Every week, I attempt to compile a list of select creative ads with caught my attention. Getting noticed amidst clutter of media noise is a big deal – in fact the only metric that truly matters in advertising, as everything else is academic if the ad is just ignored. Here are a few which caught my eye the week ending May 9, 2020:
Mint Mobile: New ManageMint
Ryan Reynolds’ creative team does it again. The team which works with him earlier created a hilarious set of commercials for Aviation Gin, a brand he bought because he loved the product. The actor also owns Mint Mobile a telecom brand in the US and announced it during the Super Bowl season but not on TV. In the latest ad for Mint Mobile, the team gets topical again with cues of WFH and video calling. While those have been common themes of late, the brilliant writing, little touches like ‘plant-based?’ as a bullet point in one of the slides and Ryan Reynolds’ comic timing makes for an entertaining and memorable ad.
Hun wine: outdoor ads
Who launches an outdoor campaign for a brand when most people are indoors thanks to the lockdown? In what must have been a planned product launch, derailed perhaps by the COVID-19 outbreak, the marketing team turned a problem into an opportunity. The self-deprecating humour and pointing out to outdoor ads which nobody can see brought attention to the campaign in the online world. Loved it.
Agency: TBWA
A brand of crisps also adopted a similar approach last month but not with the kind of buzz the wine brand got.
Mucinex: Be a hero
I loved the idea, the art direction and illustration in these set of print ads urging people to stay at home for a cold & flu brand in the US.
Agency: McCann Health
NHS: #StayHomeHeroes
It is fascinating to see how two different creative minds approach the same problem in different ways and offer effective creative solutions. These set of posters for NHS in the UK have the same objective as the Mucinex ads above but deliver it with a touch of humour.
Agency: IRIS
McDonald’s: cravings
Here’s a sweet little, relatable film which keeps you engaged but may evoke a rolling-eye emoji look once the brand name is revealed.
Agency: DDB, Australia
Dutch Uncle: Colouring Sheets
Several brands have tried to be of value during the lockdown by offering some utility: activity sheets for those who are locked down at home. Here’s a super size painting sheet created for Dutch Uncle by ad agency Uncommon. As The Drum notes:
The huge A0 colouring sheet scene celebrates the many activities and social nuances that have been revealed during this period of lockdown and are big enough to get the whole family around.
The Drum
Agency: Uncommon
The Hindu: tactical print ad
I liked this ad because it captures what a lot of us have felt during this period of lockdown. We have re-discovered nature, family bonding, duties & responsibilities at home, work-life balance and more. The line ‘All it took was a microscopic organism to make us more human’ captures it so well.
Agency: Ogilvy
Puzzles: Heinz & McDonald’s
In keeping with activities for the lockdown period, two brands have adopted an identical approach: releasing giant jig saw puzzles related to the brand. The one from Heinz in Canada reinforces the brand colour and purity perhaps.
Agency: Rethink
And then there was McDonald’s which launched a 500-piece puzzle in Belgium to help consumers kill time and keep the brand top of mind.
Agency: TBWA
Microsoft: Mothers Day
Most occasion-driven topical ads (or moment marketing as it is referred to sometimes) are opportunistic, driven by FOMO and have little or no connection to the brand. Here’s one ad for Mother’s Day which strikes a chord given the current context of mothers juggling work & home more than ever.
Agency: McCann
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.