So, another tough 12 months for the marketing and advertising industry, which has made it all the more crucial for brand owners to show how they can make a difference rather than profit from doom. Some failed miserably, others thrived but these campaigns struck a chord and hit top marks on the Decision Marketing Adometer:
EE ‘Message to Teachers’: Bringing home the Bacon
As the UK was stuck in Lockdown 3.0, EE stepped up to support the nation with an ad campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi to raise awareness of the network’s ‘Lockdown Learning’ scheme, offering unlimited mobile data, BT WiFi vouchers and zero rating educational content for kids suffering from “digital poverty”.
In the ad, which urged teachers, parents and carers to apply, Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon, discussed “Just how crucial education is”, in honour of his mother, a teacher, whose photograph sits next to him.
He reminded viewers: “Millions of school children are being asked to learn from home, yet many have difficulties getting online. That’s why EE is offering unlimited data to kids that need it the most.”
Our verdict: “It is a national disgrace that the world’s sixth richest nation is home to so many people who can’t afford a computer, let alone a broadband connection. Of course, it’s easy to be cynical as big businesses launch ad campaigns to big up their own record in helping out during the pandemic. But at least companies like EE are doing something.”
#TakeTheVaccine: Why most of us are in it together
Set against the background of celebrity excess during lockdown, this campaign used well-known stars of TV, music and sport to encourage ethnic-minority communities to get vaccinated against coronavirus, organised by Citizen Khan star Adil Ray.
In the film, stars including Ray, Moeen Ali, Denise Lewis, Romesh Ranganathan, Meera Syal, David Olusoga and Beverley Knight address vaccine hesitancy among ethnic communities.
While in the previous week Elton John and Michael Caine had hammed their way through an old pals’ act, this spot was aimed at tackling the fact that white people were almost twice as likely to have had the jab.
Our take: “We don’t like to say we told you so, but, hey, we told you so. Only last week we called for more action to tackle the low take-up among ethnic communities. Right on time, here it is and let’s just hope it does the trick. After all, although many out of touch celebrities might not appreciate it, most of us are in this together.”
Durex The Uncomfortable Truth: More ‘oohs and ahhs’
The merry month of May saw the launch of the next instalment of Durex’s long-running “Let’s Lube” marketing campaign, devised by Havas London to destigmatise female sexual discomfort.
The Uncomfortable Truth took on unrealistic and misleading depictions of sex and the female sexual experience in the media, and challenged women to be honest with themselves – to admit when sex feels a bit “meh” and, rather than ignore or put up with it, to act on their natural need for a little lube to enjoy better sex.
At the heart of the campaign was a playfully knowing film, featuring everyday stories of female sexual discomfort…and plenty an exasperated look.
Here’s what we thought: “Of course, in these times, you can’t say the ad is targeting just women; it is targeting all “people with vaginas” apparently. But whoever it is aimed at, it is doing a fine job and hats off to Havas London for smoothing the way for greater comfort in the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen or wherever else you fancy it.”
Shelter Fight For Home campaign: If not now, when?
As lockdown eased, the plight of the homelessness was once more exposed in a study by Shelter, which revealed that 1 in 3 people living in Britain (34%) – some 17.5 million – had been impacted by the national housing emergency.
It aimed to show the truth about people and families up and down the country who don’t have somewhere safe to sleep, and who are moving from sofa to sofa, trapped in often dangerous temporary accommodation, often cutting back on food to pay their housing costs, or living in fear of being evicted.
Our take: “How successive Governments have allowed this situation to get so bad is nothing short of an outrage and anything that highlights the injustice of it all is to be applauded. What we really need is legislation to ensure everyone has the right to a roof over their head, free from the threat of eviction, abuse and worse. In the meantime, organisations like Shelter are doing sterling work and need all our support. What are you waiting for?”
Magnum The Kiss of Dante and Beatrice: Bellissimo
As the nation was gripped by the European Championship finals, our tour of continental ad campaigns landed in Italy where Magnum was celebrating the 700th anniversary of Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri – that’s Dante to you lot – falling in love with Beatrice Portinari.
Magnum also tapped into International Kissing Day by finally bringing the unrequited lovers together in a new artwork The Kiss of Dante and Beatrice. Interestingly, the Magnum branding was highly discreet; and there is not even a glimpse of an ice cream, not even at the final shot.
Our verdict: “The painting and film simply ooze class, in a way arguably only the Italians can, and, combined with the subtle use of branding, questo è magnifico, as they say in Rome…”
Chefs in School: Why everyone should give a sausage
In October, culinary stars and food campaigners, including Prue Leith and Tom Kerridge, backed a campaign to highlight the importance of quality school meals, as part of a UK-wide initiative by Chefs in Schools, a charity which works to transform school food and food education.
Centring on a film created by BBH and filmed in a London primary school, the initiative was fronted by children who want us all to “give a sausage” about what’s on their lunch plates, because “feeding us well at school feeds a better future”. It featured a series of kids laying out the facts about school meals. It starts with a boy saying “Nobody gives a sausage about what I eat at school” because “everyone thinks the whole school meals thing was fixed ages ago”.
After a number of scenes, the director says “cut”, and one kid stands up and asks: “Is it lunchtime yet? Hungry work, that.”
Our take: “What’s not to like? While many have got rich in the pandemic, and Branson and Bezos have been trying to outdo each other in space, too many kids have suffered, and are still going hungry. Can there be any issue more pressing than food poverty? We think not. The ads are great, too.”
Bumble ‘Fall in Love with Dating’: Beautiful messiness
As everyone recognised, dating in Covid has been tough going, so women-first dating app Bumble launched a campaign to challenge dating expectations through the eyes of a woman “owning” her dating experience as a place for self-discovery and exploration.
Created in collaboration with 72andSunny Amsterdam, “Fall in Love with Dating” aimed to inspire women to do the same and celebrated those who have taken control of their dating lives.
Ultimately, the ad was designed to embrace the good and the bad dates, the people you meet, and the process of discovering what you want along the way.
Our view: “At last a refreshing take on dating, and, to be fair, fitting of the Bumble brand. Talk to most women about their experience on mainstream sites and you are likely to hear grim tales of scammers, perverts and idiots. But what is equally refreshing is that it does not claim Bumble users will find instant ‘luurve’ and walk into the sunset hand in hand. It portrays a more realistic scenario in that most people have to kiss and, more even likely, sleep with a few frogs before they find their prince – or princess.
“And, if we weren’t all so loved up here at the Decision Marketing Nerve Centre, we’d likely give Bumble a crack, too.”