Every week, I attempt to curate a list of clutter-breaking ads. Occasionally I share my views on issues & trends pertaining to the advertising business. This week my list of best new creative ads includes ads for Morrisons: Halloween OOH, a lovely new ident for Apple Music and more.
Morrisons: scary good OOH
Occasion-led tactical ads sometimes reek of desperation. That overwhelming urge to participate in a trend, festival or calendar event is huge. It’s mostly driven by FOMO and results in ads or social posts where the ‘force-fit’ is visible – all in the name of moment marketing. Everything is seen as an opportunity to insert the brand – even issues like Black Lives Matter. The link to the brand or even the category to the occasion is mostly tenuous or totally absent. If the brand played a role in a news event – such as contributing to say, a satellite launch then it makes to put out a congratulatory ad. Calendar events like Mother’s Day, Women’s Day and Halloween are also seen as visibility opportunities.
In this context, a new set of OOH for Morrisons, the UK supermarket chain for Halloween is scarily good. While the visuals feature the familiar ‘horror’ theme of Halloween the visual pun and link back to the tag line ‘More Reasons To Shop At Morrisons’ feels natural. It’s a show stopper and brings a smile. Loved it.
Agency: Leo
Asian Paints: Diwali musical
Every business looks forward to the festive season. Globally, the Oct-Dec quarter is considered the best of such seasons. Apple times the launch of its flagship iPhone to coincide with this period. Many brands create ads to capture the festive mood among consumers encouraging them to spend. ‘Christmas Movie‘ is a genre by itself in Hollywood. Even in other forms of popular culture such as TV serials, web series and ads – Christmas as a theme creates a feel-good factor around the festival.
‘Believing in the magic of Christmas’ often translates into stories that convey a positive outcome. In India, Diwali is a festival that lends itself well to such a theme – but we hardly see a feel-good movie based on that theme. HP in India has consistently invested behind such stories in the past. A new Asian Paints ad – though not in a tear-jerker story format is high on the feel-good quotient, treated like a musical. The practice of sprucing up homes before Diwali lends itself well for the category.
Agency: Ogilvy
Apple Music: Made by Sound
In an age where AI is used for everything from copywriting to film making, it is heartening to see the importance given to human craft by Apple – especially with something like idents. Much like Netflix’s ‘Tudum’, Apple TV plays a signature music and visuals before an original show. These are seen even on trailers and hence the recall value can be high. It’s a great distinct brand asset. In 2025, they painstakingly created the Apple TV ident – built from full-scale glass panels It’s the turn of Apple Music to get a signature tune and ident. This too is hand-crafted (literally). They played music through a transducer set in a shallow bath of mineral oil, then filmed the resulting ripples and waves. Do such seemingly trivial interventions matter when they can be easily created by CGI? ‘Who is even going to notice such an effort?’ will be the usual mindset. But such efforts matter. Subliminally they signal to Apple fans and potentials that this brand puts a premium on craft and small details. Of course the product & service experience has to match that mindset and ‘claim’. In Apple’s case that is mostly true and hence all of this is ‘on brand’. Kudos to the effort.
Agency: TBWA|MediaArtsLab
Atmos Rewards: see travel everywhere
The loyalty programme of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines is called Atmos™ Rewards. A new ad highlights how spending on everyday stuff can unlock points for travel – summed up very well in ‘See travel in everything you do’. The print execution reminded me of this campaign for MasterCard.
Agency: Hijinks
OTP Bank: we’re ready
Temporarily blocking your card is a common feature now in credit cards. So is junior savings account or ability to split bill payments easily. Each of these features are highlighted in quirky, exaggerated plots for OTP Bank- one of the biggest banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe.
Agency: Droga5 Dublin
Banana Republic: The Agency
Micro-dramas are brand favourites now – my favourite so far being this hilarious one from Thailand for Shield Insurance Brokers. A latest series from Banana Republic caught my eye. It tells the story of a frozen in time zone type travel agency which still relies on stuff like fax machines. I was wondering about the connect to the brand.
Style plays an integral role in bringing the world of “The Agency” to life, with each character’s wardrobe spotlighting Banana Republic’s signature design codes, including modern utility, timeless ease and premium fabrications such as linen and leather. The looks also draw from the brand’s rich design heritage, creating a visual language that reflects each character’s distinct personality.
Watch Episode 3 here.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.
