Every day we come across hundreds of commercial messages. Only a handful are memorable. Here are a few top creative ads which caught my eye, the week ending 20th April, 2018: print ads for KFC, outdoor for Play Doh and a web film for Citroën among others.
1. KFC: hot & spicy
The creative mind sees what others don’t. But the one’s in advertising have a daunting task – to ‘see’ such not-so-obvious things and connect them to a brand promise, to create desire. A new set of print ads for KFC do a fantastic job of conveying ‘hot & spicy’.
Agency: Ogilvy, Hong Kong
2. Play-Doh:imagination billboards
The world over, Play-Doh has a reputation to spark the imagination of children. In Colombia, they created special bus stop ads, where a jar of Play-Doh was suspended inside a transparent mould. The possibilities of using the clay to create something was hinted subtly through the visuals.
Agency: DDB Colombia
3. Project Literacy: daunting world
When one cannot read a language, a feeling of helplessness takes over. The characters look like squiggles one cannot decipher. That feeling is captured well in this series of print ads for Project Literacy, UK – founded and convened by Pearson that aims to end illiteracy by 2030.
Agency: FCB
4. Postmates: billboards
An outdoor campaign for Postmates caught my eye a few weeks ago. I loved it because the tag line, ‘We get it’ conveys the brand category – an on-demand delivery service, so well. The idea also works to convey that whatever be the reason for your order, we get it. Loved these new set of posters & billboards in New York.
Agency: 180LA
5. Amazon Echo print ad
There was a time in ad agencies when the account management, media and creative teams used to work from the same office. Very often it allowed for collaboration and exchange of ideas between the teams, especially between creative and media. A new print ad for Amazon Echo reminded of such creative collaborations as it was a clever, contextual use of print media.
6. Magnum: True to pleasure
Magnum is a premier ice-cream brand from Unilever. The brand’s communication is anchored on ‘pleasure’ for decades now. An intriguing new billboard campaign subtly integrates the shape of the ice cream and conveys ‘super premium’ beautifully. The illustrations were done by Thomas Danthony, a French artist.
Agency: LOLA Mullen Lowe
7. IKEA: Ghosts
IKEA has created some brilliant ads as part of the’Wonderful Everyday’ theme. The latest one urges viewers to not play it safe with fabric and ‘be a maverick’.
Agency: Mother, London
8. Citroën: Forward
Every major advertising category has an unwritten advertising code. In automobiles, especially high-end SUVs adrenaline pumping visuals of speeding cars, navigating through rough terrain are common. In this context comes a riveting (though a bit long) web-film for Citroën, which doesn’t even show the brand logo.
Agency: HUMANSEVEN
Which one was your favourite? Comment in.
