A majority of ads are simply ignored – a fate worse than being disliked. Clutter-breaking creative ads are a rarity. My weekly compilation is a small tribute to brand teams who manage to create work that’s noticed.
Uber Eats: get almost anything
Unlike in India where Swiggy & Zomato seem to dominate the ‘delivery everything’ in the quick-commerce category (through Instamart & Blinkit), Uber Eats is a dominant brand for such a service in the West. Their platform ‘Get almost anything’ was originally expressed as ‘almost almost’ anything leaving room for a quirky, humorous interpretation: we deliver this but not that. A new set of ads use names of fruits and brands cleverly to deliver the same point. The fun is in the literal interpretation of say, Jolly Rangers and the tie-in to the brand proposition. Loved the series.
Agency: Special
I’m Not Remarkable | Apple
The harsh truth is that the ad industry has either used specially-abled people to garner sympathy in the story line or go the other extreme, portraying them as super-achievers. In the latter case, Channel 4 has a great track record of striking a balance in their campaign for Paralympics, projecting the human side of specially-abled people. My favourite was the one where we should avoid the ‘despite their condition’ disclaimer we add in our minds towards specially abled people. Apple too has a great track record not just from a ‘claim’ perspective but actual product features that aid in accessibility. A new film works because it portrays people with special needs as doing routine tasks which ‘everyone’ does. A musical style ad, shows a bunch of students dances through classrooms, house parties, and residence halls, conveying the idea that they are no more or less remarkable than anyone else at school.
Apple tools such as Live Captions, AssistiveTouch, Braille Access and its Accessibility Reader to help their studies, while belting out a catchy anthem about how they are no more “remarkable” than any other student at the college
New Zealand Transport Agency: booze maths
I guess a soft and humorous approach of ‘don’t try to rationalise too much why drinking & driving will not be a problem for you’ will work in developed countries like New Zealand (where this ad is based) but not in India which needs hard-hitting work like that of TAC.
Columbia Sportswear: giving the company away
I guess conspiracy theorists are everywhere. Events such as moon landing have been claimed as hoax by some. In modern times, the notion of a flat Earth has been revived and promoted on social media despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Columbia Sportswear challenges flat-earthers to prove their theory by offering the entire company’s assets if they can journey to the edge of the Earth and provide evidence. Another bold bit of work from the brand.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Air India: change is in the air
The service industry is tough. One can’t please everybody and the brand is constantly under the microscope especially in the age of social media. Air India has faced its share of flak recently. A new campaign aims to convey the efforts they have taken (beyond just claims) to make the airline experience better in the domestic sector. I particularly liked the word play on sandwich referring to the middle seat as well as the food.
Wonderla Chennai: Majaa Calling
‘Duty calls’ is often used in the context of work that’s come up or work as priority. The launch of a well-known amusement park in Chennai gets a similar treatment with a twist: it is ‘fun’ (majaa) calling which is shown literally, driving home the point.
Agency: OPN
Vim Bar: love story
FMCG advertising is quite challenging. One works with very little product differentiation, decades of ‘lineage’ and templates. In that context, a cute little love story to highlight the long lasting Vim bar story.
Agency: MullenLowe Lintas, Mumbai
ANC: recruitment ad
Mergers and acquisitions in advertising is the hot topic on LinkedIn. Here’s a clever way to put that in context for a recruitment ad which also showcases the prowess of great copywriting that’s fun to read and ‘sells’ too.
Alzheimer’s Society: print ad
Amidst the feel-good ads showing happy people and their festivities comes this print ad which hits you in the gut. What an effective way to use the context of Christmas ads to create awareness about Alzheimer’s. Loved it.
Ross-Simons: ode to classic ads
As BrandGully says, kudos to the copywriter to link some classic tag lines to a jewellery brand.
Tata Coffee: voice
Some might find the link to the ‘shik-shik’ signature audio mnemonic to ‘a generation with a voice’ a bit tenuous but I found the ad to be engaging and different in the category.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.
