It is said that a majority of advertising is mediocre and plain forgettable. While we all are exposed to hundreds of commercial messaging, only a handful are memorable. Here are a few which caught my eye over the week: This Girl Can, Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone 7’ and more.
1. This Girl Can: Sport England
In 2015, Sport England launched the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign to encourage more women to take up sport and physical exercise. The campaign based on a true insight (There is an overarching barrier stopping women becoming active and that is the ‘fear of being judged’) created a lot of buzz and won praise. The campaign is back in a new avatar, featuring a wider range of women, different life stages and more sports.
In this day and age, it is so refreshing to see well-crafted print ads – though that’s not the only reason I like the campaign. The central idea and the can-do spirit is so inspirational and delivered with great attitude.
Agency: FCB Inferno
2. Apple: Shot on iPhone 7
When Apple launched the ‘Shot on iPhone 6’ campaign in 2015, I talked about the stimulus-response theory. I think the idea behind it is powerful – instead of the brand claiming that it takes great pictures, it simply showcases actual pictures taken by regular users. It is also a masterclass on how best to use outdoor – powerful, striking images with minimal text. Read about the campaign here. The actual images on billboards are real show stoppers.
3. Budweiser: Born The Hard Way
Reportedly, a single 30-second ad on this year’s Super Bowl costs $5 million – that’s just for air time. Add the production costs (depending on the story, the production values required) and a one-minute film may cost $12-15 million. The investments don’t stop there – social media marketing may require other investments too. My point is that Super Bowl ads have become more of a social media game with emphasis being on pre- and post event buzz for the ad. In this context, the story of an immigrant (apparently conceived before the November elections) is likely to attract attention in the US – and it did.
Agency: Anomaly
This year’s crop of Super Bowl ads haven’t really caught my fancy. Over the years the need to deliver great bang for the (big) bucks on Super Bowl is driving brands to look for ‘talking points’ rather than tell a compelling brand story which drives preference and sales. This leads to emphasis on being quirky, whacky or controversial thereby increasing the chance of pre- and post-event buzz. Brands believe that this extended window delivers the ROI on investments. In this context, is it beneficial for brands to wade into politics and seemingly take a stand which could alienate a lot of consumers? It is a risky approach and the brand has been careful to portray a bipartisan image.
Which ones worked for you? Do comment in.
