Between bookmarked sites, Twitter and RSS feeds which showcase advertising, I come across many new creative ideas every week. As with advertising in real life, only a handful are memorable. Here are my picks for the week ending 8th January 2016.
Cillit Bang: The Mechanic
Every sub-category in FMCG, especially household cleaners have their category codes. When it comes to floor cleaners and dishwashers the residual imagery is that of housewives, before-after or side-by-side demos and germs under a microscope. In that context, it is refreshing to see this work for Reckitt Benckiser’s Bang in France. ‘So efficient it almost makes cleaning exciting’ is a bit of a stretch but the film is entertaining and holds your attention.
Agency: BETC, Paris.
Old Spice: #smellegendary
While I was a big fan of the original Isaiah Mustafa commercials, I can’t the same about some of the recent efforts from Old Spice – they were far too loud and bizarre for my liking. I guess there is a thin line between quirky, relevant and bizarre, over-the-top but then that’s how I saw them. With #smellegendary, Old Spice has got that balance back – the films are quirky, fun, entertaining and have the product benefit smack bang at the centre. The beauty of such efforts is that W+K has consistently been breaking the so-called ‘P&G mould’ of advertising across categories – be it this or Thank you, Mom.
Agency: W+K
Loved the copywriting in the ad. What’s more the style carries forward even in the YouTube description:
People say there’s no limit to how many videos you can watch with your eyeballs. But thanks to this new Odor Blocker Internet video, we think we just found it. Five million and eleven. Yes, that seems to be the point at which they melt and leave you to type comments like Old Spaaaadagoooollahhgaaaaaaaaabaaaaanflqweflqw;len;lqwenflkqwnefwqelnkoldspicefwenfklwneflnwqelkfnwefn! !!!!!! Kefbkjwbefwebfewflboldspicewefl!!!!!!!!.
Sulekha: #AntiJugaad
This is a fun film which has got Twitter talking. The link to getting things fixed versus living the life of a jugaad is refreshing and nicely expressed.
Agency: Ogilvy Bangalore
But it is a pity that for me, it failed meeting the objective – downloading the app. As an iPhone user, I would never download an app which looks like this (oddly, the Android version has a different design) – this is the equivalent of an 80s web page design.
Personally speaking, a good app icon design, good app design as showcased through the screen shots and useful content are the criteria for app download. I don’t think the iOS app design passes muster for me.
Play-Doh: No In-App Purchase etc
A lot of brands are taking this route now – of getting back to nature, saying no to web, app or social media addiction. I think it works with parents of little kids as there’s always the guilt of allowing too much gadget-time for children.
Agency:TwoAM, South Africa. See the rest of the ads here.
Which ones were your favourites?
