Super Bowl ads are known to take ‘big scale, big production values’ route. They are designed to evoke that jaw dropping reaction and hence have repeat value and memorability. It’s not a new phenomenon – I guess Apple’s 1984 was designed to be that way. In this context, the new ad for Mophie phone chargers resort to the ‘go big or go home’ strategy.
There’s no telling what goes viral – it could be cat videos, music videos, make up tips, regular ads, short films from brands…the list goes on. The only common factor seems to be entertainment. In this context, a film for Similac (a baby formula brand from Abbot) has raked up almost 3mn views in about week, but it is not a regular ad. In fact, there’s no mention of the brand name, the category or the context of infant food in the ad – the name just appears in the last frame.
The life insurance sector in India has seen a lot of action of late – three big brands have released long-format ads supported by activity in traditional media and social networks. Max Life has created the Second Chances campaign with a message: ‘you are important to your family, so secure them’. Tata AIA’s ‘Daddy or Zooey’ says ‘you will do anything for your family’ and Birla Sun Life’s ‘Khud ko kar buland’ story is about ‘not allowing destiny to dictate our lives’.
Loved this new ‘Vintersaga’ (‘Winter’s Tale) campaign for Volvo. The key message: it takes a special kind of engineering and design to build a car which can handle Sweden’s tough weather conditions, especially in winter. The execution is a montage of the (miserable) weather conditions in Sweden, beautifully shot and set to music. I didn’t understand a word of the lyrics but the visuals drive home the message.
Reports suggest that Air India is planning to change its mascot “to tweak his image to make it more in tune with the changed times”. I thought the new representation (if true) was atrocious. It is inelegant and a neither-here-nor-there mishmash of the old concept and a possible new one. A logo is meant to convey a visual idea in an instant and make the brand inviting…likeable. I am not sure if the new representation does that.
Sequels are difficult to pull off. Ask the movie franchises. Following last year’s hit, this year Newcastle is creating buzz with the #BandofBrands initiative: “the most exciting, jam-packed, fiscally responsible game day ad ever”.
A new campaign for Temptations, a brand of cat food from Mars Inc., is doing the round of ad blogs and social networks. The product is the hero in this campaign which is well suited for the ‘cat video sharing’ digital platforms.
To encourage more women to take up sport and physical exercise, Sport England has launched a new marketing campaign, #ThisGirlCan – in the UK. Absolutely loved it.
The latest OLX campaign is refreshing because the advertising message shifts focus from the seller to the buyer. The buyer is only a conduit as the end message is directed at the seller – giving him the feeling that ‘there is a buyer for everything out there’.
As ideas go, this definitely is ‘wish I had thought of it’ variety. Here is Fisher-Price, a toy brand creating a film which captures the excitement and anticipation surrounding some of the first babies born around New Year’s day. What an awesome idea! The film showcases real parents hold their babies for the first time and speaking of what they wish for the babies. The idea is definitely touching and the timing is brilliant – we are all in the mood for ‘new beginnings’ still and such a film definitely strikes a chord.