Dollar Shave Club, Specsavers and more: creative ads of the week

Advertising competes for our attention. We tend to ignore it as we have more important issues occupying our minds. Add to it the general clutter of media and we have to appreciate creative ads which get noticed and stay memorable. My weekly compilation of clutter breaking creative ads is a small tribute to such efforts. Here are a few creative ideas which caught my eye this past week:

FG Dog Health Cover: bad decisions

In general, insurance (no pun intended) category can safely be bracketed under ‘boring advertising’. And then we have exceptions such as this from Future Generali which has both an interesting product offering and a creative idea. Pet owners are known use ‘good dog!’ as a reward or appreciation of good behaviour. It is linked cleverly with the proposition ‘good dogs make bad decisions’ and then tied to the product offering of a health insurance for dogs.

Agency: Mullen Lowe

Hindustan Unilever: Bin Boy

In my view, ‘story telling’ is an over-used phrase when it comes to describing well-made or effective ads. I don’t think all brands have a good story to tell either. It takes a fresh perspective to find an angle about an issue and say it in the form of a story. ‘The boy who sat inside a dust bin’ is one such refreshing perspective to bring alive the importance of waste segregation.

Agency: Ogilvy

Dollar Shave Club: mafia

A relevant dramatisation of the brand benefit is often a result of a series of ‘so what?’ questions. A smooth shave and a resultant ‘smooth cheeks’ leads to an amusing situation in the context of the mafia world (as portrayed by Hollywood films).




Specsavers: out of order

‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ is an idea ‘with legs’ as they say in advertising – an idea with lots of interesting interpretations and possibilities. The downside of not having checked one’s eye sight (and opting for Specsavers as implied) leads to hilarious or at least amusing situations – here’s one such.

Agency: The Agency

Renault: don’t drive

It’s interesting that an automobile brand should urge owners to not use it. The penny drops when the argument is complete: ‘even if it’s a hybrid, it’s good not to use it all the time’. Cycling and walking are encouraged as ‘better’ forms of transportation even there’s a non-petrol guzzler available. Nice.

Agency: Publicis Conseil (click on the image to watch the film).

Citroen: Elektro Happy

I thought maybe the idea of ‘when driving an electric car everything appears rosy’ could have been pushed a little bit further. Also the reason-why for the equanimity is not explained with a strong product-link and remains a claim. Nevertheless, a fun film.

Agency: BETC, Paris

Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.

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