‘Actions speak louder than words’ — advertisement industry definitely proved it wrong. Most of the ad campaigns that went viral made their content speak for them, with little or no action at all. And their words (content) echoed loud enough to reach millions of people.
These ad campaigns made people start conversation about the brand, their creativity and uniqueness. They grabbed people’s attention, and forced them to laugh at their witty, humorous and sarcastic lines. But, what made them stand out in the crowd?
Out of the box ideas. The content. Simple, yet innovative. They did what nobody else was doing.
Zomato reinvented the lost art of billboard advertising
Bright red billboards with white bold font text caught my eyes while I was stuck in the traffic. It read “Mera pizza ghar aaya, O Ram ji”. To my surprise, I found myself humming this line for no reason at all. Probably it was my love for pizza or the rhythm of this song, that allowed this line cleverly penetrate in my subconscious mind.
While every other brand was busy casting actors, Zomato decided to cast their content. They played with the words by twisting famous bollywood songs to make the content sound delicious. Political stances, humorous one liners, and their self created pun mixed with right quantity of salt and spices made the audience feel hungry.
This outdoor advertising campaign delivered a simple message on all their banners ‘Order food online on Zomato’ in such a creative way that people couldn’t resist downloading Zomato’s mobile app. Zomato ensured that their message reaches the right people, and compels them to take the desired action.
The secret sauce: Print can still overpower digital if you come up with a unique design accompanied with unconventional idea.
Flipkart kids conquered the image of perfect fashion shopper
My eyes automatically stopped, and my fingers refrained from skipping the ad when I saw a bunch of kids imitating elders with a pinch of subtle humour. Little boys with artificial moustaches placed perfectly on their face, and girls with full makeup dressed up like a 27 year old giving best shopping advice.
The uniqueness and innocence of these Flipkart kids made people watch the complete advertisement. The kids successfully portrayed the different kinds of fashion shoppers based on occasions, needs, age, occupation, etc.
All the ads under this campaign ‘Best way to look your best’ ended with a message, “If it’s trendy, it’s on Flipkart”. These ads succeeded in gaining huge attention on social media platforms. Innovative way of casting the kids, and funny yet innocent script made these ads stand out from the crowd.
The secret sauce: No matter how unusual the idea sounds, actual outcomes speak more than just perception. Never refrain from trying something that has never been executed before.
Durex set a benchmark through perfect mix of decency, wit and humor
I was astonished at the creativity and humour Durex poured in their ads. It took me a while to understand few of their ads when I first saw them, and one can certainly say that these ads are not made for children.
These are the tongue-in-cheek advertisements which put across their point subtly yet sarcastically. Witty and creative enough to tickle its audience at the right places, these advertisements make them recall their message at the right time.
Best thing about these ads is that unlike its competitors, they don’t objectify women at all. Their creatives deliver the message right enough to fulfill varied needs of their audience.
The secret sauce: Imitating your competitors doesn’t always help. It depends upon you how creatively you describe your product.
AMFI advocated ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ through perfect daily Indian conversation
Did I just overhear an important conversation about financial investment? Yes, this is what I felt when I heard this ad for the first time on radio. Generic conversational tone and unfiltered background noise grabbed my attention.
‘A slice of daily Indian conversation served fresh to ignite the idea of investing in mutual funds’ – a perfect line to describe these ad campaigns. We have seen public indulging in important conversation at family gatherings and weddings, on trains, at pedestrian tea shops, etc; and this ad campaign made an attempt to include mutual funds as a part of these conversations.
The tone of voice was direct, honest and inclusive. The campaign garnered positive response from investors and mutual fund companies saw an overall addition of 32 lakh new investors in 1 year.
The secret sauce: When direction and acting seems real, audience believes your advertisement. Make your advertisement real, rather than making it beautiful.
Amazon proved that even celebs can’t replace Alexa
Alexa coughs and lost her voice. As a replacement, celebrities try to cover up for Alexa, but failed to do so….and the video goes on to make people laugh in amazement.
Explaining this 90 second ad won’t be justified. I’d say rather watch the video. What sets them apart? Firstly, the script. Secondly, they casted number of celebrities with different age range, demographics and varied situations.
It delivered a silent message, no matter what the situation is, nobody can be as efficient as Alexa.
The secret sauce: Humour, script or celebrities? Irrespective of the component that played well, it just succeeded in communicating the value of its product in an interesting way.
Before you plan your next advertising campaign, do answer these questions to yourself.
-
- Which advertising channel is most accessible to your target audience?
- Is your advertisement effective and innovative enough to make your audience stop to watch it?
- Is the advertisement delivering right message to your potential customers, and driving them to buy your product or service?
- At the end, everything revolves around ‘recall value of the campaign’. So, what is the anticipated recall value of your ad campaign?
I’m sure, by now, there must be many innovative ideas swimming in your mind. Pen them down, and brainstorm the ideas with your team. And do not forget to take the above questions into consideration before you jump into your ad creator and finalize your ad campaign. All the best!
Blogs that would add more to your business insights: