Goodby Moto, Nike: short a guy and more: creative ads of the week

I have decided to take the lazy way out of updating my blog regularly. I try to write at least two posts a week but fail to do so often. Also, my post vary from sharing ‘opinion pieces’ to simply sharing some good piece of creative work I noticed. The latter is obviously the easier and less time-consuming option. So I have promptly decided to do more of that – with a slight twist.

Every week, I will attempt to share a few creative ideas which caught my eye – be it a TVC, packaging design or a print ad. Aside from the trade publications, I follow a lot of ad aggregators – Ads of the World, Adeevee, The Inspiration Room to name a few. Between them I notice a lot of good creative work, think of sharing some of them via a blog post but never get down to doing it. I hope to maintain a list from which I will cull out the ‘best of the week’. Here goes:

1. Goodbye Moto: story from Crain’s Chicago Business

This is not an ad campaign but a remarkable piece of story telling in the online space. The rise and fall (and rise again?) of Motorola is beautifully captured though an audio narration and a comic-strip format. The page is responsive and looks gorgeous across devices.

I couldn’t help compare the content on Indian mainstream media with this: what a contrast. Our online portals (marquee ones especially) cram the site with intrusive ads, follow a standard template in web design and care two hoots about user experience. What’s more the content is focused on ‘cleavage reveals’ and ‘bare backs of celebrities’. It is truly depressing. Stories like Goodbye Moto serve as design inspiration.

2. Pampers: #betterforbaby

Ads featuring infants, babies and dogs are guaranteed to get the ‘so sweet’ response. This one goes beyond cute visuals and has an idea. The lyrics of ‘Hush Little Baby’ are given a twist to convey the idea that we all go to great lengths to protect babies.

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

3. Nike: short a guy

What a brilliant way to showcase a range of gear. And the film has such high energy, it is riveting.

Agency: W+K

4. IKEA: Joy of Kitchen

Bizarre, whacky but exactly what the doctor ordered to make it a viral hit.

Agency: Mother

5. Royal Cuts

Animals and birds dressed as human beings is a common enough theme. This one stood out for me for the impeccable art direction.

Creative Director:André Marques

6. Campaign magazine

The ad industry has its own codes, lingo and jargon which most outside the industry wouldn’t be able to ‘get’. There is also a sense of belonging to a community when ad folks meet. But what happens when ‘regular’ folk interact with ad agency folk?

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

All images via Ads of the World and Adeevee.

Which ones were your favourites?