The ads I come across on a daily basis are largely on social media. Personally, I find that social media platforms are better for always-on content and ads. Although the ads and content may not be of the best quality, frequent and constant exposure to your brand is important in today’s crowded advertising world.
Having said that, I absolutely enjoy watching ads with exceptional and outstanding storytelling that manifests the brand’s personality and beliefs rather than the product itself.
Two Ads I Like
Amazon Alexa – Not Everything Makes The Cut
I love watching Superbowl ads because this is when and where all the entertaining and big-budget ads are aired in one large burst. For this year’s Superbowl, I especially enjoyed the Amazon Alexa ad “Not everything makes the cut”.
Amazon is definitely banking on Alexa’s “personality” to create attention, with the ad focusing on and making fun of the thoughts that come up when deciding what to integrate Alexa into – you can’t help but chuckle just a bit.
https://youtu.be/8y-1h_C8ad8
The teasers that Amazon posted on its social channels in the days prior to the Superbowl, starring Harrison Ford and Forest Whitaker among others, leaves you curious and intrigued for more. They were short, attention-grabbing and suspenseful at the same time.
“Unsuay” by Prudential
Insurance companies have upped their game in recent years, and one of my favorites is the “Unsuay” campaign launched by Prudential in 2018. Not only was the ad hyperlocal, but it also managed to capture the attention and curiosity as to what “Unsuay” is about.
More so, I appreciated how Prudential managed to create awareness about Cancer protection which is an important topic, as well as how they engaged millennials by using a fun and trendy buzzword – something that is increasingly used by social entrepreneurs today.
One I don’t like
Windsor Brokers logo space launch “Reaching New Heights”
As part of Windsor Brokers marketing effort for its rebranding, they did a real ‘launch’ by sending a copy of its newly designed logo into space. To me, this is a great example of a good idea with questionable execution.
The idea of “reaching new heights” with a two-minute long video of its logo slowly going up into the atmosphere doesn’t really tell its audience what the brand is about; an expensive stunt, which didn’t really get traction or was able to communicate who and what Windsor Brokers stands for.
