I attempt to curate a list of clutter-breaking creative ads every week along with an occasional posts on trends in the industry. Last week I missed such a post and here with a compilation of a few ads which caught my eye in the past few weeks.
Chevrolet: memories
How do you create clutter breaking advertising among a sea of feel-good Christmas ads, retaining the same tone and manner as so many others? I think a simple plot line with a universal appeal and great execution are clearly two mandatories. But this new ad from Chevrolet touched a chord for several other reasons: great acting, product story weaved right into the plot line an excellent script. So much so, I didn’t realise it was a 5-min film, reiterating the fact that blindly believing that ‘people don’t have the time to see lengthy ads’ is not the right way to approach brand communication. As Howard Gossage said in the 1950s, ‘People don’t read ads. They read what interests them. Sometimes its an ad‘. So it really doesn’t matter if its a long form article or an ad with lots of copy – as long as its relevant and interesting for the audience, there will be takers.
Agency: Commonwealth/McCann
Apple: fuzzy feelings
Some of you may remember the 2013 commercial titled ‘Misunderstood‘ from Apple. It was very much a feel-good Christmas ad but without the trappings of a ‘typical’ one of bright lights and shiny, happy people. Yet there was a poignant, positive message with a touch of melancholy in it. I was reminded of that ad, when I saw the 2023 Christmas ad from Apple. It tells the story of an employee who attempts to vent her frustrations with a seemingly nasty boss by creating a funny animation film about him. The ad flits between the world of animation (her creative output) and real life, where the boss is shown in action. The twist at the end of the story is endearing and sits in well with the ‘season of love’ theme that is quite common among movies and ads during Christmas.
I also loved how strategically it fits into the positioning of Apple products – showing the protagonist indulging in a creative pursuit using her Mac and iPhone. The acting too is top notch especially after the protagonist knows of the personal life of her boss. Again, it all fits in well with the ‘do-good’ theme of Christmas ads across brands.
Agency: TBWAMedia Arts
Royal Mail: in good hands
‘You are in good hands’ is often used to cue the dependability of a person or party when it comes to delivering the goods. Royal Mail in UK cues the trust factor by highlighting a day in the life of their delivery agent and focusing on the hands – and the subliminal cues of reassurance and touch.
Agency: AMV BBDO
TESCO: become more Christmas
I was reminded of the difference in enthusiasm levels during Diwali between the older generation and the younger lot when I saw this commercial. Maybe its an universal truth that Generation Next needs some goading to enjoy the traditions of a festival. A dad enthusiastically puts on his Christmas festive mood only find no reciprocity. The process involves many visits to Tesco until the junior joins in the festivities.
Temptations: cats lose their cool
Cat lovers can identity with the prima donna vibes their pet might give them in any situation. A new ad from Temptations re-creates a vintage Christmas TV show which the cat doesn’t approve of and chooses to interrupt the singing with some piano playing of its own.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Apple: The Lost Voice
In the world of tech blogs, news media and social platfoms, Apple is largely equated with the iPhone device and maybe the Mac. Many are simply obsessed with the iPhone tech specifications or the latest version of iOS, comparing it with a top-end Android phone and declaring the latter to be better value for money. But there’s a lot more to Apple than just the hardware and the OS. Apple endears itself to many niche audiences such as those with disabilities. A new ad promotes Personal Voice:
If you are at risk of voice loss or have a condition that can progressively impact your voice, Personal Voice can help. It’s a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like you.1 Read through a series of randomly chosen text prompts to record 15 minutes of audio that can be used to generate a voice that sounds like you.2 This feature uses on-device machine learning to keep your information private and secure. And Personal Voice seamlessly integrates with Live Speech, so you can type what you want to say and have your iPhone, iPad, or Mac speak it aloud in your Personal Voice.
The ad, created for International Day of Persons with Disabilities features physician and disability advocate Tristram Ingham.
Toyota: Christmas ad – present from the past
I wasn’t sure if Toyota is the hero in this ad or the as per the story line – a camera brand. Nevertheless, another ad in the long line up of feel good ads during Christmas season.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Toyota: airport pickup
It’s quite fascinating to see how a Christmas ad feels right even if the product connect is tenuous and the theme (airport pickup) even more so.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
iPhone 15: Album Cover
The iPhone 15 allows for regular photos to be converted into portrait mode images – i.e blurring the background. This feature is the centre of conversation between two artists as to what makes for a good album cover – the one with the background blurred out or the one without.
Royal Enfield: The Himalayan
Off road vehicles commonly show the ruggedness of terrain and how the brand is capable of handling any, or no roads even. The vehicle’s features will be visually highlighted and would come across as macho. A new campaign for Royal Enfield’s Himalayan pays tribute to the terrain itself, calling it ‘designed for the unknown’. What I liked most about this campaign is the distinct visual identity and grammar for this range. In a sea of motorbike ads with similar looks, this will not only be distinctivr but as=appeal to the niche audience but also stand apart
Agency: Droga5
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.