Aviation Gin, Audi and more: 6 top creative ads of the week

This week’s top picks include Out of Office replies (yes, you read that right) for Aviation Gin and other creative ads for Audi, Pepsi and more.

1. Aviation Gin: Out of Office replies

I wrote about Aviation Gin’s ads featuring Ryan Reynolds earlier this year. The marketing of the brand is in top gear with product placements in late night TV shows in the US. But what is unusual is a campaign featuring ‘Out of Office’ replies. Ryan’s ‘official’ email was revealed in media and those who wrote to that ID received hilarious Out of Office replies – with product plugs of Aviation Gin, of course. Loved them.

So how do these help the brand? Aside from creating visibility I think they make the brand appear cool, charming and amiable. And we all know that brand likability has an impact on brand preference.

2. Audi- Escape

Dramatising the contrast between two worlds is a great way to highlight an experience. In this spot for Audi, the luxurious interiors and the creature comforts arising from use of technology are brought alive thanks to the setting – a fight between two gangs in a grimy Bangkok suburb. You wouldn’t normally expect that kind of imagery for a luxury brand like Audi but the story works like a charm here.

Agency: BBH

3. PIB: Ministry of Traffic

Changing behaviour is one of the toughest asks of an advertising campaign. In India, about 400 people die everyday due to traffic accidents. In an effort to educate consumers to follow traffic rules, a central ministry has released a set of ads featuring the film star Akshay Kumar as a traffic cop. He chides the protagonists for not following traffic rules with a word play on ‘not your father’s road’ (which would be understood well in most parts of India) suggesting that no one should act entitled to break rules. It remains to be seen if humour as a route will effect a change in behaviour. I suspect it would evoking a feeling of shame, especially among the educated lot would have the desired effect. A contrast from Melbourne’s Traffic Accident Commission, which took the route of shocking the viewer and instilling fear.

Agency: Cayenne Communications. Director: R Balki

Needless to say, it will take a lot of on-ground activities and education to implement these rules. Incidentally, an old ad from Verito had the same creative idea of ‘not your father’s road’.

4. Esurance: surprisingly painless

How to cast a celebrity as a celebrity but not make it sound like a regular endorsement – holding up product and all that? Dennis Quaid does that (holding up a phone with Esurance logo) but the self-effacing tone is charming.

Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago

5. Pepsi: feel light

How can an be unmistakably for your brand? Here’s how. I loved the visual play with the Pepsi logo as it conveys the message well and offers a strong brand link.

Agency: BBDO, Colombia

6. Paytm: Independence Day

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) seems to be the primary reason for brands to create tactical ads during occasions like Independence Day or Mothers Day. Very often they end up force-fitting their brand to the occasion with little or no link to the business. In that context, an ad for Paytm caught my eye during the recent Independence Day celebrations of India. The ad highlights ‘freedom from habits’ as it helped consumers to break their habit of relying on cash payments. The writing (in Hindi) too was refreshingly different and compelling.