Earlier this week, my Twitter and LinkedIn timelines featured some outstanding outdoor from StreetEasy, a real estate search firm in New York. It demonstrated how select creative work ‘bubble up’ into our visibility purely on the merit of the idea and craft. My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking creative work includes that and more:
StreetEasy: win the game of real estate
Advertising is not pure art – it has a business role to play and hence both ‘what to say’ (the strategy) and ‘how to say it’ (creative idea and execution) are important. Craft plays a critical role in the second part as the finesse of execution has an impact on the well, ‘impact’. A new campaign for StreetEasy has all of this is in abundance. In a market such as New York, finding an apartment must feel like going into battle – so choosing to say that the portal helps you win at that game feels right. The execution takes it to the next level with some great copywriting and art direction.
Agency: Preacher.
The campaign made me curious to know more about the agency. I was mind blown at the quality of work and the slick presentation, including the previous campaign for the same brand.
Channel 4: #LetHerFinish
I tweeted earlier this week that I wonder why some senior male journalist-anchors in India cut a sentence midway or speak over someone, especially if it’s a women journalist. ‘Mansplaining’ and the habit of listening to respond rather than to hear another point of view is common. I was reminded of these when I saw this lovely promo on International Women’s Day from Channel 4.
M&S: Can I app it?
‘Download now’ is the common call-to-action that we see in ads promoting an app-based service. Many of them (even the good ones) highlight or dramatise the service and the CTA becomes a ‘mandatory voice over’. M&S in the UK is in a position where they don’t have to explain what they do and focus on features of their app. What the app can do is brought alive cleverly through the magic of a well-crafted jingle and cute visual effects.
Apple: Escape from the office
The creative community has been a fan of the Mac for decades now. But SMEs and large enterprises perhaps see the higher investment on Apple products as a barrier and have sworn by Windows. The advantage Apple has its ecosystem of devices and services. In 2019, Apple showcased the capabilities of this ecosystem in a business environment and followed it up with a sequel in the WFH scenario. The same ‘team’ is now back in long-format film again, dramatising their plans as entrepreneurs. While some may dismiss their idea of ‘better bags’ as nothing earth shatteringly new the story leaves their ‘success’ to the viewer’s imagination and possibly taps into the dream of many now to be independent.
International Women’s Day: unconscious bias
Similar to the StreetEasy work, this set of posters created by CPB, London showed up on our social media feeds earlier this week. Its appeal was in the universal truth of our conscious biases and the star simplicity in bringing it alive. Even in the executions without images the the campaign is clutter-breaking. Someone commented on LinkedIn that there is no strategy in this as the CTA is not clear. In my view, just highlighting, creating awareness and making us all conscious about such biases is in itself a good start (even if there’s nothing one has to do such as filling a form) and should lead to change in behaviour – which is the real CTA.
Agency: CPB, London
Which one was favourite? Do comment in.