Every week I publish a compilation of creative ads of the week. It’s just a small tribute to brand teams everywhere who manage to craft clutter-breaking ads – as being noticed the first job of any advertising. Here are a few which caught my eye this week on TV and the internet.
Magnum: not available in the metaverse
I used to wonder if I am the only person puzzled at the prospect of a virtual something or the other when a real world experience is a far more enriching prospect. Who’d want to travel virtually or wear something fashionable in the metaverse than in real life? But then I guess there are takers for everything. A new spot for Magnum ice cream captures our sentiment well as it dramatises the disappointment of someone who can’t actually eat an ice cream in the virtual world.
Agency: Lola MullenLowe Madrid
Heinz: not the real thing
In public rest rooms in India it is common to spot a hand wash bottle of a reputed brand, say Dettol but filled with liquid from a cheaper or not-so-well known brand. I was reminded of that phenomenon when this campaign from Heinz highlights the practice of filling a Heinz ketchup bottle with just any other brand. In a roundabout sort of way, it establishes Heinz as the gold standard that everyone aims to serve when it comes to ‘the very best’.
Agency: Rethink, Canada
Deliveroo Hop: billboards
It is interesting how creative creative minds slice and dice an opportunity to communicate a benefit – and view it from different angles. The grocery delivery service of Deliveroo is pitched as a chauffeur service for everyday things in a billboard in the UK.
Agency: in-house
Zalando: creative art from pre-owned clothes
How do you draw attention to the problem of wastage arising from the disposing of pure-owned clothes? In Norway, billboards were created as structural art made of pre-owned clothes. These billboards at eye level drew attention from the public who then went on to buy these clothes.
MLB: baseball is something else
I liked this theme film for Major League Baseball as it was different from the commonly seen adrenaline pumping anthem films for sports tournaments – be it soccer, cricket or tennis. It captures all the fun & mundane activities that are part of the tournament in an ‘atmospheric’ film.
Mercedes: pop-up display
Apparently, Mercedes Benz is always at the same spot every year at the Bangkok International Motor Show. This year, they moved to booth A19. In order to raise awareness about the booth number they re-created parking lots numbered A19 into a pop-up Mercedes Benz booth. Not a jaw-dropping idea but an ingenious and not-o-expensive one to drive home (no pun intended) the point.
Dream11: sab khelenge
Come IPL and a series of new campaigns are launched, especially from the many sponsor brands. Dream11 continues with its use of celebrities – this time literally pitching both actors and cricketers against each other. Set in the backdrop of ‘sab khelenge’ (‘all will play’) the ploy works well. The casual banter and mini-battles for one-upmanship with some industry jargon like ‘retake’ and personal jibes work well, making the series of ads highly enjoyable.
Agency: Tilt. On a side note, Hardik is turning out to be among the better actors among cricketers – naturally taking to the screen in any role.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.