I attempt to share a curated list of clutter-breaking creative ads every week. I could not publish one last week and so here’s a round up of ads from the last couple of weeks or so. You can catchup on my past compilations and occasional rants on advertising, here.
Uber Eats: Banderas, Jude Law, Bradley Cooper
Over the last couple of years, Uber Eats has released some compelling ads to cue that you can order anything on the platform – not just food. ‘This but not that’ (‘grapes but not apes‘) led to some hilarious work to drive home the message. And then the promise of ‘you’d go to any lengths to get the membership benefits’ featured Brian Cox in a brilliantly scripted and acted ad.
We now have ‘When you’ve done enough, Uber Eats’ as some sort of a reward for a satisfying day or accomplishment in an ad featuring actor Jude Law. And over in the US, the Super Bowl timed ad which re-positions football as a game meant for food ordering & consumption gets a new execution starring Brad Cooper. Three different themes, celebrity endorsements – all so enjoyable.
Agency: Ogily
Agency: Mother
Agency: Special
Dunkin: at home
A simple, yet clever image of a packaging that resembles home and just two words of copy drives home the message in this great outdoor idea.
Agency: BBH, USA
Flipkart: Big Billion Days
The Big Billion Days sale of Flipkart is an annual affair now competing with Amazon’s ‘Great Indian Festival’ for both wallet & mind share. This year, I thought Flipkart had an edge in terms of creative ideas which were notices and talked about (albeit among marketing folks on LinkedIn). The three ads which I noticed: an ad poking fun at the life inside a bachelor pad (too close to truth) offering an upgrade, a tactical print ad playing upon the ‘rivalry is dead’ comment from India’s current T20 cricket captain and a QR code based interactive print ad.
Most readers are not given a compelling reason to scan a random QR code in a print ad. And even if they do, the link is to a boring YouTube ad or something equally disappointing. Here by placing images of an OLED TV in an image containing billions of objects they made it a tad interesting.
Agency: 22 Feet
Agency: FCB Kinnect
FedEx: the real power move
Smart logistics powered by FedEx. Now that’s not a hugely entertaining proposition – even for businesses that can benefit from it. A new FedEx campaign juxtaposes that with cliched ‘power moves’ in the office: such as deliberately showing up late for meetings, flashing a big shiny watch and so on.
Agency: BBDO
Apple: iPhone imagery
These aren’t traditional TVCs or print ads but a couple of visual imageries created by Apple were brilliant. We all know that Steve Jobs was a master at communication. His iPhone launch in 2007 is considered a classic. He believed in creating powerful visual moments to dramatise a select feature and cue the benefit. He pulled out the MacBook Air from a manila envelope to cue the thinness of the device. In the new promos for iPhone Air, there’s this sequence which cleverly uses the iPhone Air as the ‘i’ in Air. And then there’s simple but memorable retail signage outside Apple Stores which are sure to be seen perfect spots for Instagram selfies.
Groww: aage ki soch
Two stories which nicely set up what looks like a familiar situation – the ‘rags to riches’ family patriarch and a private jet travelling businessman. The twist in the tale brings a smile and drives home the point of potentially making it big with stock picks. The ad doesn’t answer why it is uniquely so with Groww, though.
iPhone 17 Pro: the ultimate pro
Apple continues to push their Pro models as ‘good enough for a Hollywood mega production’. In the past too the camera was at the centre of action movies, stunts and mega production. While it may motivate the film industry to consider the phone as the main camera, it creates desire among ordinary ‘point & shoot’ photographers and content creators who need a great camera for YouTube Shorts & Instagram Reels.
Mercedes Benz: it’s in your hands
A smart use of print space in a daily: the steering almost fits in the reader’s hands so as to enable the ‘imagining’ of driving the iconic three-pointed star.
Audi: Sky Sports idents
It is so tough to tell compelling stories in 30 seconds. Brand idents have to do it in 15-seconds or less. Here’s a great one from Audi for Sky Sports announcing their F1 sponsorship.
Delivereasy: takeout without going out
Even though the ad is meant for audience in New Zealand (and I can’t imagine this kind of scenario there) it is hard relate to metros in India.
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.