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 16th December, 2016: Bacardi, Dove and more.
1. Bacardi USA: Instagram page
While Instagram lends itself well for categories where static visual imagery plays a key role in creating brand affinity [travel, fashion, furnishing & upholstery] it is interesting to see how brands which seemingly do not have visual appeal use it creatively. Here’s Bacardi USA turning its Instagram page into a DJ simulator.
Agency: BBDO New York
The fit with the brand? Bacardi is associated with energetic night life where music plays a big role.
2. Nike: time is precious
The power of the audio visual medium keeps us riveted to TV or screens playing YouTube. Among such, it is is interesting to see watch an where just plain words, narrated on audio as voice over can keep you glued. The message strikes home clearly to an audience who know that they are wasting time on social media.
Agency: W+K
Aside from the thematic film, there are several shorts which carry forward the theme of ‘time is precious’ by slicing the various ways in which we waste time on social media.
3. Audi: Instagram puzzle
Instagram launched a new feature recently which allowed users to bookmark images to a folder. According to Digiday, Audi posted nine different pieces of a single Audi R8 image in random order on its Instagram page, encouraging users to bookmark each piece in the correct order to solve the puzzle. Those who solved it correctly would see the completed shot of the Audi R8 in a seamless whole on the “bookmarks” tab on their own Instagram profiles. The puzzle has been solved over 3,200 times so far. The numbers are insignificant of course, but I found it worthy of sharing because of the creative, smart and tactical use of the platform. How does it link back or benefit the brand? Well, car enthusiasts look up to Audi, drool over its looks and follow launches keenly. It is a chance to get them to spend time with a content asset created by the brand and brighten the halo a wee bit.
Agency: Muhtayzik Hoffer
4. Dove: Mannequin Challenge
Dove joins the oddly popular mannequin challenge with a #RealBeauty angle: ‘when we saw everyone doing the Mannequin Challenge, we thought, ‘Why haven’t we ever seen a mannequin that looks like us?’ asked an agency spokesperson according to Adweek. This stunt may not be as powerful as the earlier Dove film in this series but drives home the point in a lighthearted way.
Agency: Ogilvy
This is also an example of it is impossible to label such marketing communication activities nowadays. Is this a marketing stunt, PR or outdoor activity? It’s all coming together to make the brand communication popular – now I am trying hard not to say viral video.
Anything else from this week which was interesting? Do comment in.
