May 2021 - the month when the pubs reopened, Extra predicted a significant increase in PDA’s and a cat food brand attempted to save the Coral Reef - it really has been a whirlwind month for marketing. Read through our round up of May’s best marketing and advertising campaigns for more.
1. Sheba’s Coral Reef
This month, cat food brand Sheba revealed their plans to restore thousands of square metres of the Coral Reef by 2029. Yes, you read that right - a company that specialises in feeding felines has launched the world’s largest coral reef restoration program! The company has started growing innovative reef starts in the shape of the word ‘hope’ under the sea. We all have a duty to improve the environment and Sheba’s commitment to conservation and sustainably sourced fish is one of the strongest marketing campaigns we’ve seen this month.
2.Anger Invoking Adverts
When we think of an advert for a charity, we think shocking and upsetting images set to melancholy strings, but creative agency ‘Adam & Eve DDB’ are changing the game. Their new advert, ‘Hey Girls’, was created to combat period poverty and puts psychology at the heart of its conception. The advert uses a psychological strategy to evoke anger that motivates positive action. We loved this revolutionary advert and we can’t wait to see more charities use a more mobilising strategy in their marketing campaigns.
3.Post Lockdown Predictions
Extra won this month’s funniest advert with their energetic and exaggerated take on the long-awaited 21st June. The advert depicts men with overgrown beards and women trapped under empty pizza boxes that are soon replaced with passionate public displays of affection only possible because of the minty fresh breath that Extra provides. This advert had us all giggling and is weirdly relatable - although we rather hope we don’t need to step over snogging couples in the middle of pigeon park when restrictions are finally lifted!
4.International Billboard Campaigns
A billboard campaign which draws attention to ovarian cancer was plastered across the world this month. On World Ovarian Cancer Day, 8th May, Times Square, Piccadilly Circus and other international locations flashed this urgent tribute to women with a cancer not generally spoken about. The advert was led by women with ovarian cancer and captioned 'An Ad You Can’t Miss, For a Cancer You Do' and raises awareness for the women who have to go to such extreme lengths to be heard.
5.A pint of Guinness or a compost bin?
With pubs opening up their doors this month, so many adverts have depicted that first pint with friends. Our favourite, however, has to be Guinness. The advert flashes through shots of objects that look vaguely similar to pints of Guinness, such as a white cat perched on top of a black compost bin, before finishing on that all too familiar image of a group of friends having a laugh over a drink and a packet of crisps. We loved this ad because it created the perfect blend of emotional and uplifting with its Elvis Presley cover and creative ways of reproducing Guinness pints.
6.Don’t write that DM. Carpe the Diem!
As we move away from Zoom and back into meeting rooms, Bolt have created a set of amusing, witty billboards encouraging people to get out and about. Our personal favourites are ‘Less URL. More IRL.’ And ‘Don’t write that DM. Carpe that diem’. Some of these made us chuckle and share with friends, which is exactly the sort of marketing campaign that works for the social media generation!
7.Cure the Care System
If you were looking for something to really pull on your heart strings this month, the Alzheimer’s Society’s plea for reform had us blubbing. The advert shows a wife struggling to care for her husband who is slowly deteriorating. Throughout the advert, the sound of her phone calls to the care system echo as she desperately pleads for help. The end of the advert asks you to ‘sign the petition to reform social care’ announcing that ‘without support, dementia claims more than one life’. We are sure this emotive piece will encourage thousands to sign the petition.
8.TikTok targeted ads
If you’re an avid user of TikTok, you will have heard of ‘the algorithm’ that decides which videos appear on your For You page (FYP). Costa are the first company to personalise their targeted ads using the algorithm. The coffee shop has created 14 videos that feature a range of different characters - their personalities have been specially created to meet the algorithm’s choice so your costa ad will match what you prefer to watch. We are so excited about how marketing is developing - the use of the algorithm means targeted ads can be taken to a brand new level!
Make sure you come back in June to find out our latest favourites from the world of marketing! You won’t want to miss it!
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