Most ads go unnoticed. In a 2017 article, Dave Trott said ‘In the UK £20.3 billion is spent each year on all forms of advertising and marketing. Of this 4% is remembered positively. 7% is remembered negatively. And a massive 89% isn’t even noticed or remembered.’ In that context, creating ads which are clutter-breaking and remembered (for the right reasons) are commendable. Here are a few which caught my eye this past week or so:
Orange – Trust Journey
Who’d have thought the intrigue, wonderful buildup and amazing choreography which starts off with a mundane office team building exercise setup, would be about Web 3.0? Yet the connect to trust – the essential promise of the next iteration of the worldwide web is wonderfully brought out in this riveting commercial. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Agency: Publicis Conseil
Peugeot e308: drawn by attraction
Can a CCTV camera ‘fall in love’ with an object of desire? A lovely new angle (no pun intended) from Peugeot for its electric variant as a CCTV literally cannot take its eyes of it. Interesting to see that common issues pertaining to adoption of electric cars such as range anxiety or getting an older demographic to switch has been avoided.
Agency: Open, Paris
Les Mills: choose happy
The ‘Ted Lasso’ series and its characters have become popular globally. One among them the often grouchy Roy Kent. The actor who plays that character, Brett Goldstein stars as an Happiness Ambassador for Les Mills, a New Zealand-based brand which promotes fitness programs and equipments for for gyms and home use.
We’re on a mission to create a fitter planet. This doesn’t mean making people work out. It means helping people fall in love with fitness so that they want to work out.
The connect back to workouts leading to happiness comes through in the contrast the film offers towards the end of the film. Interestingly there’s a promotion to find the next happy ambassador with 3-month stay in New Zealand: ‘Les Mills is a New Zealand-born company known for creating the most endorphin-inducing workouts. We know the impact a happier, healthier lifestyle can have, and we want to spread the good vibes. That’s why we’re offering two people a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become Les Mills Happiness Ambassadors.’
Agency: Nice & Frank
Brooke Bond: social network
Juxtaposing context from one ‘world’ into another is a common creative technique in advertising. For example, a holiday resort which offers a break away from the stress of urban life might show an image of ducks crossing a lane, with the headline ‘Traffic Jam’. It reminds the viewer of the world that they could leave behind and what causes stress in that world. A new ad from Red Label tea works in that mould juxtaposing familiar terms from the social media world into the real world, with the brand as the ‘lubricant’ which enables a real life social network. Thankfully, there wasn’t any preaching from a brand.
Agency: Ogilvy
Liquid Death: turning hate comments into a music video
What a difference positioning, clear articulation of it, identifying what you stand for (or against), a distinct, consistent tone of voice makes. Liquid Death is just canned water. They’ve identified unhealthy drinks and plastic as their enemies. But the manner in which they go about attracting fans for the brand is remarkable.
We’re just a funny beverage company who hates corporate marketing as much as you do. Our evil mission is to make people laugh and get more of them to drink more healthy beverages more often, all while helping to kill plastic pollution.
Co-founded by Mike Cessario, ex-creative director at Netflix the brand has carried its tone of voice consistently across platforms and communication. ‘Don’t be scared, it’s just water’ leading to shop or ‘murder your thirst’ as an articulation of this approach. In communication they borrowed elements from or spoofed beer or energy-drink brands what appeals to that crowd – as seen in their category ads. See here, here and here.
A new campaign simply takes the hate comments for that brand and converts into a music video.
Fiat: no more grey
‘We are not going to make any more cars in grey colour’ maybe an inward looking statement. It may even evoke the ‘so what?’ response. In Italy, Fiat got its spokespersion to not just make the announcement but take part in a stunt in which a grey car he is sitting in is crane dropped into a giant can of orange point. Visually engaging way to drive home a point.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.