Every week, I attempt to share a compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads and occasionally some commentary on the business of advertising. As many have noted, a majority of the ads out there go un-noticed, so managing to break the clutter is actually a big deal. This week’s compilation includes smart work for KFC borrowed slogans, Posh virtual assistant and more.
KFC: borrowed slogans
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a variety of tactical communications from brands. During the initial phase many resorted to urging consumers to follow safety guidelines. Ads encouraging people to stay at home, wear a mask, wash hands frequently and maintain social distancing were common. A few focused attention on frontline healthcare givers paying tribute to their efforts. ‘We are with you’ kind of empty assurances were also seen. In many cases the brand was a force fit while in a few – such as services that enabled communication (such as WhatsApp or Zoom) the situations were relatable. In all this, brands had to be sensitive to consumer mindset and inner fears. KFC’s famous slogan ‘finger lickin’ good’ was considered inappropriate in the context of hygiene and general mindset of apprehension. The team at KFC and its ad agency Mother, London asked social media users to suggest which other brands slogans would be relevant for them.
The results were creative and hilarious as seen by use of slogans from Pringles, Red Bull, Dr. Pepper, Tesco, Snickers which all seemed to fit so well for KFC too.
Agency: Mother
It was great to see social media teams of brands contributing to the suggestions.
It makes you appreciate the power of distinctive brand properties and tag lines, isn’t it? Speaking of tag lines, there is no hard & fast rule about how it should be crafted. When they become popular they automatically get associated with that brand and no other. Some tag lines bake in the brand name itself (‘The Citi Never Sleeps’, It’s Miller Time!’ ‘No FT, no comment’ and such like). Over the past few years, a few great brand and campaign slogans have emerged, but hashtags are preferred over tag lines (which are lot more hard work anyway).
Posh: you can’t be in two places at once
The task of doing ‘reception work’ – handling incoming calls, filtering the important ones and such like is seen as a chore. Posh is a virtual receptionist which takes care of such leaving one to handle other work. A new campaign cleverly imagines a situation where the reception work is handled by a clone who then goes rogue, causing great damage to the owner himself. Loved the series.
See more TV spots here. Agency: McKinney.
TESCO: Supermarket Mobile
The brief ‘all mobile needs under one roof’ doesn’t sound very exciting. A new spot for TESCO in the UK makes it interesting imagines by imagining the store as ‘mobile supermarket’ whee shelves are filled with data plans an otheir mobile offerings.
Agency: BBH
Petco: It’s What We’d Want if We Were Pets
Personifying an object is not new. The proposition, ‘it’s what we’d want if we were pets’ conveys the care taken to create a quality product for pets. I loved the short duration (it is sweet) and crisp nature of the ads.
Agency: Droga5
Terminix: punny tag line
Pest control isn’t exactly a pleasant topic. Every home faces such a problem and beyond ‘complete cure’ there isn’t pretty much any other story. Terminix’s strategy to create word play which rhymes with the brand name and also presents other options as wasteful is clever.
Agency: The Martin Agency
Vauxhall Mokka: unbox yourself
The upbeat music, energy and intriguing visuals of pigeon-headed folks enthralled by the Vauxhall Mokka holds your attention – even though the connect of ‘impossible to pigeon hole’ the type of SUV it is (electric, petrol and diesel varieties) is bit of a stretch.
Agency: McCann
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.
