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.

FUTURE OF ADVERTISING?

Advertising agencies will always tell their clients that a 30 second TV spot does not do justice to their brand or their story.

I wonder what they would say when they see three brands being advertised in a single 43 second spot. Yes, that is right.

Three non competing brands decided to join hands and pull of an advertising stunt that has never been seen before. The common link to all three - actor Ryan Reynolds.

The result is an ad in which Ryan is promoting his latest movie that is coming on #Netflix, but he talks about enjoying its experience on a #Samsung QLED, and then brings in an ad of his own #Aviation American Gin as a mid-roll ad placement!

Is that brilliant or is that brilliant!

Will we see more non competing brands joining hands in future to save on money without diluting their own individual messages? We will have to wait and see.

Till then, enjoy this masterpiece.

BARBIE FLIES VIRGIN ATLANTIC!

In its 60th year, #Barbie from Mattel Toys has introduced three new careers in the aviation industry for its dolls - pilot, engineer and cabin crew. 

This initiative is to inspire girls around the world to follow their dreams. A research by the toy maker identified that starting at age five, many girls begin to develop limiting self-beliefs and doubt their full potential – this is called the Dream Gap. Through its dolls, Barbie wants younger girls to continue believing in their dreams. On the other hand, Virgin Atlantic wants to increase women representation across the board and wants to highlight the various career choices available to women. The dolls have been designed just like real #VirginAtlantic uniforms, showing different ethnicity and body diversity. These dolls will be sold on board the Virgin Atlantic flights and also at their key retail partner stores. This joint initiative works for the objectives of both the brands and the idea is backed by a strong #purpose behind it. So kudos to both the brands for this powerful launch!