Heineken, KitKat, Swiggy and more: creative ads of the week

March 19, 2020

Every week, I attempt to share a few clutter breaking creative ads which caught my attention. Over the last ten years, I have shared views on topics pertaining to advertising too. Here’s my collection for the week ending January 17, 2020:

Heineken: Daniel Craig vs James Bond

When you have to use a celebrity like Daniel Craig to cue an association with the James Bond franchise, some creative elements are mandatory – the signature music, a car chase sequence perhaps? Despite such constraints, here’s an entertaining ad for Heineken in which the actor forgets his passport in a taxi while in an European town on holiday. A Bond-esque pursuit follows and instead of the signature martini, the actor chooses alcohol-free beer, Heineken 0.0. Released just ahead of the next Bond film, ‘No Time To Die‘ the ad aims to appeal to a younger audience.

Agency: Publicis, Italy

KitKat: Airfix

Very few brands have consistently invested in an idea for decades. KitKat is one among them (Snickers could be another). They have successfully associated the brand with a ‘break’ thanks mainly to the product form and the famous tagline ‘Have a break, have a KitKat’. Recently, the brand tied up with modelling kit brand, Airfix to take forward that brand idea in an interesting manner. Putting together the models of airplanes calls for dedication and passion – making the need for a ‘break’ all the more welcome. The team created The KitKat Kit, a special edition of Airfix’s Supermarine Spitfire and placed a sealed KitKat into the kits. The instruction booklet also told the hobbyists when to open the bag (as Step 38) and enjoy a break.

As such hobbyists are a close-knit community the presence of such a kit was noticed and shared on YouTube videos.

Agency: Wunderman Thompson

Swiggy: What the Falooda

In today’s social media world, it is tough for service brands, especially those with a customer support service. Banks, airlines, telecom companies, hotels, taxi aggregator services and food delivery apps have all borne the brunt of customer complaints on Twitter and Facebook. Consumers see such platforms as means to resolve issues and quite often, just vent their anger. In that process, many tend to get abusive which can obviously be a dampener for the customer service team. In an interesting strategy, food delivery app Swiggy has addressed the issue of abusive behaviour by offering a browser extension which replaces profanity with names of foods.

While users are more likely to connect with customer service through native apps (and use of browsers for such maybe low) it is a compelling strategy with a good chance of changing attitude and behaviour.

Agency: Swiggy in-house team

Downy: Pop Pop

P&G is known for creating adverts sharply focused on product features and the benefit thereof. Many years ago, this approach was associated with ‘hard-working’ advertising (just another way of saying dull, template driven ads). Over the years, P&G has created entertaining, yet hard working product-focused ads for a slew of brands such as Old Spice, Tide ad more. Here’s a cute, lovable ad for Downy which aims to convey a problem – ‘Wrinkles send the wrong message’ and offers a solution.

Agency: Grey

LivSpace: pains of home design

Traditionally, Indians have relied on contractors to get work related to interior design, carpentry and such like. Very often such services are availed because of word of mouth recommendations and the service providers are not always professional and process driven. LivSpace dramatises pain points arising out of unreliable contractors in a set of humourous, relatable films.

Agency: Tilt Brand Solutions

OLX: Sell Anything. Buy Anything

A smart visual representation of a platform which enables selling and buying of anything from gadgets to cars.

Agency: Enormous Brands

GoDaddy: brand identity

Whenever a famous brand attempts to change its brand identity, one can expect backlash from consumers. We’ve seen that happen with Google, Gap, Airtel and others. We are all comfortable with the familiar and take a while to adjust to the new. All the outrage about a changed logo on social media is forgotten over time as we get used to the new identity. GoDaddy has long been associated with its funky mascot from the early days of the web and then its sexist ads during Super Bowl. However, it has potential to be a ‘serious’ brand given that it helps small businesses grow through web presence. The company revealed a new identity which as expected has come in for criticism.

I think given the constraints of its historical perceptions, advertising and a non-serious component in the name (‘daddy’) the brand had to begin somewhere in a new journey. I think the new messaging will appeal to those who ‘create’ and set up new businesses.

Agency: Lippincott, Koto and in-house teams

It is another matter that several new brand identities have taken the route of depicting a heart – e.g. Airbnb, Sears.

Expedia: topical ad

The news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle giving up their royal titles and deciding to move to Canada gave an opportunity for brands to create topical ads. As with topical ads, some of the associations were forced (like the one from Burger King) but I thought this was spot on in terms of subtlety charm, brand association and media placement.