Every week, I attempt to share a curated list of best new creative ads. This week, clutter-breaking ads from Kotex, CEAT and more.
Kotex: own your flow
In India, advertising for sanitary pads has come a long way. A couple of decades ago, periods were not even referred by name – it was just ‘for those days of the month’. Later we had product demo ads which depicted product features with the use of a blue liquid. Recently the category advertising does not shy away from mentioning periods as periods but the story lines are about product comfort in an everyday setting. Globally, the category has taken an evolved stance. In 2018, Bodyform launched the much talked about ‘Viva la vulva’ campaign and followed it up with ‘Womb Stories‘ in 2020. In 2024, they released a film which dramatised how unprepared girls are about the onset of periods – from the pain to the instructions and the smell. All of the issues are dealt head on, delivering great visual impact.
A new brand platform for Kotex, aims to empower young women using tennis as a metaphor. It works very well dramatising the pressure women and girls face, from social stress to on-the-court scrutiny. The colour coding, depiction of various stages of a woman (using AI), the match cuts to depict the emotions & physical changes work very well along with the track, Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears. Lyrics like ‘Welcome to your life” and “there’s no turning back’ evoke a new meaning in the context of the film. Superbly done.
Warburtons: 150 years in the baking
Self-deprecating humour is fun. Heritage brands, especially those with a 150-year history can get all serious and preachy. A new film from Warburtons celebrates ‘150 years in the baking’ with a light touch using the legendary Morgan Freeman for voice over.
Freeman skilfully guides the viewer through our history, illustrating our deep-rooted obsession for baking, spotlighting key moments of bakery innovation, and juxtaposing them with nostalgic scenes from the 20th century and historical milestones such as the 1969 moon landing.
CEAT: built for grip
‘A product so good it can let you down on some occasions’ is an interesting way to engage the audience.
Agency: Ogilvy
Rolex: reach for the crown
Luxury advertising, especially for fashion & jewellery thrives on a few ingredients: celebrity endorsements, understated elegance, certain mystique. A new ad for Rolex in the UK has it all.
Fevicol: Shoefix
As I said on LinkedIn, there seems to be a glut of digital films thanks to a few developments: (a) e-commerce & quick commerce brands see every festival & ‘occasion’ as an opportunity to trigger shopping. With so many ‘opportunities’ in a diverse country like India, there is a film to be made almost every month. Pongal, Republic Day, Valentine’s, Ugadi, Summer, Monsoons, Independence Day, Ganesha, Pujo, Eid, Diwali, Christmas, New Years and everything in between including moment marketing & ‘Mother’s Day’ and such like (b) collaborations between brands and quick commerce: with thousands of brands available across categories anything from a shaving cream to an electric socket can be the ‘hero’ brand with at least 5 brands: Swiggy, Zepto, Amazon, Flipkart or Blinkit (c) the rise of D2C brands across fashion, beauty, wellness mainly. There is an endless need for Reels, explainer videos and more meant to trigger a sale.
Here’s a fun ad staying in the theme of Fevicol, in a collaboration with Blinkit.
Persil: Dirt is good
Persil (known as Surf in markets like India) has the long-running ‘Dirt is good’ as a brand platform. Their latest campaign, ‘It Starts Outside’ champions the importance of girls playing outside, featuring photos of Arsenal Women stars ahead of BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year. Loved it.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.