Two Ads I Like and One I Don’t – Sophia East

For this edition of our ongoing series that asks creatives across the industry to pick two ads they like and one they are not so crazy about, we welcome Sophia East, Senior Copywriter at customer experience agency, MercerBell in Sydney, Australia.


Two Ads I Like

Ruavieja – We Have to See More of Each Other

I love it when a creative idea stems out of solid strategy and uses data meaningfully. One ‘ad’ that ticks all the boxes is for an obscure Spanish liquor called Ruavieja’s. Most people enjoy liquor of this kind over lunch, together. But many restaurants offer it to patrons unbranded. So, how could Ruavieja get people to order their liquor by name, and enjoy it at home too?

I love it when a creative idea stems out of solid strategy and uses data meaningfully.    


 

In a world of ever-growing social media and time spent on phones, Leo Burnett In Madrid decided the brand should encourage people to spend more time together (over a glass or three of Ruavieja, of course). They realized that by using a simple calculation and data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, it was possible to find out how much time we have left to spend with our loved ones. They used this data to urge people to spend more time together.

The centerpiece of the campaign was a four-minute online film where friends and family were asked about their relationship, how often they saw each other and their ages. They were then told how much time they will spend together before (statistically) one of them will die. To support this, a website was created where users could enter their data and find out their own results.

The campaign obviously struck a chord with people, with the online film getting over 11 million views, over 500,000 people taking the online quiz and international press picking up the story. It just goes to show how harnessing the power of data and turning it into something emotional can lead to amazing results.


 

Maxi’s Restaurant – The World is Better When we Come Together

I love, love, love a good story. And it’s made even better with dark humor thrown in the mix. So, the second ad I choose is from Maxi’s Restaurant. In a category that usually just shows off beautiful food, they found a way of standing out by blending the ancient craft of storytelling with a little wickedness.

And One I Don’t Like

Woolworth’s – Fresh in our Memories

What I don’t like is when brands try to jump on a cause that they probably shouldn’t. The most memorable example of this kind of brand fail for me was supermarket giant Woolworth’s ‘tribute’ to war veterans.

The social media campaign, meant to coincide with the centenary anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, included an image of an ANZAC soldier accompanied with the line ‘Fresh in our memories’. A totally crass and bad-tasting nod to their slogan, ‘The fresh food people.’ Woolworths even invited customers to use their web generator to create their own profile picture tribute to an ANZAC veteran. After a huge social media backlash, the company were forced to take down their campaign.

And to make matters worse, Woolworths didn’t have the corporate use of the word ‘Anzac’ approved by the Australian government, making what they did illegal as well as inappropriate.

Sophia East

Sophia East

Sophia is Senior Copywriter at MercerBell in Australia.

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