Every week, I attempt to share top creative ads – the ones which managed to break through clutter, be noticed and leave an impact. Occasionally, I opine on trends relevant to the ad industry such as moment marketing, controversies on social media and so on. Here are a few recent creative ads which I loved:
Deutsche Depressionshilfe
In terms of creative technique, leading up someone on a certain path and then provide a twist in the tale is common in both cinema and advertising. A new campaign from Germany, to raise awareness about depression – that people put on a show of being normal or happy when they are actually suffering from depression. We saw a similar plot in a film from Norwich City Football Club recently. The technique, in the context of mental health hits home hard as it strikes a chord among many of us.
Agency: Grabarz & Partner, Hamburg
Rolling Stone: rockstar mothers
I came across this campaign (originally created in 2021) recently on LinkedIn. The campaign pays tribute to mothers and links it back to the brand by calling them ‘true rockstars’. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic this rings true even more as mothers were even more under pressure, juggling many worlds. The lingo from the world of rock bands and tours is cleverly juxtaposed with that of everyday happenings at home.
Agency: VMLY&R
Clove Dental: teeth have feelings
Dental clinics may not be heavily advertised (like consumer goods) but they too have some sort of category code – mostly boring ads. A new effort from Clove Dental clinics personifies teeth with some cute portrayal and lines.
Agency: Crayons
The idea is taken forward on the landing page too.
Tito’s: good gets great
Not all ads have a creative idea (some make do with just great execution). Here’s a set of ads from Tito’s vodka where the central idea is to treat a trolly as an ‘anytime bartender’ which magically shows up at the ‘right’ moments. It’s fun take which brings a smile, what with a contraption which fixes a drink.
Agency: Arts & Letters
Greenpeace: Plastic Sucks
Movie genres – be it horror or romance are spoofed in this campaign for Greenpeace, dramatising the dangers to the environment from plastic pollution and oil spills. Here are ads which which mimic the horror movie and romance genre highlighting the negative effects of plastic and oil spill.
Agency: La Chose
Vodafone Ireland: the remote
In these days of individual devices and streaming, the idea of fighting over a TV remote (which was a reality a few years ago) seems a bit odd. But it kind of falls into place for an all-in-one TV & streaming service. The visual device is interesting as it shows various genres of movies where there is a fight for an ‘object’ – cueing the remote.
Agency: Grey
Australia Lamb: Generation Gap
How do you convey that ‘everyone’ in Australia – the older & young generation relish lamb? A hilarious new spot – with massive production values and some great writing dramatises the generation gap, literally. The copywriting bring out the laughs, while poking fun at the ‘jargon’ associated with the new generation.
Agency: Monkeys
MP Tourism: many births
Only a handful of states in India have a long-running, consistent, memorable theme in their ads promoting tourism. One among them is Madhya Pradesh with its ‘heart of India’ theme and the promise of ‘so many different places to experience’. A new ad takes the idea forward by claiming one needs ‘many births’ to see the various attractions of Madhya Pradesh,
Agency: Ogilvy
Heinz: Stadium Heros
There was a time when agencies invested significant amount of creative energy (and monies) in staging events or stunts? Remember ‘Push to add drama‘ from 2012? And then there were a spate of ‘social experiments – typically getting someone to speak about say, a long-lost friend only to have that said friend lob up at the studio. All of these make for emotional videos.
Many of them feel staged. But not this one. Restaurant owners outside a stadium in Italy could never actually watch a game as they had to be at their stalls. Heinz sent them replacements to manage their business so that the restaurant owners could go and enjoy a game. Loved the genuineness and the brand fit.
Agency: Dude
Apple Vision Pro: get ready
In 2007, iPhone ran a commercial during the Oscar ceremony telecast with a series of clips from movies – actors saying ‘Hello’. It was a great way to announce the impending launch. A similar playbook is followed for the launch ad of Vision Pro – with a series of clips from movies. This time around, it’s a series of characters strapping on a headgear or eyewear – a reference to the Vision Pro headset. Loved it.
The characters are:
- Young Frankenstein (Gene Wilder)
- Carl Fredricksen (Up)
- Hit-Girl (Kick Ass, Chloë Grace Moretz)
- Ant-Man (Paul Rudd)
- Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox. Badger (Fantastic Mr. Fox)
- Luke Skywalker (Star Wars, Mark Hamill)
- World War I Flying Ace (Snoopy)
- Geordi LaForge (Star Trek, Levar Burton)
- Krabby Patty Burglar (SpongeBob SquarePants)
- Tony Stark (Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.)
- Emmett Brown (Back to the Future, Christopher Lloyd)
Magnum: stick to the original
Popular brands have to fight the problem of imitations. Magnum ice cream has created a lovely campaign idea stretching the significance of someone buying a fake Magnum: could they be frauds themselves? Brilliant.
There’s a microsite too, with a game to spot the differences.
Agency: Lola Mullenlowe
Uber Eats: Helen Mirren
In September 2023, Uber Eats kicked off a series of ads with a great creative idea to convey that they deliver ‘almost’ everything. The tone was self deprecating to convey that they don’t deliver a few things. Period relief: Yes. Period Romance: No. The ‘connect’ was deliberately bizarre to bring out the laughs. A new set of ads starring Helen Mirren (known for her voice acting) are hilariously on point with the same theme.
Agency: TBWA|Chiat Day
Gousto: courtroom dramam
How do you find a connect between a meal service delivery brand and a courtroom drama? The creative minds at an ad agency just did – in a brilliant way.
Agency: Mother London
Scotiabank: comparisons
When I saw this film, I was reminded of the short story, The grass is always greener‘ from Jeffrey Archer. The film aims to convey that comparing ourselves to others (from a financial perspective) is not a wise thing as we are ‘richer than we think’.
Agency: Rethink
MSC Cruises: for a greater beauty
Sometimes, for an ad to create an impact and be effective, a central idea is not necessary. Some great execution and the right production values can transport us to another world. At least that happened to me watching this ad for a cruise ship brand in Italy.
Agency: Dentsu
British Airways: holidays
In a campaign released around the same time last year, British Airways revealed ‘52 per cent of working Britons check their work emails whilst on vacation and half of UK working adults do not take their full annual leave allocation.’ In a print ad released recently in UK papers they take the idea forward with a print ad guaranteed to bring a smile.
Cadbury: 200 years
As part of the 200 year celebrations, Cadbury re-created a famous ad from 2018 into a TV spot. While that tugged at the heart strings, the print ad brings a smile, cleverly weaving the word 200 into the logo.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.