Creative Works: 10 of the best ads of the week from Ikea to Bumble
At The Drum, we believe great work deserves recognition and that talented creatives should get their share of reverence for the hard work they put in. So each week we will update our hall of fame, celebrating the 10 best ads from our Creative Works section. Welcome, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!
Ikea’s ‘Trapped in the 90s’ campaign by McCann Spain
This week, we traveled back in time with Ikea, who blurred the line between reality, fiction and advertising. The series was created by McCann Spain in celebration of Ikea’s 25th anniversary in the country. During the show, the group of young contestants lived together 24/7 and were left to their own devices in a house that could be straight out of your favorite throwback sitcom.
Meanwhile, back in the present day Bumble, the women-first networking app, released its brand campaign for Southeast Asia, ‘Make the First Move’. The campaign seeks to empower women to take charge of their dating lives.
Thinking ahead to the future, the new campaign ‘This is what sustainability looks like’, from British Gas and Nucleus, aims to cut through the clichés and fodder of expected ‘green’ advertising by championing the mundane realities of living more sustainably.
DDB FTW: Creative Director
In a week of unusual creative director hires, DDB FTW has hired Rick and Morty ex-agency character Jerry Smith as its creative director, entering Morty’s 2D father into the fourth dimension.
The news was broken by DDB FTW on its LinkedIn page. “To produce unexpected work, we need unexpected talent,” it stated. “Let us introduce our new creative director Jerry Smith who joined our global team today.”
Vote for the work here.
Sega: Humankind by BETC
The US is pretty proud of its moon landing in 1969. So what better way to introduce a video game where cultures battle it out to be the first to make history than reimagining Neil Armstrong’s ‘one small step’ moment – by adding many more astronauts into the mix.
This is the premise behind the trailer for Humankind, a strategy video game developed by the French studio Amplitude, where the player can combine cultures through six different eras to become the most famous empire in history.
Vote for the work here.
Ikea: Trapped in the 90s by McCann Spain
Will a generation that doesn’t know life without Ikea survive in a house from the past? Six reality show contestants found out in a Big Brother-style show dubbed ‘Trapped in the 90s’.
Blurring the line between reality, fiction and advertising, the series was created by McCann Spain in celebration of Ikea’s 25th anniversary in the country. During the show, the group of young contestants lived together 24/7 and were left to their own devices in a house that could be straight out of your favorite throwback sitcom.
Vote for the work here.
LIVE: Vax the Nation
A latecomer to Covid devastation, Australia is presently battling the wrath of the Delta variant. As the country fights to overcome the spread, vaccine hesitancy is concerning medical experts.
An industry hit hardest by the pandemic, the Australian music scene was dealt another blow on September 4 when the chief exec of Live Performance Australia warned that live events will not return until 85% capacity was permitted by state governments.
The campaign was created by Live Industry Venues and Entertainment (LIVE) alliance. Recently established, it was devised to represent the music industry after the pandemic left it in dire straits, with 79,000 lost jobs in the live performance industry by the end of 2020 and $23.6bn of economic output lost. The pro-vaccination push will roll out across TV ads and social media.
Vote for the work here.
Bumble: Make the First Move by MullenLowe
Bumble, the women-first networking app, has released its brand campaign for Southeast Asia, ‘Make the First Move’. The campaign seeks to empower women to take charge of their dating lives.
The launch film showcases Bumble’s mission to challenge traditional gender norms by encouraging women to make the first move, and highlights how taking charge can be exciting, empowering and fun. The campaign production was women-led, shot with a crew with over 70% female representation.
The campaign comes at a key time for the Singapore market, as vaccination rates hit 80% and IRL activities are back on the horizon. In Singapore, the majority of the Bumble community are happy to return to dating IRL, either with regular dates (45%) or with social distancing in place (45%). Just 10% are looking to only date virtually right now.
Vote for the work here.
LetsGetChecked: Care Can Be This Good by VCCP
In the US, only 15% of Americans feel confident in the US medical system, while two in three believe in doing their own research in addition to discussing their health with their healthcare provider.
This is where the virtual care company, LetsGetChecked, comes into the mix. Available nationwide, it enables people to test themselves for a wide range of health conditions, including sexual health, cholesterol and diabetes, from home.
To raise awareness about its easy medical service, LetsGetChecked has enlisted the help of VCCP, which created Care Can Be This Good – a national ad campaign that centers on the benefits of telehealth.
Vote for the work here.
Cadbury: For Fingers Big and Small by VCCP
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fingers is back with a new creative campaign ‘For Fingers Big and Small’.
Created by its global agency of record, VCCP London, ‘For Fingers Big and Small’ is an integrated brand campaign set to remind families of the multi-generational love for the fun, sharable chocolate biscuits.
The campaign launches with a hero film, directed by Neil Gorringe, that captures a day in the life of a busy multi-generational family. The film follows fingers tying shoelaces, tapping out emails, playing the piano and more, before the family comes together over their love of Cadbury Dairy Milk Fingers at the end of the day. The charming creative draws to a close with a classic moment of Cadbury generosity, with a little boy sharing half of his Finger with his mum.
Vote for the work here.
British Gas: This Is What Sustainability Looks Like by The&Partnership
A multimedia advertising campaign from energy and home services provider British Gas aims to uncomplicate the jargon-filled world of sustainability. Public confusion is rife, with British Gas’s own research revealing that 38% of Brits were unsure how to begin their carbon neutral journey, and that over half weren’t sure what the terms ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’ meant.
The new campaign ‘This is what sustainability looks like’, from British Gas and nucleus, cuts through the clichés and fodder of expected ‘green’ advertising by championing the mundane realities of living more sustainably. The three 30-second films capture the simple sustainable actions we make every day, from turning down the heating from your phone and plugging in your electric car at home, to flicking the kettle on for a cuppa (on a British Gas zero carbon tariff, of course); all set against the epic soundtrack of DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s Turn Down for What.
Vote for the work here.
The Royal Navy: Made in the Royal Navy by Engine Creative
The Royal Navy has deployed its latest recruitment campaign to explore the complexities of what it means to be British in the 21st century through the eyes of one fresh-faced recruit.
Raj’s Story recounts the collision of worlds represented by one boy’s unlikely journey from the streets of West London to the high seas, combating racial prejudice every step of the way.
Powered by Engine Creative, the TV recruitment campaign personalizes the armed forces by focusing on the background of Lt Raj, a serving officer in the Royal Navy’s submarine service. Recreating his childhood and the difficulties of reconciling his Sikh religion with a Western lifestyle, compounded by the disapproval of his family, the piece cuts to the present day with Raj proudly tying his turban before presenting for duty.
Vote for the work here.
Mercedes: Everything But Quiet by Rankin
Mercedes-AMG has joined forces with Will.i.am to celebrate a new moment in sports car history: the brand’s first-ever hybrid car.
Shot by the photographer Rankin, the ad appears like a music video featuring Will.i.am’s bespoke new track written for the campaign.
Created by creative director Oliver Nowlan, with director and photographer Rankin at the helm, this campaign is devised to raise awareness about the power, design and style with which Mercedes-AMG is reinventing hybrid technology.
Vote for the work here.
That’s it for this week’s round-up of the 10 best ads from The Drum’s Creative Works. Remember to vote for your favorite ad.