To some people, this might seem a little overrated but I do think it is a rather smart idea from Ogilvy Portugal. Using just basic folding lines, creative work can illustrate the easy peasy way of making websites seemed so fun and responsive. This ad from Correio da Manhã emanates the level of responsiveness of their new website through basic traditional print. How cool is that? I guess it certainly helps to pique some one’s curiosity to actually want to visit the website. Interestingly, this is the sort of work that gets very low recall value but yet triggers high engagement. Nice.
Volkswagen going electric.
What do you know? Volkswagen’s going electric and here’s two cute ads by TRY/Apt, oslo, Norway.
Singing is not for everyone
We have yet another funny commercial from Footlocker in collaboration with BBDO New York. This time featuring NBA players James Harden and Stephen Curry. It starts off with Stephen storming into the recording studio stopping Harden from continuing his music recording session. Harden wishes to progress his career more by developing his music talent. His concept of staying “Fresh” while being ahead in his career, was busted with Curry advising him to go get that freshness at Footlocker. A nice way to put across the brand message from an in-story script approach where we see a nice honest scene between two friends here. Thanks to Curry, Harden realizes his crappy recording after a play back. Interesting yet amusing approach to make celebrity endorsements less mundane.
The burger options
Advertisements on TV can be disruptive and irritating to some viewers. So, if you do not have one that is funny and that it leads the viewer to ponder by getting their curiosity aroused, then chances are, the remote’s going to switch you off. These ads by Steak ‘n Shake is amusing and features the story of two phony casts displaying their love for the burgers. Featuring both the teacher and his disciple, the video talks about the perfect balance while the other shows the numerous options. I particularly love how they showed the story in a quirky and amusing way. Check them out.
Thread that Ad
Wealth and investment companies often produce marketing collaterals with visual communications associated with financial references. Most often or not, there isn’t really a lot to shout about. However, working with financial clients do not need to be so boring. Jersey-based firm Affinity Wealth Management took their advertisements a little more personal. They have their agency, The Potting Shed to create a series of interesting ads that illustrates their financial communications in a fun and quirky manner. Using threads and pins, junior design Sam Falla created this series of ads. Beautiful and very original.
Foolish way to show bush
Let me guess. Is this one of those provocative ads for your local bush trimming salons or some overrated condom ad? Apparently not. Julyna (Canadian Cancer Society) had created this rather loud campaign to garner public awareness about cervical cancer. Together with Cossette, Toronto, they came up with these ads encouraging women to take on a different style to their pubic hairstyle in an effort to raise money for cervical cancer and HPV research. The accompanying message: “What’s your style? Show your support and join the fight against cervical cancer'”. While I must agree that controversial messaging sparks debate, it is vital not to overdo it. This in my opinion, appears to be “too forceful”. What do you think?
What kind of car is that?
Sometimes we come out with great strategies that overpowers the creative aspect of our work. When such a situation happens, a creative piece of work turns out to be less humorous nor unique but somehow it manages to grasp the marketing objective so tightly that it comes across as a hard selling effort with some “by-the-way” fun in it. We see the new Hyundai Equus commercial with a great insight – “What kind of car is that?” As the vehicle glides through town, we see curious faces probing that iconic question repeatedly. We even had babies pointing at it. While this remains a very tactical insight to promote the new car, it is somewhat lacking in it’s creative execution. Something funnier or even something less direct might make the ad a bit more compelling. What do you think?
Search that LOGO!
Can you decipher the hidden code within these 3 abstract visuals? What you are seeing might be entangled wires in red and blue or vessels of fluid tubes in those colors. What do you think of when you see blue and red? There are many possible combinations but kudos to you if you guessed PEPSI. Yes, the beverage giant recently tasked BBDO Dusseldorf to come out with a campaign that would subtly place their logo in a very unique and creative way. I have always love the challenge of placing things away from first sight. Given the ubiquitous that clients love having their “logo bigger” or taking the “safer option”, PEPSI’s bold attempt to approve these ads is commendable. This is pretty much one of the traditionally effective ways of bringing a message across to the audience in a very subtle subconscious manner. We term this subliminal advertising. It has proven to be very effective to create an impression in the viewer’s mind. Such tactics if well executed would yield amazing results. In my opinion, I believe this is a rather far fetched approach with a very bold intent. There are other possible ways to explore this idea further. Perhaps we could use paint works or even patterns to incorporate the logo but in a less obvious yet seemingly intelligent way. What do you think of BBDO Dusseldorf’s attempt to fulfill PEPSI’s marketing requirements for these ads?
Zack Chia 