Welcome to our 3rd Ads We Loved, a monthly round-up of… well, I’m not telling. You’re gonna have to figure this one out yourself.
So, while some of you are still thinking, others can move ahead with the program.
Past Ads We Loved Articles:
Ads We Loved: See How the Biggest Brands Stay Relevant and Helpful
Ads We Loved: The Travis Meal, TikTok, and the Unfinished Billboard
And this month, with the US elections coming up, are already underway. At the same time, advertisers understand consumers are a bit tired of, and need a little break from, overly serious and emotional (mostly covid19 related) messaging. And so, a few took a more subtle way to use the marketing efforts ALSO to say something while promoting their products and brands.
While others said “screw it” and brought a vocal political message to their TV spot. Because there’s a time to be sensitive with your consumers’ fatigue of certain motifs, and a month before elections, isn’t it.
We’ll go from the subtle to the forthright.
1. Gemi: Time for a Change
Not a huge brand name, and covered with what seems like a completely a-political personal background story, entirely irrelevant for this specific moment in time. But putting this very clear messenger out there, in this timing? Freudian, to say the least.
2. Banana Republic: Work for a Better Republic
This ad, showing people handing clothes to one another while emphasizing the company’s donations to people in need, is clearly hammering on the need/expectation/ability for/from/of brands to be super helpful in this reality. But the tagline, in this ad that launched less than a month before the official elections day, is strongly capping off an unmistakable message for some change.
3. Oakley + NFL: We Shape the Future
Alright, this comes with zero surprise factor. Right? But still, while one might argue that the use of the word “shape” perhaps alludes to the recognizable shape of the sunglasses band, it’s gonna take a lot of mental work to block what is clearly the subtext of such a call.
4. Jordan: REAL TALK
If BR and M. Gemi’s messages were hidden, and Oakley’s was maybe playing a double-meaning game, Jordan brand is not playing any games. The loud VOTE call, with a rare appearance from his Airness himself, and powerful testimonials from a few of the brand’s most important partners, leaves no room for questions about what this spot is all about.
5. Modelo: ‘Worth Voting For’
Still on voting, but from the Mexican beer brand – that is very much associated with the Latinx communities in the States. It really doesn’t get any straightforward than this.
6. Walgreens: The Walk of Life: Medicare
Or is it? While voting is (or, at least, should be) a bipartisan matter – medicare is far from it. And still, Walgreen is not afraid to out its name right next to it.
7. Vaseline: Equitable Care for Skin of Color
But no one was braver than the Unilever-owned American skincare brand. Anything we’ll say here will only take away from such a powerful, just, moving, and bold 30 seconds ad.
And, we just had to finish with something a little different. So, see this.
8. Subaru: Easy Commute
We’ll just ask what most of you are anyway thinking: When gazillions of people are working from home, and most schools in the English speaking world are still closed, who talks about “commute” and show parents picking up kids from school? Hey, peeps at Carmichael Lynch, we’ll have what you’re having!