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Have you ever seen cool advertisements for bags in real life? I mean those hilarious promotional bags which are now all over the Internet now. I bet 99.99% of you haven’t seen these creative shopping bags, but at the same time, 99% of you have seen them on the net. Also known as “bagvertising”, it’s a guerilla marketing technique that also lets the brand get creative with something as simple as a shopping bag. And like any great product design, these bags full use of all the space they’ve got as well as being stylish and functional.

So, my question is – who is the target audience the advertisers are aiming for? Real people on the street or Internet surfers? Getting people talking and organically sharing their brand is a great example of viral marketing. However, a shopping bag also works as a form of free advertising from your customers when you think about how many people will see it.

So, without further ado, I present you with this huge collection of creative shopping bags that think outside the box (or bag). From head-turning lingerie adverts to activist campaigns that also make you think twice, these are the best adverts as seen on shopping bags.

P.S. Before any of you start complaining “I’ve seen this already” – I can assure you haven’t seen every bag advertisement on our list as it’s probably the biggest and the most complete collection of the coolest bagvertising examples over the net. Enjoy!

1. ASPE Crime Stories Bag

This promotional bag was given to you when you bought a book by Belgium’s most famous crime-writer, Pieter Aspe.

2. Ann Summers: Kinky Whip Viral Marketing

A guerrilla marketing concept for Ann Summers (lingerie and accessories shop). Designed by guerrillaguru © 2007

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3. Shumensko Beer Crate

Advertising Agency: Noble Graphics Creative Studio, Sofia, Bulgaria

4. Volkswagen Golf GTI Bag

Advertising Agency: Agence V, Paris, France

5. Meralco: Unplug to Save

Advertising Agency: TBWA, Philippines

Meralco, the Philippines’ top supplier of electricity, aimed to show goodwill to its customers by educating them on how electric consumption works and how to read electricity bills.

Special bags that combined Electricitips or information on how to save electricity and ways to practice smart electrical consumption were given away during Christmas bazaars and Meralco mall events.

6. Greenpeace Campaign – Give Me Your Hand

Advertising Agency: dentsu, Beijing, China

7. Autism Awareness Campaign

Art director: Yosef Khouwes | Copywriter: Bipin Jacob

8. Creative Advertising from Stop’n Grow

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Credit: Jung von Matt, Berlin

9. Panadol Bagvertising

Agency: unknown

10. Daihatsu

Agency: Creative Lab, Cairo, Egypt|Art Director: Walid Abd Rabo

11. Red Cross – Volunteers Needed

Advertising Agency: Lem, Shanghai, China

12. Gaia: Viral Marketing Against Animal Cruelty

Agency: Duval Guillaume, Brussels, Belgium

13. Sawney Bean – Cannibal of Scotland

Creative director/Art Director John Messum

14. ReVital

Antje Gerwien, from the University of Weimar.

15. Muse Bags

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Agency: Tokyu Agency Inc., Tokyo

These bags were designed as color samples of hair extensions for distribution to visitors to a party at Muse beauty salon. So, hair extensions were attached to bags as handles.

16. Yulia Tymoshenko

Source: blog.ivman.com

Yulia Tymoshenko, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, iconic in Europe for her braids. Funny, but probably fake – the bag looks exactly the same as one of the Muse bags.

17. YKM Shopping Bag: Jump Rope

Agency: TBWA, Istanbul

18. Fitness: Funny Shopping Bag

Publicis Frankfurt | Creative Direction: Gert Maehnicke

19. Clothes in Closets: Bagvertising With A Punch

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett Lisbon, Portugal

20. Blush Lingerie Advert: X-Ray Bag

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Agency: BBDO Berlin

21. Floating Magic-i Bag

Advertising Agency: Grey Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The brief: The agency was given the task to design a shopping bag for Magic-i, a magic shop. The idea: the handles of the shopping bag are made of transparent fishing line, which makes it look like it is being held without handles as if by magic.

22. Wheaties: Funny Shopping Bag

Agency: unknown

23. Alinna

Agency: unknown

24. Book

Agency: unknown

25. Headhunting Agency Shopping Bag

26. Karl Lagerfeld Shopping Bag

Agency: unknown

27. Olympic Shopping Bag

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28. Tom of Finland Shopping Bag

Agency: unknown

Tom of Finland is a popular gay icon.

29. Samsung TV Bag

Agency: unknown

30. Hey, wait, there’s only 29 bags here! Can you suggest the 30th?