Every week, I attempt to curate a list of clutter breaking creative ads from across the world. I occasionally share some views on issues relevant to the ad industry. This week, ads from Sky Bet, Axe and more:
Sky Bet: Cheltenham Festival
Some lines convey great copywriting at one glance and bring a smile. The one about GOAT being a horse is one such. This campaign released a couple of weeks ago for a racing platform pertaining to Cheltenham Festival. We’ve all come across the term GOAT attributed to sportspersons and just that context works so well when used for a horse. Aside from that there was one executions that was right for the context (tube station) and another dramatising the effort put in by race horses.
Agency: Anomaly
Telstra: Home Internet
It’s common for broadband services to highlight technical specifications and promise blazing speed, calculated in hundreds of Mbps. In that context, a different, maybe even odd depiction of a smooth experience works effectively for Telstra in Australia. Apparently, the film features over 20,000 real, colourful dominos arranged by a team of professional domino specialists. The execution reminded me of the famous Honda ‘Cog’ ad which conveyed reliability and precision through a similar setup.
Road Safety Authority: don’t take things for granted
Needless to say road safety is very poor in India. Civic sense and following rules also appear to be alien concepts, even among the educated. In that context, apart from strong deterrents such as hefty fines and proper implementation of rules, we need a concerted awareness campaign – beyond just advertising. Merely putting out bland ‘don’t drink & drive’ or cute wordplay focused messages like ‘Speed thrills but also kills’ are not going to put fear of consequences among drivers.
The template to follow would what Traffic Accident Commission did in Australia which was both creative and effective. Rash driving is also an irrational habit like smoking. So it needs to shake up the conscience of users by dramatising the risk. Highlighting the common behaviour which causes accidents while driving (‘it’s just one drink, nothing will happen’ or ‘it’s just nearby’) is a good place to start. One such user behaviour is to assume that familiar routes will remain familiar always and nothing new will spring a surprise. In the rural areas of Ireland there isn’t much activity or traffic. And that ‘routine drive’ becomes the anchor in this powerful film. I wish road safety advertising in India was as hard-hitting as this.
Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Apollo Hospitals: Women’s Day 2025
FOMO is the most common sentiment when it comes to moment marketing and it peaks during Women’s Day. Most of the work is lofty tributes to women often without any link to the brand or category. An ad from Apollo Health asks a relevant question: ‘She prioritises everyone’s needs. Who prioritises her?’ The portrayal of a career-juggling mother and her typical day should resonate among parents and children. The link back to the need for a health check up completes the loop.
Agency: OPN
YSL Beauty: abuse is not love
I wasn’t aware that ‘intimate partner violence’ is a thing. Apparently it is a common form of violence against women, affecting around 736 million globally. A new film from YSL Beauty sets up seemingly romantic scenarios only to probe the viewer: ‘Did you see signs of abuse in this film?” The tone dramatically changes and reminds us that intrusion, stalking and jealousy can all lead to abuses. The film does not just raise awareness but offers to provide training to handle such abuse.
Specsavers: disappearing landmarks
In an effort to raise awareness about glaucoma, Specsavers used real-time views of Swedish landmarks in billboards and made them disappear when people stopped to look. The creative conveys the truth that by the time onset of glaucoma symptoms appear, our vision has already been affected.
Agency: NordDDB
Axe: Longlasting
A few years ago, Axe (known as Lynx in some countries) was known for risqué advertising. I would even say many of them were sexist, objectified women and were in poor taste. There is no way that such work would have been approved in today’s world. The brand has retained attraction as the promise but has dialled the lever towards humour. A new ad highlighting the long-lasting feature brings out the laughs too with little touches in the acting, the props (the sound of the squeaking sofa for one) and the hilarity of the situation itself.
Agency: LOLA MullenLowe
Netflix: Toxic Town posters
Toxic Town is a Netflix series about the Corby toxic waste case – one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals. Digital posters in the UK used AQI data from the AccuWeather and blurred out the visuals to indicate ‘toxicity’ of the air.
Great Western Railway: thrilling engagement
Distinct brand asset is something Great Western Railway in the UK understands well. They have deployed the Enid Blyton novel like look & feel and storyline for their thematic films for years now. A new ad ticks all the boxes (including DEI) to convey the wide coverage of the train service.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Farber: when you are in debt
Advertising creative ideas have the ability to strike a chord and evoke the ‘yes, I know how it feels like to be in that situation’ response. Farber, a debt solution brand in Canada addresses prospective customers by conveying how it feels to be in debt – everything looks like a payment request. It reminded me of an old laxative ad from India: for someone suffering from constipation everything looks like a commode – reflecting how obsessed our minds are with an issue.
Women’s Aid: the monster who came to tea
This Women’s Day, UK charity Women’s Aid raised awareness about domestic abuse through a disturbing film. It starts off like a typical, cheery bedtime story recitation only to take an ominous turn. The production is top class and brings alive the reality in many homes where women & children suffer due to the abusive husband.
Castrol Activ: garmi mein bhi
Working with a celebrity is tough. In India, many brands use a celebrity like a prop, getting them to just hold the pack or point to the logo. Even when used as a character, very rarely does the plot hold interest and seem credible. Here’s one such instance where Shahrukh Khan as the filmi cop, chasing the baddies is credible and links back to the product.
Agency: Ogilvy
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.