Holiday films for Disney, Coca-Cola and more: creative ads of the week
It’s the season for holiday films. Over the last week or so, ads from Disney and Coca-Cola were among the most talked about on social media, for various reasons. My weekly compilation of clutter-breaking creative ads includes these and more.
Disney: a boy and an octopus
One doesn’t look for logic in a Disney film. It’s more like magic that one expects. A new film for the holidays tells the unlikely story of a little boy who befriends an octopus. While there were some negative comments on LinkedIn, I found the ad to be riveting, charming and on-brand. In such film there are always those little moments which we tend to notice and appreciate on repeat viewing. While watching animation films (such as Up), we may be surprised at the ability of films which do not have real actors to evoke strong emotions in us. This ad may not make the viewer cry bucketfuls but certainly brings a smile.
There are some who believe that feel-good films are clichéd and see the need to be different. In my view, trying to be different for the sake of being so, may lead to story plots that may not sit well with the brand. During the festive season, people want to have positive experiences even more so. A feel-good story told well from a brand consumers love will only make the affinity grow stronger.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Coca-Cola: Holidays Are Coming
It is said that the first and the most important job of an ad is to get noticed. In today’s world, going viral and getting talked about is also considered a benchmark of success. A new ad, generated by AI, has polarised viewer reaction. Many have panned it for lacking in ‘real art’ and being lazy.
Three AI studios (Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Card) worked to create these ads, using the generative AI models Leonardo, Luma and Runway, with a new model, Kling, brought in near the end of production.
In my view, the traditional holiday film of Coca Cola has been about visual spectacle and mood rather than emotions. Such films do not usually have a story and make you all teary eyed – they are meant to reinforce the iconic Coca-Cola imagery of the van, brand colours and white Christmas. To the 15-second film does a competent job of it. I feel the outrage is directed more towards the practice of choosing AI over human-created art. In any case, the halo around the brand is so bright that such backlash cannot have a long term negative impact.
Agency: Pereira O’Dell
Swiggy: IPO announcer
The digital economy has created or given a fillip to many new industries (many of them app-bases) in India: food delivery being one of them. Swiggy, among the two popular food delivery services in India went public recently. The ring of the bell is associated with stock trading. Even if end consumers don’t immediately get the connect, it’s a smart way to cue the millions of deliveries made by the brand through the simple act of ringing a door bell. In a way, it reminded me of the 2006 ‘Hello’ commercial (though not as minimal) from Apple to signal the iPhone launch.
Agency: in-house
Dr. Agarwal’s: poor eyesight
‘Poor eyesight can lead to embarrassing problems‘ is a proposition relevant to all vision care brands or health services in the category. With such a plank, the creative idea becomes critical. ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ is an idea which has been interpreted in myriad ways. A new ad from Dr. Agarwal’s may not have that kind of iconic line, but has a hilarious plot which many in India can relate to.
Agency: Moonshot
Kushal’s: for every celebration
Getting into the consideration set (the short list of brands one would consider buying) is a huge accomplishment for any brand, especially in categories where genuine product differentiation is hard to come by and the brand is not a dominant or iconic one. A new ad for Kushals fashion jewellery clearly does that job using the relatable ‘how did you hear about us?‘ survey question we are all familiar with while shopping or eating out. The answer to that becomes a segue into the various usage occasions of the brand.
Agency: Talented
Flipkart Minutes: print innovation
Old-timers (such as yours truly) often lament about the death of craft in print advertising from India. What we mean is the lack of any attempt to engage the audience with an idea, an interesting headline & copywriting or art direction. Innovative use of space or the medium is also something we see rarely. In that context a print ad from Flipkart is cleverly encourages user interaction to drive the point of the quick commerce service. [Click on the image to see the ad – actually a 4-page jacket around the main newspaper, in action].
Agency: Leo Burnett
As someone quipped on LinkedIn: ‘Always gets me how modern brands spend money on Print Media, it turns out bad, no one gives a damn, so they spend more money on Digital Media trying to tell the world that they spent money on Print Media.
Cash App: if it’s weird for real
Consumer education in digital safety as a preventive measure against cyber crime is a need across the world. A new set of ads from Cash App highlight the notification alerts of the app about suspicious transactions by humorously re-creating real-life situations. I like the word play on the summarising tagline to drive home the point.
Agency: Mischief @ No Fixed Address
BGMI: Seriously Fun
I am no fan of gaming, had never heard ofTPP or FPP but LOL’d watching this ad for Battlegrounds Mobile India. The idea is to simply say Indians take their ‘fun’ very seriously and the dialogues and situations bring out the laughs. Loved it.
Agency: Enormous
Zivame: Museum of boobs
Lingerie advertising or imagery pertaining to the category (we seem them as shop signs or standees outside garment shops) is limited to women models staring into camera. The shopping experience of inner wear can be awkard for women in India as the shop attendant is almost always a male. The launch of stand alone, specialist stores and women shopping assistants would be seen as welcome changes by the consumers.
Another aspect, hitherto not highlighted is that ‘one size fits all’ does not work in the category. Also quite like avoiding the mention of ‘periods’ in sanitary pad advertising, English ads in the category (usually for upscale brands) have largely played it safe, relying on generic claims of comfort or ‘freedom’ to suit your lifestyle. A new ad from Zivame creates awareness about different body shapes by talking about the issue directly. While the ad does not say how Zivame provides an answer, over at Instagram they talk about ‘With 52 unique frames, 13 cup shapes, and a wide range of sizes for every body, we’ve got something for every shape‘. Pretty bold work for the category in India.
Britannia Pure Magic: choco ‘stars’
Sometimes, advertising has to ‘create’ a story literally out of nothing. The Pure Magic variant from Britannia has a star shaped mould in it. My guess – that might have led to the creative idea of ‘how will people of various star signs eat it?
It took me back to days of Linda Goodman’s book and checking if the traits mentioned there matched one’s sun sign. In this case, it makes for 12 interesting films which will intrigue users belonging to sun signs to actually look for their film. Nice.
Agency: The Womb
Accel: Celebrating Swiggy
It’s the first time I have come across a venture capital brand put out a celebration film of a brand in their portfolio. Swiggy’s IPO had Accel put out a film which showcases the many ways Swiggy has brought change – both for the users and the delivery agents.
Googlies on Google: Rahul Dravid
I am late on this campaign releases a few weeks ago. While Google is still the default option for web search, AI-driven tools have a novelty factor and are being used increasingly. Apparently, search queries on Google are 3-4 words compared to longer sentences on services like ChatGPT. An India specific campaign for Google (‘google being a cricketing term to denote something unexpected or baffling) poses interesting questions, challenging a ‘know all’. The interesting part: the answer is not revealed in the film but on actual web search.
Agency: Ogilvy
La-Z-Boy: Ban reclining
In my mind, the brand La-Z-Boy (I wasn’t aware of of the spelling) was generic for a recliner. They have launched a fun initiative to ‘ban reclining‘ in flights – as a roundabout way to cue that for relaxing at home, the La-Z-Boy is a default option.
Agency: Colle McVoy
JD Sport: family portrait
I didn’t understand the praise for this ad when I first saw it. Then this article set things in context. Now I understand the attempt behind defining a ‘family’ and why the spot is so powerful.
Agency: Uncommon
The Entertainer: must have been love
Roxette’s ‘It must have been love’ is seen as an anthem of sorts for the broken hearted, made famous by the movie Pretty Woman. The lyrics of the song form a perfect backdrop – delivered in deadpan style for a toy retailer in UK. Hilariously apt for the universally true observation that kids outgrow their toys very soon.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.