A hilarious Thai ad for lending app, understated yet powerful ad for Irish jewellery brand and more: creative ads of the week

April 4, 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 ads is a small tribute to such efforts. Here are a few creative ideas which caught my eye this past week:

Money Thunder: nobody wants to lend you money

In the financial services category, brands & agencies usually avoid humour as a route and even adopted it is likely to be light hearted in terms of tone of voice. But in Thailand they do things differently. Over the top humour is common even for serious objectives such as changing behaviour (as with getting alcoholics to kick the habit). Also, their brand of humour almost always gives the impression that the brand does not take itself very seriously. I feel such a stance makes the communication and the brand endearing to the viewer as it gives an impression of avoiding hard sell and entertaining the viewer into considering the brand.

Money Thunder is an app which gives personal loans. The simple proposition is juxtaposed with a powerful, universal insight: our acquaintances, friends or near & dear ones almost always hesitate to give personal loans and offer excuses when put in such a situation. The premise gets a hilarious Thai treatment.

Agency: Wolf BKK

Weir & Sons: more than just a piece of jewellery

The best of ads do not spell out the idea in its entirety – they leave a little unsaid which allows the viewer the connect the dots or ‘fill in the blanks’ as it were. Such an approach respects the viewer’s intelligence and involves them in the story. A set of ads for Irish jewellery brand Weir & Sons have that quality as they convey the importance we attach to select pieces of jewellery – be it a necklace, ring or a watch.

As someone who still holds on to my late dad’s watch, the last one touched a chord even more.

Amazon Alexa: sub-titles

In the last few years, Droga5 has consistently produced creative for Amazon Alexa which highlights the features by dramatising how the user is in control – almost directing the course of action of feature films or other content they are watching. It’s an enjoyable, fun premise and serves to highlight the various benefits – such as subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Agency: Droga5

OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G – A little more than you’d expect

Released in February, this spot for OnePlus takes the problem-solution route in way highlighting features such as faster batter charging and fast refresh rate helping the protagonist tackle his day.

L’Oreal: Stand Up against street harassment

Earlier this year, L’Oreal got celebrities to speak about what the phrase, ‘You’re worth it‘ means to them. Along side such a thematic campaign, the brand is working with Stand Up, a ‘training program designed to help prevent street harassment and build safe, inclusive spaces for all, powered by L’Oréal Paris in partnership with the NGO Right To Be.’ The initiative has actress Eva Longoria demonstrate methods & tricks to fight street harassment when see them.

I liked the initiative and the practical tips which work well in conjunction with lofty, feel-good stance of the brand.

CANAL+: doctor’s prescription

Jokes on the illegible nature of a doctor’s handwriting are common. It fall into place in the promotion for ‘This Is Going To Hurt’ a British series to be shown on CANAL+. It based on the autobiography of Adam Kay, a former British obstetrician, who wrote about his life in the NHS.