This past week advertising industry trade portals and social media feeds were filled with creative ads on the occasion of International Women’s Day. As with most advertising, a majority of them were just adding to the noise. Moreover, only a handful of such occasion-led ‘topical’ campaigns have a connect to the brand and are relevant for the occasion. Brand teams are driven by FOMO worrying that not putting out ‘something’ on an occasion will be a missed opportunity, especially when competition has created a campaign. My weekly picks of ads I liked over the past week include TV spots from Honda, Burger King and more.
Honda: Feel More
‘The closer to the road, the more you feel’ is a brilliant take on Honda Civic’s low driving position. The proposition is lifted by the creative perspective (literally) of the director. With the camera positioned almost at ground level through the film, it makes for riveting viewing. Loved it.
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy London
Burger King: Listen to yourself
Fast-food category is considered to be junk food. In a world where there is growing consciousness about eating healthy and in a category which is seeing an uptake on plant-based burgers, here is a bold take from Burger King – to give in to the indulgence of enjoying a high-calorie burger. The context is quite relatable to many of us – being bombarded with many health tips and finally giving in to our cravings.
Agency: Buzzman
MP Birla Cement: #HappyHoli
Very often, when I come across a YouTube video from a brand, I often the check the duration before I even press the play button. We are all spoiled by the low-attention span content around us I guess and we are perhaps overcome by inertia when faced with long-form content. However, ad legend Howard Gossage’s comment in the 1950s, ‘People don’t read ads, they read what interests them. Sometimes, it’s an ad’ is relevant even in today’s context. I was intrigued by the fact that the director was Neelesh Mishra whose ‘slow’ interviews appealed to me. The writing and narration by the director is likely to tug at the heartstrings of the audience for whom Holi is an important and ’emotional’ festival.
Marqet: Shit Happens
There is a common perception in society that industries such as marketing & advertising are less ‘meaningful‘ than few other professions. Even those in the industry go through feelings of ‘same stuff, different day’ and feel vexed at the stress in producing output which frankly may not be life altering for anyone. MarQet, a Swedish fashion brand has created a hilarious ad which captures the emotions about the pointlessness of our work life. It is all tied in nicely with the line ‘at least work in style’.
Agency: Happy F&B, Sweden
Hershey’s: #HerSheGallery
I was in two minds about this campaign from Hershey’s which punned on ‘Her’ and ‘She’ in the brand name. But instead of merely stopping at creating a TVC, they actually produced ‘Her’ and ‘She’ bars in Brazil. The idea is to use the packaging into a ‘advertisement’ space to highlight the accomplishments of women musicians, illustrators, poets, photographers, florists and others.
Agency: BETC
BMTC: stand up together
Government run institutions are not usually known for creative, engaging communication. This Women’s Day, Bangalore Municipal Transport Corporation has created a powerful film on women’s safety to drive home the message that sometimes ‘all it takes to make society better, is standing up together’. The film also cleverly weaves in the connect to the service. It is heartening to see that the film has gone viral in social media.
Which one was your favourite? Comment in.
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