Every week, I attempt to share a curated list of best new creative ads. It’s a small tribute to brand teams everywhere as getting ads to be noticed is the first and most important task in brand communications. Hope you like this week’s picks of the best creative ads from around the world.
Norwegian Consumer Council: A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator
Canadian writer Cory Doctorow coined the term ‘enshittification‘ to cue how digital platforms lure customers with a good product, only to gradually degrade the quality of services to maximise short-term profits. Norway’s Consumer Council has published a 100-page report which argues that, to achieve a better digital world, where technology works for consumersrather than against them, several steps must be taken: rebalance power between service providers and consumers, end dependence on big tech and double down on the enforcement of existing laws.
A hilarious 4-min film highlights ‘A say in the life of an Ensh*ttificator’ who deliberately messes up the user experience of everyday people. The pain point resonated with me, especially with Indian news media sites and mobile apps where clutter and poor design is the norm.
Agency: Newslab
Hatari: Black Edition
On the internet the original ad for Hatari fans has a cult following and often cited as shining example of Thai advertising. The launch of a black variant of the brand had this brief:
To celebrate Hatari’s 35th anniversary, Thailand’s all-time number one fan brand is releasing one of its most popular models in black for the first time. The concept is “Same old strong wind, now in black.”
The idea was translated creatively as ‘re-staging’ the original ad, frame-by-frame.
A fascinating read about the making of the film here. As with many other ads from Thailand, aside from the over-the-top bizarre comedy what works is that they give vibes of ‘it’s only an ad, let’s not take it so seriously and have some fun’ which is disarming and wins over the audience.
Heineken: the pub that refused to die
I am usually wary of sharing on-ground activations usually implemented on local, small scale but meant to be amplified over the web globally to reach a larger audience. But these words from the Board Creative Director of Publicis Dublin rang true and the work was a lot more meaningful for me:
We’re living in a time when almost anything can be generated, and the easier it is to fabricate, the less value it has. When content is infinite, real meaning becomes scarce. That’s why documenting reality matters. We don’t always have to enter a battle of thousands of short, forgettable pieces fighting for attention. Instead we can choose to tell one beautiful true story with depth and consequence like how Heineken stood at the centre of a community coming together to help them save the last pub. A real story doesn’t just fill feeds it builds meaning. And as we all know meaning lasts longer than noise.
Agency: Publicis
Generali Central: Happy Women’s Pay
Occasions like Women’s Day and Mother’s Day are seen as ‘must-advertise’ moments by brands. What drives them is FOMO. Do all brands ‘have to’ advertise? Obviously not. In most cases, the link to the brand or even the category is tenuous or non-existent. This Women’s Day among the many ads shared on social media (that seems to be the intent of creating such ads) I quite liked this from Generali Central mainly for the cause – equal pay – that it took on and the execution style. The slam poetry style copy in the ad below is the voice over of the TVC.
Agency: TBWA Lintas
Radio Time Machine: tune back your memories
Old age can be cruel. Cognitive decline is real – it makes people forgetful to an extent that they are unable to recall even basic, recent information. But memories – such as old songs & photos, can stimulate one’s mind and support emotional well-being which can help prevent dementia. In that context, TBWAHAKUHODO worked with Nichii Gakkan, a leading care facility operator in Japan, to create a device which can generate era-specific radio-like audio content such as news and popular music.
The generated content seamlessly blends news headlines from that era, selected based on a curated topics list, with period-appropriate hit songs. An AI-generated voice, based on human voice recordings ranging in age and gender, acts as the radio personality. The voice delivers the content in a style designed to evoke a sense of the period selected, while immersing listeners in the memories of their chosen era.
The change in the demeanour of senior citizens upon hearing news or content that they recognise from the distant past is a joy to watch.
Agency: TBWAHakuhodo
Chicken Licken: Just Enough Extra
I am not a big fan of stereotypes in advertising. But there are exceptions especially when it comes to depiction of Bollywood. A new ad from South Africa’s Chicken Licken parodies the exaggerations in masala films to drive home the point that they don’t go overboard with ‘extras’. Bit stretched but good fun.
Agency: Joe Public, Johannesburg, South Africa
Nissan Navara: Built for the grit shift
There are a whole lot of jobs outside of typical working hours in a day. Such night shift jobs, often involving emergencies are demanding both physically and mentally. I loved the term ‘grit shift’ describing such a work load and sits well with Nissan Navara, a utility vehicle used for heavy lifting, towing etc. I loved the quiet, assured tone of the film, avoiding the chest thumping chest-thumping heroism.
Our challenge was to make Navara feel unmistakably real, because the real hustle isn’t just physical, it’s mental. So, we showed restraint, and put the focus on the quiet, unspoken toughness of the people who rely on Navara to get the work done, while the rest of us sleep.”
Agency: TBWA
Royal Ontario Museum: March Break
I love ads which allow readers to connect the dots and imagine the idea that’s being conveyed with just a hint. The Royal Ontario Museum has a March Break with loads of activities. The result? Tired-out children.
Agency: Courage
Meta: boost a post
Getting small businesses to spend on Meta platforms is the business objective in a campaign that promises ‘magic’ by simply boosting a post. A new film tells the tale of two parallel stories: a movie star learning to rap for a film and someone who runs an online fashion store. Their worlds collide in an unexpected sort of way, enabled by content from Meta. The ad kept me riveted and made the whole premise even plausible.
Agency: Talented
TESCO: need anything from TESCO?
When stepping out on an errand or grocery shopping it is customary to ask family members if they need anything. That simple everyday act is the trigger to cue the wide range and various offerings from Tesco in a new ad. ‘Need anything from Tesco?’ segues into various announcements such as discounts on holidays, free nappies, club card prices on fruit and veg, and cinema tickets on Tuesdays. Loved the way in which each offering is introduced. The outdoor adaptation is brilliant.
Agency: BBH
MacBook Neo: launch package
I happened to watch the MacBook Neo announcer film on mute on my mobile and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen even though I could not hear the VO. The mesmerising, quirky visuals highlight each feature of the Neo while cuing that careful thought has gone into every one of them. At $599 (base model starts at INR 69K in India) the package is sure to attract mid-tier and premium buyers of Windows laptops and Chromebook users.
I loved the subtle dig at Microsoft in the way the variants are lifted from what seemingly is the Windows logo formation.
Aside from conventional ads and website copy, the pull factor is kicking in through TikTok videos and YouTube shorts that create ‘desire’ for the variants.
Cadbury Dairy Milk: made to share
As I said earlier, ‘Made to share’ is such an extendable idea that it can work across contexts, topical ads and so on. Each situation will have someone going ‘I can relate to that’. Loved it.
Agency: VCCP
MacBook Pro: best performance
The Mac has always been positioned as the device of choice for ‘creators’. Folks in creative industries such as media, advertising, film making and photography are often seen using a Mac. Popular culture too reinforced this. A new ad for MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max beautifully brings alive ‘great performance’ through choice of music (the piano track cuing effortless ease and creativity) and visuals that suggest some heavy duty creative work and coding. Such efforts go a long way in cementing the perception and preference for MacBook as devices for ‘creativity’.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.