It’s that time of the year again. An Apple event announcing a new lineup of iPhones (among other gadgets) is just over. And like clock work, all that we have come to associate with such events have happened: rumours about what is going to launched, leaks of product features, media commentary and so on. The live event on Sep 12 had its share of opinions on social media platforms. I was amused at the snarky…
Independence Day ads have become a part of a brand’s communication calendar in India for a few years now. This follows the pattern of the moment marketing initiatives, a digital-age compulsion thrust on brands. This year too, saw a slew of ads with only a handful with a refreshing idea or execution – something we see in regular advertising too. What makes for a good creative ad? While it must pass the first job of…
It’s pretty easy to spot an Apple fan. Or a hater. The former group may be fans for various reasons. In my view, a majority of them genuinely prefer the product experience – be it on the Mac, iPhone or any of the other Apple products. If the user has multiple devices and services (such as Apple Music) then the benefits of the ecosystem could be a big reason for Apple love and can also…
Anybody can be a critic of advertising. But that’s not the toughest part of the business – getting noticed is. A small number of creative ads manage to break through the clutter and get noticed. A fewer number of these go on to be recalled and talked about in a positive way. My weekly column of creative ads is a small tribute to brand teams everywhere who produce entertaining, engaging and relevant creative work. These were some…
Apple has doubled down on promoting privacy on the iPhone for years now. The benefit presented is in contrast to the Google ecosystem where advertising revenue garnered through user’s personal data is the business model. A new ad dramatises the pitfalls of the ‘other’ ecosystem in the context of health data. Privacy on the iPhone: the Waiting Room It’s quite likely that we all must have witnessed an instance of data ‘tracking’ us across the…
An ad’s first task is to get noticed. The top creative ads in any era – be it in the pre-digital or digital world first stood out from the media clutter of the day. Of course, just being noticed is not enough (being ignored is a worse fate though) – a brand’s message has to be relevant (to the intended audience), engaging (either entertaining or holding attention through shock value or any other emotion) and linked to…
Creating clutter-breaking advertising is tough. A majority of the ads are simply ignored – a fate worse than being noticed and disliked. Given the fuzzy briefs, opaque approval process and other ills of advertising, this is not surprising. My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads is a small tribute to such marketing & advertising teams who manage to get their ads noticed, recalled and liked. AirPods Pro: Quiet the noise Campaign Asia had an interview recently where I came…
I have not been able to update my blog over the past few weeks. I aim to post a compilation of compelling creative ads every week and an occasional post on issues pertaining to the business of advertising. This week’s post includes ads from Liquid Death water, Hyundai’s IONIQ and a few others. Liquid Death: Kids Hydrating at a Party Judas Priest’s ‘Breaking The Law ‘ forms the perfect background score for visuals depicting a…
My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads is a small tribute to marketing & advertising teams everywhere. An ad first has to get noticed. Unfortunately, a majority of ads are simply ignored – a fate worse than being disliked. Apple’s brilliant ad to highlight accessibility features, Spotify’s annual ‘Wrapped’ campaign are among the pick of the ads this week. Apple: The Greatest The mobile world is dominated by Android. When it comes to choice of…
Getting an ad noticed by consumers is not an easy task. Most of advertising is just ignored – a fate worse than being noticed and disliked. Ads which are seen, recalled and spoken about positively are rare. My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking ads is a small tribute to such efforts – I know how difficult it is to create such, given the fuzzy nature of briefs and the chaotic, whimsical approval process. Here are a…