Father Christmas & Mother Earth, Chevrolet and more: creative ads of the week

December 31, 2022 0 Comments

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 including Posten’s Father Christmas & Mother Earth, Chevrolet and more is a small tribute to such efforts.

Posten: Father Christmas & Mother Earth

As I said in the past, personification of an object or even a concept (as with allergy in an ad for Flonase nasal spray) is a creative route which can be memorable. A new spot for Norway’s Posten portrays Mother Earth as a character who is agitated about the environmental impact of the holiday season. It is anchored on PWC Norway’s Climate Index, only 10 among the 100 largest Norwegian companies, have cut emissions in accordance with the targets set in the Paris Agreement.

Agency: Pol

Toyota: change is in motion

The idea of ‘racing’ vintage car models of Toyota with futuristic ones achieves the twin objectives of showing heritage and future plans. Not exactly a story-based ad with a final twist but enjoyable nevertheless.

Agency: Ogilvy, Singapore

Vivo: care with joy

After sales service is an important consideration for several categories in India – be it automobiles or mobile phones. A new film for Vivo portrays the extent to which the service centre personnel go to fulfil a promise.

Agency: FCB

Paramount: Mr. Garvey’s Mountain Survival Skills

I have loved the concept of ‘a mountain of entertainment’ for Paramount as it is closely linked to the brand asset – the name & logo. The opening titles of a movie with the Paramount logo is etched in our memories. A new film to showcase the diverse entertainment available on the OTT platfrom re-creates the comedy sequence in the comedy series, Key & Peele where Keegan-Michael Key as the substitute teacher, Mr Garvey gets all agitated when he is corrected for mis-pronouncing the names of students.

Agency: Droga5

Central: very very midnight sale

Thai advertising does it again. Central’s midnight sale has been promoted in the past too as so irresistible that best of friends try to outsmart each other. A new ad plays on a common behaviour – pretending to not succumb to the temptations of a sale. Loved it.

Agency: Wolf BKK

Women’s Aid: he’s coming home

A chilling film dramatises the likely increase in domestic violence during the football world cup. The reason? It’s happening during winter in the UK – which means most fans will stay at home to watch the matches. ‘It’s coming home’ is a popular reference to the chance of England winning the cup. And has been given a clever twist to highlight the problem.

Agency: House 337

Chevrolet: Mrs. Hayes

A 5-minute tear jerker for Christmas is likely to put people off but this film for Chevrolet holds our attention and evokes a positive feeling about our neighbourhood communities and the brand’s heritage.

Agency: Commonwealth-McCann

MassMutual Life Insurance: Awkward Silence Night

A clever twist to the ‘Silent Night’ song which plays in the background, highlights the need for financial conversations during the holiday season.

Agency: Grey

Nilens Jord: look beyond beauty

The central point of this film and the situations are likely to strike a chord with both daughters and their parents. Very often, we tend to draw attention to a girl’s appearance right from childhood. Despite their achievements in various fields, we tend to focus on the beauty. Nilens Jord urges us all to ‘look beyond beauty’.

I like the clever media execution in the form of outdoor kiosks which bring the idea alive.