Swatch

Swatch didn’t offer discounts, but still celebrated the shopping weekend by launching a selection of black watches.

Tarte

Tarte Cosmetics promoted Feel-Good Friday with the help of a site-wide sale, an additional sale on selected items, and—best of all—a cozy mug of hot chocolate.

Tatcha

The Japanese skincare brand invited shoppers to look for gifts for themselves and for others with a site-wide sale and a promo code.

Thought Clothing

This sustainable brand offered a deal that would warm most shoppers’ hearts—Thought Clothing donated 50% of Thoughtful Friday proceeds to charity.

Tiffany & Co.

No special deals were advertised, but Tiffany & Co. invited shoppers to give meaningful gifts that will last for years to come.

Notice how the brand plays with words and invites visitors to “Shop the Story” instead of shopping the store.

Tom Ford

The luxury brand didn’t advertise holiday discounts. Instead, it drove attention to products manufactured using recycled ocean plastic, and Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize.

Tommy Hilfiger

One more brand to rename the shopping event. Tommy Days offered a discount with a promo code on selected styles.

TOMS

TOMS welcomed shoppers with a site-wide sale on “gifts that keep on giving.”

Too Faced

Bedazzled from head to toe, the Too Faced ad offered a site-wide sale, free shipping and promised a new deal every day.

Ulta Beauty

The beauty store gave a heads up to look for deals and offered conditional free shipping and curbside pickup.

Under Armour

The sportswear and athleisure brand chose black and didn’t beat around the bush in the offer description.

United Colors of Benetton

The United Colors of Benetton greeted customers with a site-wide discount, vivid colors, free shipping, and extended returns.

Urban Decay

The makeup brand featured the iconic eyeshadow palette on their ad, offered a promo code, and informed fans about possible shipping delays.

Urban Outfitters

The fashion retailer invited shoppers with playful 70s typeface and offered a discount on the second lower-priced product.

Valentino

Luxury brand Valentino invited visitors with a stylish illustration and guided them to the holiday product catalog.

Victoria’s Secret

Sparkly and festive, Victoria’s Secret offered a deal on the second, lower-priced product and reminded visitors about holiday shipping deadlines.

Yankee Candle

Yankee Candle went for a minimalist visual and promised “simply magical savings.”

Zaful

The fashion retailer favored by Gen Z’rs offered three-level conditional discounts, a promo code, and an additional student discount.

Zara

Zara dressed in black and offered a discount on selected items.

ZipTop

The reusable ziplock bag brand went for the classic hues of black and red and offered a site-wide sale with conditional free shipping.

Which Black Friday promo stood out to you? What are your takeaways from 2020’s campaigns? Share in the comments!