AT&T, Intel, ‘Men will be men’ and more: 6 compelling creative ideas of the week

Everyday, we see hundreds of commercial messages. A majority of them are so insipid that they are not even noticed. Among the handful which are seen only a few are memorable. Here are a few creative ideas which caught my eye this week:

1. AT&T: Shot

When the proposition is ‘from sports movies to sci-fi, AT&T gives you more for your thing’ advertising folks would say, the ‘campaign has legs’ as the execution possibilities are huge. Here is a compelling story on what begins as a tense sports drama but quickly morphs into mysterious science fiction. Loved it.

Agency: BBDO

2. Imperial Blue: men will be men

The ‘men will be men’ series of ads for Imperial Blue’s surrogate brand have been popular for years now. Each ad captures an insightful behaviour of men, especially in the matters pertaining to women. The latest version, tells a story which will have men nodding their heads and laughing their guts off in just 20 seconds.

Agency: Ogilvy, Delhi

3. Intel: signal the noise

Emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are all the buzz in business circles. While not many are clear on use cases a simple, yet clear, compelling campaign conveys the message.

See how Intel-powered AI can help police analyze leads to find children faster.
See how Intel-powered AI can help farmers optimize yields to meet global food demands.
See how Intel-powered AI is helping hospitals diagnose heart disease with 90% accuracy.
See how Intel-powered AI is helping insurance companies crack down on fraud rings.

Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, USA

3. Orange: Keep Christmas Wonderful

Every big category in advertising – food, automobile, luxury…has a category code. Even ads pertaining to an occasion like Christmas have one – they are mostly made of emotive, happy visuals. In this context comes an ad for Orange which highlights the not-so-good parts of the festival in a lighter vein. The link to the brand and the benefit is a bit tenuous but the ad is fun, nevertheless.

Agency: Publicis Conseil

4. ZAP Subscribe: “It’s Love Nonetheless…”

It’s always nice to see an which holds one’s interest, has a smile-inducing twist in the end which is relevant to the product promise.

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5. Experience Azerbaijan: brand identity

A critical component of marketing a destination for tourism is the positioning and the brand essence.  The brand identity and a pithy expression play an important role in this exercise. I came across a project for the re-branding of Azerbaijan Tourism where the transformation is massive.

The brand film explains the approach behind the logo change:

I am generally skeptical about the PR around logo reveals as the design agencies say the most esoteric things about the design elements. In this case, the rationale seems believable: “The “reveal lens” enables two contrasting views of the country to come together to expose an intriguing new perspective on the place and its culture.” The various renditions bring the concept alive.

Agency: Landor. More information on the campaign here.

6. EasyJet: Black Friday ad

Black Friday is when many brands vie for the customer’s dollar. Gadgets and durables are a common choice on such occasions. A travel brand juxtaposes the choices in an interesting manner.

Which one was your favourite? Comment in.