Best ads of the week: UPI, StreetEasy and more
Every week I attempt to share a curated list of creative ads. This week, the best ads in my book include new work for UPI in India, StreetEasy in the US and Aruba Tourism in South America, among others.
UPI: offer credit on UPI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an ‘instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones‘. In India, both consumers and merchants have adopted this payment mechanism in large numbers. A new campaign urges merchants to offer credit card payment option through the UPI interface in order to attract more customers. What I liked about it is that it is rooted in an insight anchored on human behaviour unique to India’s business community.
Almost all businesses follow some sort of custom or ritual to ward off the evil eye. Practice of vaastu, numerology and many such are common. The campaign presents offering credit on UPI as an option to increase business without mocking people’s belief systems. ‘While old beliefs may guide you, smart financial tools ensure success’ is the description in the YouTube video. A catchy jingle and a feeling of ‘yes, I have been in that situation‘ drives home the point in an entertaining way.
Agency: Enormous
Urban Company: AC service
It’s summer time in India and the season for problem-solution format ads selling air-conditioners. A new ad for utility services company Urban Company promotes its AC servicing in the same format but the interesting use of emoji face as the protagonist holds interest and creates a visual hook.
Agency: Manja
Aruba: time for love
Screen addiction is an irrational habit like smoking. We know it’s bad but are unable to kick the habit. The reference to mobile phone addiction and offering a holiday in Aruba, as a break works even better when linked to disconnect that exists between many couples nowadays. The visual idea of a before-after and the time lapse is smart and brings a smile.
Agency: Mullen Lowe
Swiggy Bolt: 10-minute food delivery
Food delivery in 10-minutes? How is that possible? The question is natural among many consumers when the concept was introduced through Swiggy Bolt. A new ad brings that doubt alive through a funny and exaggerated depiction followed by an explanation of how its actually done.
Persil: every stain tells a story
In sports, it’s not an equal platform for men & women on many parameters. When an athlete continues to play on despite a bleeding ankle, their blood-stained sock becomes a badge of honour. Yet when it is period blood, it is met with shame and embarrassment. A research from Unilever also revealed that:
6 out of 10 girls to fear playing sport due to period leaks
A new ad featuring football stars from Arsenal extend the ‘Dirt Is Good’ theme, aiming to break the stigma around periods in sports.
Agency: MullenLowe, London
Lynx: lower body spray
At first, I was amused to see the product variant – lower body spray. And even more amused to see the risqué, short format ads which dramatise the attractive smell premise of Lynx.
Agency: Mullen Lowe
StreetEasy: Never Become a Former New Yorker
As someone brought up in an urban setting, I would get uneasy and bored if I had to stay in small towns or rural settings for long. Of course there are times when the latter seems like a far better option than the hurly burly of congested city life. A new campaign from StreetEasy – a real estate marketplace speaks to New Yorkers specifically with a similar premise.
The latest campaign from Zillow’s NYC brand StreetEasy®, “Never Become a Former New Yorker,” focuses on buyers contemplating a move out of the city and cautions them of the fate that could lie ahead.
I guess the messaging would hit home harder for New Yorkers but even otherwise, the humour and the central message strikes a chord among all.
Agency: Mother
Tesco Club Card: 30 years of rewards
We’ve all been there: a super-market store offering a loyalty program dangling savings as the carrot. A new ad for Tesco Clubcard is anchored on this behaviour and does a wonderful job of selling the card and conveying the completion of 30 years of the program. The protagonist puts off signing up for the program for 30 years all the while watching neighbours enjoy the benefits.
Agency: BBH
AXE: the power of sweetness
It is said that advertising is suspension of disbelief for a short period of time. We obviously don’t believe the exaggerated stories and dramatisations of the product benefit. Such attempts are in fact endearing when they make us drop our guards to being sold something, especially if they make us laugh. That’s exactly what this set of ads for Axe (which is Lynx in some markets) achieve in their hilariously silly premise.
Agency: MullenLowe
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.