FATHER'S DAY

I was just reviewing the latest communication work from different #brands across various countries for the occasion of Father's Day until I came across this ad from Titan Company Limited.

At first, it felt like a very predictable ad with a story line that has been seen before. The use of black and white to evoke nostalgia also seemed like something that is not new.

I was about to stop watching it midway, but then I continued watching it, and I am glad I did!

The ad caught me by surprise, brought a smile on my face and I had to see the ad again to see those scenes once again.

Great job Ogilvy. It is quite refreshing.

WITH LOVE FROM AUS

Tourism Australia has come up with a charming and beautiful film that shows the various aspects of Australia - its architecture, its wild life and so much more.

This new ad, made by M&C Saatchi wants to tell the world that Australia will be waiting with open arms, ready to welcome visitors as soon as normalcy returns. 

Enjoy the wonderfully well shot film and put Australia in your travel plans of the future!

USE IT - STOP THE SPREAD

This is an advertisement created by Zuck & Berg, Armenia for World Health Organization asking people to stop the spread of the virus. 

How? 

Use your brains - Do not panic and do not fall for rumours, fake news or misinformation.

Use soap - Wash your hands frequently.

Such a powerful visual! Well thought through and quite creative. 

TOAST IT THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!

Although bread is eaten universally, not everyone likes to have their bread toasted at the same level. Some like it lightly toasted while others like it to be dark.

However, most toasters only have two settings - burnt and not burnt. You can do your own trial and error to get the perfect toast but it is never consistent.

The R180 toaster from Revolution in USA doesn’t have that problem. They turned an insight into an opportunity and it lets you toast your toast exactly how you want it.

To let people know about this toaster, they launched a print ad where they showed all the possible shades of toast that you can achieve and they smartly used a colour swatch card to drive the point by converting it into a toast swatch card.

Innovation in product, creativity in communication - a perfect combination.

DUMBEST CREATURE ON THE PLANET

Sometimes, the best way to instill a message is to use satire and sarcasm.

Throw in a strong headline as well and chances are that the message would get read. 

This ad, that appeared in an Indian newspaper 'The Hindu' is an example of a brilliant piece of copywriting. 

Every word and sentence has been thought through so that it hits hard, really hard.

LEAP DAY

You may see Ryan Reynolds as a sharp actor. However, I see him as an astute marketer who knows how to leverage an opportunity when he sees one.

Today is 29th February. A leap day. In school, we always felt sad for a person who celebrated his/her birthday on 29th February as they would get to celebrate it only once every four years. What that also meant was that those people moved from one age to another every four years only.

Ryan Reynolds used this insight, found a person born on Feb 29th, 1936 and then made her try her first legal drink (of course, his own brand - Aviation Gin) when she turned 21 in the year 2020!

Loved the casting, the acting, the creativity and the storytelling in this adorable video.

This is yet another smart move that Ryan has pulled off after the coup that he did a few months back by doing three different brand ads in a single ad.

FLAGS

This is such a fantastic print campaign by Vittoria School for Language Mediators in Italy!

Using books, notebooks and notepads as props, each ad then represents the flag of a country.

The message that Vittoria School is giving is that not only does it teach a language theoretically but it also teaches about the culture of a country and how the people of that country speak in normal conversations. 

For me, the campaign is extremely creative without losing the simplicity. I just love the way the educational props have been used. The agency behind this campaign is La Fabbrica Creativa, Italy.

THE ECONOMIST

Advertising of The Economist magazine is known for its intellect, wit and use of less words.

They want to reflect in their #advertising the same level of intelligence that they expect from their readers. 

Here is yet another example of their style of communication.

GO FETCH

Humour has a very important role to play in advertising. It has the ability to reach people and give them the message in a very simple and easy way.

Humour can also be quite tricky. It does not work for all brands and all categories. Moreover, marketers have to be very careful in selecting the right kind of #humour that does not disgust or offend their consumers but rather makes them laugh.

Agencies and marketing people also have to evaluate their brands with a sharp lens and see whether humour fits the brand personality or not. Otherwise, even the funniest ad will not help in building your brand equity.

Here is an example of a brand that has used humour well. US based dog biscuit brand, Milk-Bone has come up with a series of funny ads, talking about the importance of having a dog as a pet and then how Milk-Bone can make it even more fun.

I am sharing the tortoise film below that gives the message in crisp 15 seconds.

You can also see the other ads here: 

https://lnkd.in/ejM3A5r 

https://lnkd.in/e2SR-gc

FEEL IT

They say, you cannot unsee something after you have seen it. 

The Coca-Cola Company is pushing the pedal in its new outdoor and print campaign in Europe, where they are relying on the strength of consumer memory.

The company is putting the Coca Cola logo on different platforms in the same font and angle as how it appears on their bottles.

The line above every ad reads 'Feel It' and that line triggers the mind to visualize the bottle without the bottle being there! 

This is an idea by #Publicis where they have gone ahead and leveraged the visual icons of the #Coke brand - the red colour, the font and the iconic bottle.

It is a great example of how consistency of certain elements around your #brand play a big role in brand building. Go ahead and see all three pictures and I am sure that you will also feel the bottle.

GUIDE THAT FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS

We all know how #coronovirus has been spreading all over with cases being detected across multiple continents. 

We also know how prevention is better than cure and boosting our immunity is one way to avoid coming under attack. 

However, there are other simple but important steps too that will keep us all protected.

I am sure that people in #India would have seen this #Lifebuoy print ad that they released a week back, using the abbreviation of F.I.G.H.T.S to educate and inform people on what else they can do to fight the virus. 

Other than the use of the abbreviation, what also strikes you is the bold move by the brand to name four of its closest competitors in the same ad - Lux, Dettol, Santoor and Godrej No. 1

People who consider this as a marketing or a publicity stunt need to think again. No other brand had done this and not many brands can pull off something like this. 

This is a sign of a brave and secure #brand that sees its purpose to be more important than a mere piece of advertising.

It is no surprise that this comes from #Unilever as they strongly believe and follow purpose in their communication.

LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES

#Greece is still one of the countries that is traditional by nature and not very open to #diversity. 

Lacta, a Greek chocolate #brand, that is now a part of the Mondelēz International group comes up with a lovely film that starts by showing reactions of people when they see love that is not as per their expectations. The film then changes course and each scenario gets depicted in a very different way. 

A well made film by Ogilvy for this #ValentinesDay, asking us all to see #love in its purest form beyond any stereotypes. The soundtrack is quite nice as well.

LONELIEST PERSON ON VALENTINE'S DAY

Burger King Corporation does it again! This time, it is Burger King India that launches a video for Valentine's Day, telling people that the loneliest person on this planet is none other than the clown of McDonald's - Ronald McDonald. 

The video then encourages people to take a selfie with Ronald, upload it by tagging Burger King India and then come to a #BurgerKing outlet to get a free #whopper.

Usually, I am not a big fan of comparative or competitive #advertising as you tend to contribute to the other brand's salience without them spending any money.

However, in this case it works because:

1. It is not new for Burger King to troll McDonald's. They have been doing it across their markets for quite some time now. It is part of their style that resonates with its audience. 

2. The campaign gets lot of earned media and social media currency to the brand by people posting pictures and tagging Burger King handle. 

3. To get a free whopper, people would visit a Burger King cafe. Usually, they wouldn't go alone or would not just eat a Whopper. So in both scenarios, this helps in increasing the footfalls as well as the sales of the cafes, which is what every piece of advertising is supposed to do. 

BEFORE ALEXA

Few days back, I had posted about the new #Google ad that was rolled out during the #SuperBowl. If you haven’t seen the ad as yet, then I insist that you take the time to see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSxXiHwMrg

In this voice-enabled assistants segment, how could Amazon stay behind. They also came up with a gem of an ad during the Super Bowl featuring the couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, where Ellen wonders what people did #BeforeAlexa.

The ad then goes into various scenarios and situations of how people acted and behaved before the world of Alexa by showing actual people whose name begins with the letters A and L. 

The ad is quite funny and it seems that Google and #Amazon chose two different emotions of a spectrum to launch their communication. It is quite a contrast to watch the two ads one after the other. 

The Alexa ad is doing very well and has already garnered 61 million views on #YouTube from Amazon’s channel and another 1.2 Million views on TheEllenShow channel, showing the power of good content.

GOOGLE REMEMBERS LORETTA

Who says that a search engine should only be there to help you in your searches? When the purpose of your brand is to bring convenience to the lives of your consumers, you do not remain a search engine anymore. 

hashtag

#Google comes up with an emotional tearjerker of an ad to showcase the capabilities of its Google Assistant. This ad shows an 85 year old gentleman who has lost his wife and is now trying to remember her and the special memories that he had with her, using the help of the voice-controlled Google Assistant. 

The ad goes on to show how Google Assistant can come to the aid of the elderly people in remembering things as well as experiences. It can also be of use to people suffering from dementia. 

This story is based on a real story of a grandfather of a #Google employee and the character Loretta is inspired from his grandmother. They used facts from his real life to create the plot and the storyline. In fact, even the voice-over in the ad is from the real grandfather!

The entire ad has been created in-house without the help of any external agency. 

Enjoy this powerful and touching film that will either give you goosebumps or tears.

GONG XI FA CAI

Today, #China celebrates its Chinese New Year and it is a tradition and custom in China for elders to hand over red envelopes filled with money (known as "hongbao") to children for good luck. 

Taking this consumer insight, #Nike has come up with an amusing twist to this tradition in their new ad, which shows a funny chase between an aunt trying to give her niece the red envelope and the niece trying to avoid it as much as possible.

This film by the ad agency Wieden+Kennedy has been shot quite well, covering various places like fields, rooftops, festivals to show the chase and has been built on a strong consumer insight.

The role and integration of the product into the tradition and #culture is seamless, without showing any disrespect. It just reminds the audience to celebrate, while having fun and staying active.

What really brings a smile to the face is the surprise at the end. Enjoy this wonderful film.

DANDRUFF MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID

When you scratch your head because it itches and not because you are thinking, it makes you look stupid. 

This is the premise on which Saatchi & Saatchi launched this print campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo in the UAE market. 

They took strong, recognizable, real and fictional characters - Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones and James Bond and created special illustrations, showing them scratching their heads. Each ad ends with the tag line 'Dandruff makes you look stupid'. 

Not only is the #advertising smart, but the font and style of the tag line in each picture has been designed to look like the part of the rest of the surrounding, and the hand that holds the Head and Shoulders bottle in each ad is also a part of the overall set-up, making it all look seamless.

So, the #creativity and the quality of art in these layouts is very good, paying great attention to every detail.

JAMES BOND - I AM WORKING

If you have been a James Bond fan and a regular watcher of the Bond franchise movies, you will remember the classic dialogue 'Shaken, not stirred' when James Bond is asked how he prefers his Martini. 

All of that started changing when #Heineken started associating with the Bond movies since 1997. However, James Bond himself was shown drinking Heineken only from the 2012 film Skyfall. 

Now, as the new #Bond movie 'Time To Die', which is set to release in April'20 starts its promotions, Heineken has gone a step further by showing James Bond drinking their alcohol free version of beer - Heineken 0.0, while working. 

They have released a new video, and in that you see Daniel Craig, dressed in a tuxedo, refusing the vodka martini that the bartender serves to him, and rather calls for a Heineken 0.0

"I'm working," he then says to the barman.

The ad ends with the tagline: "Now you can while working". 

You can see the full video here:

James Bond Heineken 0.0 Ad

STAR WARS

On 20th Dec, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker will have its premiere, and to build up the excitement for that, the team behind it is coming up with various marketing ideas across different countries.

In Philippines, the team has launched a beautiful ad film, which shows two young kids going to crazy lengths, working on a mysterious project to create something magical.

The film has been made by Wunderman Thompson Philippines and the beauty of the film is in it finer points:

1. You do not need to know the language to understand the ad. The message can be understood by everyone.

2. The entire film keeps you intrigued, really showing the power of storytelling. 

3. The end is surprising and makes you smile.

Enjoy this gem of an ad.

OPEN 24 HOURS

Simple, effective and creative. The print campaign by McDonald's in Uruguay is brilliant. 

With the upside down text, the reader will turn the page around and as soon as she does that, she will notice that the time reads right on both sides, even though the time itself is different. The message is extremely clear. 

Conceptualized by TBWA\Worldwide, this is yet another example of a lesson in #communication - Do not try too hard. Keep it simple.