It’s festive season in India and Diwali themed ads are everywhere. Several categories are natural fit for this season: fashion, jewellery, food and more. In this week’s compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads both feel-good and quirky, funny ads across categories.
NPCI BHIM: Meethi Diwali
‘Spend more with us and we will donate a portion of the proceedings to a good cause’ is a common festive theme. A new ad, promoting the use of BHIM UPI for Diwali shopping does it charmingly well. The viewer is made to see a ‘meetha’ (a sweet) in each possible shopping item – be it cooking oil or a cycle bell. The fun jingle and the happy mood makes it a likeable ad.
Agency: Tilt
Dhan app: Happy Muhurat Trading
Diwali is considered auspicious for several reasons and ‘occasions’. One such moment is for stock traders. On Diwali day, ‘muhurat (an auspicious time) trading’ is common. A new ad from Dhan, a stock trading app sets relevant words to the tune of a famous ‘aarti‘ (a prayer) tune. The ad could have very easily tilted towards a spoof and run the risk of offending the core base of the app but respects the sentiments.
Fiverr: Nobody Cares
Anything created by AI is a novelty nowadays. Some are ‘jaw dropping’ or scarily good, no doubt. But many brands mistakenly assume ‘Powered by AI” will give some sort of a competitive edge, when in reality how good the output is all that matters – AI or no AI.
Fiverr – the marketplace for freelancers has created a fun music video showcasing the power of AI while cleverly saying that ‘nobody cares’ if it is so.
TESCO: no branding outdoor
It is said that distinct brand assets aid brand recall. Tag lines, design elements and brand properties , colours, sound mnemonics can all be considered as potential assets. KitKat, Nike, Heinz, Asian Paints, Kodak, Britannia, Sony and many others have used such effectively. A new outdoor campaign from TESCO in the UK proves the point. With just elements of the logo and pictures of shopping items that begin with letters of the brand, this camoaign caught the attention of social media users (OK, LinkedIn). While some panned it for not being aligned to business goals, being esoteric and ‘created for comments on LinkedIn‘. it mostly got rave reviews. There was even a helpful decoding of the billboard’s food elements:
Tangelo. Egg. Strawberry. Croissant. Olives.
Thyme. Edam. Steak. Corn. Orange.
Tofu. Emmental. Salami. Carrot. Orka.
Tataki. Edami. Salmon. Chilli. Onion.
Tomato. Eclair. Spring onions. Coconut. Oyster mushrooms
In my view, it is effective advertising because it does a job which most brands do not do: let the consumer ‘fill in the blanks’ mentally. Will everyone who passes by the billboard pause, reflect and decode each element? Unlikely. But it is distinctively TESCO and even a split second effort connecting the dots and going ‘oh these spell TESCO!’ is a powerful moment for the brand. As Mark Ritson says, ‘incomplete tasks are remembered 90% better than those that were finished’ and cites the seemingly incomplete or ‘open to interpretation’ ending of a streaming series that sticks in our minds rather than the one which ties up all the loose ends.
Agency: BBH
Zomato: NASA lights
Food delivery is a truly ‘happening’ category in India. The two major players – Zomato and Swiggy are brands which have literally become daily use now, easily passing the ‘toothbrush test’ when it comes to app usage, for many. Their marketing & communication efforts are also under the microscope. Zomato’s Diwali ad this year is anchored on the popular meme which apparently shows an image of India – all lit up, from a NASA satellite. It’s quirky film to highlight the delivery of sweets through Zomato, suggesting that the glow of silver from the sweets lights up the nations. It ticks all the boxes of ‘being viral’.
Swiggy Instamart: Sona
I guess a successful idea warrants a sequel. After the first two, ‘misheard orders’ Swiggy Instamart releases one more which is bound to get the laughs. BTW, there is a whole series of ads from NYNEX Yellow Pages which are anchored on a somewhat similar idea.
McDonald’s: Mini Hash Browns
A creative idea that’s easy to spot. The mini hash browns are positioned as ‘descendants’ of the original – which is erm…a larger hash brown.
Agency: Leo Burnett
Wok Tok: Chinese, par apne style se
Indians are familiar with fusion food. ‘Multi-cuisine’ restaurants are common and so are ‘themed’ restaurants which offer a fusion of two styles. Also, India tends to adapt global cuisines to local tastes as seen in the ubiquitous paneer pizza and gobi manchurian. A new ad for Wok Tok from Veeba Foods delivers the ‘Chinese food for the Indian palate’ message in a spot with huge repeat value. The glimpses into typical Indian behaviour are spot on – the imaginary cricket bowling action, our TV serials, the naagin dance and so on. Advertisement that entertains while it sells. Loved it.
Agency: Enormous
Milk-Bone: fake rom-com trailer
Pet lovers are a huge audience online. ‘Cat videos’ is often used as a dismissive phrase for vapid content but cat videos are exactly what people turn to, as an escape route from the toxicity of social media. Of course it includes dogs too – and such content usually evokes a smile. A new spot from Milk-Bone marries two genres in a fake movie trailer format – the feel-good rom com and the pet videos. Both designed to evoke the ‘oh, so sweet‘ reaction.
Agency: BBH
SISTER Manchester: brand identity
There are advertising ideas and there are creative ideas. A well-thought through brand identity is often a result of some solid brand thinking. A new science and innovation district in Manchester, called Sister gets a complete brad identity from Pentagram.
Pentagram has designed an identity for Sister that encapsulates the optimistic spirit and bold vision for the new district, while acknowledging Manchester’s undeniable contribution to science and technology
Agency: Pentagram
Canal: no bad choices
It’s amazing how the creative mind slices and dices a proposition into many ways. A diverse repertoire of content is the claim from Canal. It is not an unusual or unique claim for a streaming service on entertainment brand with a decent catalogue. The proposition is presented interestingly using the familiar trope of action-thriller movies: the red & blue wires, one of which needs to be cut to save the situation, while time runs out.
Agency: BETC, Paris
Age UK: old things, old people
Ageism is real, both in our professional and personal lives. In select industries, anyone above 45 is considered a dinosaur and not ‘suited’ for the demands of the industry. In our personal lives, we see and experience neglect of old people.
A powerful new campaign from Age UK asks: ‘Why do we value old objects over older people?’ in an attempt create awareness and bring about a positive change.
Agency: Neverland
Uber Eats: don’t let Halloween sneak up on you
The concept in the ad resonated with me in the context of festivals. Very often I’ve realised a festival is upon us just a day or two before the occasion and realise that I am not ready with the preparations.
Drambuie: A Taste of the Unexpected
Dramb-oooo-uie, which is how the brand name is pronounced anyway, lends itself to a memorable association of delight as we all go ‘oooh!’ when we taste or experience something good. The ad by itself may not have a great story or a twist but I liked the sound of it – as it builds an identifiable, ‘ownable’ brand property.
Agency: Lucky Generals
Channel 4: Generation Z
Generation Z is a new zombie drama on Channel 4 in the UK. The in-house creative team has created a set of promotional posters which present the protagonists ‘on the menu’.
The work all plays with the show’s theme where infected elderly Boomer zombies get a taste for Gen Z meat, sparking an inter-generational culture clash.
Agency: 4 Creative
Which one one was your favourite? Do comment in.