Every week, I attempt to curate a list of clutter-breaking creative ads. Occasionally, I comment on trends pertaining to the ad industry. In this week’s collection: ads from Nike, Lancôme and more.
Nike: winning isn’t comfortable
Earlier this year, the ‘Winning isn’t for everyone’ ad fuelled a polarised debate on the internet. Some saw it as highlighting the wrong side of competitive sports. I personally thought it truly represented the mental resolve of top sports persons who play by the rules but play to win, looking to dominate the opponent always.
A new effort from Nike puts a new angle to what winning is about – it does ‘romanticise’ or paint a rosy picture of jogging. Usually such ads show the protagonist as full of steely resolve, presented in cinematically stunning visuals. The new film brings us all down to earth, showcasing the every day challenges of running in the streets.
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Lancôme: happiness starts with you
Luxury advertising has its own category code. But, unlike other category codes such as food advertising (which involves templated food shots & product window), there is lot more room for story telling. However, since it is all about creating an intense desire for the brand in the absence of anything rational (I mean, what can you say about what truly differentiated one perfume over another?) what is dialled up is the allure and mystique quotient. Such brands create a world which seems highly aspirational and sophisticated. A new ad from Lancôme features Julia Roberts in a plot that suggests she puts self-love over others’ expectations. The 360-degree campaign ticks all the right boxes in the category.
Agency: Publicis Luxe
Lurpak: crush expectations
Some production housers, DOPs and photographers specialise in food advertising. Getting the ‘drool quotient’ out in viewers by making ingredients, and the final output look great, takes some special effort. The butter brand Lurpak and Widen+Kennedy UK have had a great track record. Here’s their latest to promote a plant-based variant. The food shots are gorgeous as always and the summary – Crush Expectations beautifully captures the doubt about plant-based food, especially in this category. The choice of music is apt as it goes well with ‘crushing’ expectations.
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Minnesota Star Tribune: brand revamp film
Well, this isn’t really an advert but a brand film announcing the digital revamp of a news portal – Minnesota Star Tribune. As compared to India news portals which seem to mandate clutter and intrusive advertising, the design is clean, minimal and enables content reading. I liked ‘The Heart & Voice of the North’ as a brand summary, the visual build up to the project details and the local flavour.
Agency: Colle McVoy and Code & Theory
Hellman’s: Mayovations
The NFL is upon us (okay, at least in the USA) and several brands have launched campaigns anchored on the event. I am not familiar with the sport and the stars. Among a bunch of ads I saw, this one from Hellmann’s brought a smile. The brand partnered with Will Levis to release the world’s first parfum de mayonnaise, tongue firmly in cheek. Now the star features in a pun-filled ad ‘mayovations’ wishing fans ‘mayo Gameday be delicious’. I like it when brands don’t take themselves too seriously in their adverts.
Agency: VML
Inch’s Cider: outdoor ads
Whether it is the pre- or post digital world, a fundamental fact about advertising has been that it has to use the medium (print, radio outdoor, TV or anything else) to its advantage. Some radio spots go beyond the standard dialogue between two voices. Similarly, a fleeting medium like outdoor is used well by some brands. A recent post on LinkedIn highlighted great use of the space & context on London’s tube for Inch’s – a cider brand. The copywriting is great in all the ads – and I especially liked the ‘Hurtling under pubs. 60m below refreshment‘ one. Aside from the ads on trains, the campaigns has some great lines on outdoor kiosks.
Agency: Otherway
Central Midnight Sale: I got it
As I have said before, I a big fan of advertising from Thailand. Most ads, at least those which get shared on trade portals entertain their way to our hearts. Humour, often quirky or even bizarre, is a common trait. A new ad announcing the Central Midnight Sale may not be uproariously funny as the earlier ones, but is packed with a peak on human behaviour. Sometimes, when brand desire overcomes us we tend to pick up something merely because it is on a sale. That mindset is dramatised in ‘The point is ‘I got it’ – even if what is bought is ill-fitting.
Agency: Wolf BKK
AutoTrader: New Car Smell
Selling used cars has downsides of being perceived as a budget brand. AutoTrader is set to change perceptions of the brand and make it as famous for new and electric cars as it is for used cars. The ‘Found AT’ cleverly integrates the brand and makes it ‘ownable’. The brief: Auto Trader’s brief was clear: to make the brand as well known for brand new and electric cars as it is for used. To do this successfully we also had to change perceptions of the brand from second hand and old fashioned to a modern day tech power house. A new understated ad captures the deeply emotional and memorable feeling of a new car – where the smell plays an important part.
The emotional journey of buying a new car is captured through that first breath of the iconic new car scent. The film showcases the relief, pride, and joy of stepping into a new vehicle, making it a personal sanctuary. The quiet, intimate tone invites viewers to observe this deeply personal experience.
Agency: Recipe
McDonald’s: happy parties
Kids’ birthday parties can be hectic and exhausting – in a good way, for both the parents and the child. A new set of print ads from Colombia captures the ‘tired after having too much fun’ mode of kids, after a party at McDonald’s.
Agency: DDB, Colombia
Kids’ Safety: the monster at home
There have been several campaigns urging better implementation of gun control laws in the US – highlighting the devastating effect. A new with a sense of foreboding right through the film hits home hard making the point about easy access to guns and the danger thereof.
Agency: Pereira O’Dell
ITC Nimyle: safe for kids
Product demonstration is a tried & tested format. But they need be boring comparisons of one brand versus another. If the ad can prove that the product is capable of addressing your biggest fear through an actual, credible demo it would make a strong point. That’s exactly what a new ad from ITC Nimyle – a floor disinfectant, does. Babies are shown sleeping soundly on bare floors without a worry of germs or anything harmful for a baby. Must have been an incredible shoot handling so many babies.
Tata Tea Agni: Josh Jagaye
Ads honouring the multiple roles played by women are common during Women’s Day or Mother’s Day. Many of them try too heard to tug at the heartstrings or be ‘inspirational’ while paying tribute to women.
A new ad for Tata Agni feels a lot more real due to the treatment – everyday, familiar situations juxtaposed with accepting not all women get a chance to be in the media spotlight but still do a great job – thanks to the ‘fire’ in them to motivate their children in chasing their dreams and teaching the right values. The voice over by actor Ashutosh Rana including the pronunciation as ‘sports istar‘ adds to the genuine appeal of the ad.
Agency: Media Monks India
GoodKnight: ad versions
An interesting experiment was done on LinkedIn by the MD of Godrej Consumer Products by way of testing two versions of an ad. In the CPG world, risk taking is usually discouraged. Many brands urge or rather demand that their agencies play it safe – adhering to category codes and deliver a straightforward, direct message. In their minds it is effective but at the same time they insist on having the brand name shown from the first frame – fearing mis-attribution. In any event, it is rare to see an FMCG brand create an entertaining ad that does not scream, ‘hey, look I am an ad!’.
See the two versions of the ad here.
KitKat: quality break
I jokingly posted on social media that half the royalty for ‘I want to break free’ from Queen might be coming from the ad industry. Just as re-mixes of RD Burman songs in Indian ads, this route is convenient and fits many plots. It feels right for KitKat – where they show an executive literally carrying the weight of his work, desperate for a break. The familiar ‘Have a break. Have a KitKat’ feels apt as the brand urges people to take quality breaks, shutting out pressures of office work.
Agency: VML
Ganesh Utsav ads: FOMO strikes again
Once brands get on to the moment marketing and ‘ad for a festival or occasion’ treadmill, it is so difficult to get off. Then FOMO kicks in (or maybe that was the trigger in the first place) around every festival or what’s part of the news cycle. Everything looks like a branding opportunity. This results in scattered brand messaging and force-fitting the category and the brand to the occasion. Of course, there is the odd exception which has relevance, link to the category and the brand property.
Heinz: The Heiress
This campaign for Heinz (a few months old) is a great example of ‘will go to great lengths’ to get what I want – which is commonly seen in food advertising. The humour is subtle but evokes a laugh out loud response.
Ritviz x Vim: Nazaare music video
I wasn’t aware of Ritviz before this music video initiative for Vim. Given that it’s a ‘low interest’ category, it’s great to see the brand being imbued with some light hearted fun. It fits in well with dishwashing being seen as a chore and an ad for it – breaking that mould.
Aside from the above, I came across a few ads which were covered widely in trade portals but left me baffled.
Pepsi: Make Your Gameday
Beyonce, Britney Spears and Pink starred in a Gladiator themed commercial for Pepsi a few years ago. A new ad from the same brand in time for the NFL season brings back the same theme. But to me it felt like mishmash of too many genres and plot lines leaving the viewer cold – and not in a good way.
BMW: ultimate match
One character mistaking the context of another character’s comments has been part of humour in both movies and ads. So when users wax eloquent about their cars, while others mistake it for references to people (including themselves) it has the potential to be comic. But it feels botched in this effort with some over the topic ‘comic’ acting.
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.