Best Ads of the Week: Rite Aid’s worker appreciation & Pinterest’s performance campaign

This week, Cadbury brought back its annual World Wide Hide, Courageous Conversations exposed the perils of censorship and Charlotte Wells directed a Quaker commercial.

B&Q: You Can Do It by Uncommon

DIY retailer B&Q released its latest ad campaign created by London ad agency Uncommon that hopes to encourage people to tackle various tasks they might have been putting off due to a lack of confidence.

The spot is at the center of a partnership with ITV brokered by Dentsu Creative Entertainment, which launched during the final series of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away show. According to the brand, 80% of homeowners want to tackle DIY themselves, but sadly, only 36% of them feel like they have the capabilities to do it.

Courageous Conversations: America Erased by Wieden+Kennedy

Courageous Conversations’ newest campaign, titled ‘America Erased,’ presents the educational and democratic risks associated with free speech suppression in classrooms. The film opens in an elementary school, in which students appear puzzled by a threadbare curriculum. A narrator highlights the paradox of American values as an American flag fades to white. The short was created in partnership with W+K.

Quaker: You’ve Got This by Uncommon

Acclaimed director Charlotte Wells has made her advertising debut with a beautifully shot spot for oat company Quakers.

In the ad, viewers see the ever-evolving relationship between a father and son, shown through the moments they share eating a bowl of porridge at breakfast time. As the years pass, the story relays how their dynamics change, from the son’s angsty teenage years to growing up and becoming a father himself. In the end, we see the breakfast tradition continuing and being passed down to the son’s child.

Cadbury: World Wide Hide by VCCP London

Cadbury is back once again with its annual Worldwide Hide, which enables people to hide a chocolate egg for loved ones to find. Created by its global agency of record, VCCP London, the new campaign highlights the meaningful shared memories between hiders and seekers by sharing real-life clues left by past participants.

Building on the success of the previous years, Cadbury is also launching an outdoor campaign with 12 hero posters that integrate real clues from the 300,000 past participants of the Worldwide Hide for the first time.

JBL: JBL Land by Huemen Design, GoSpooky

JBL, a 78-year-old consumer electronics company owned by Harman International, has unveiled its latest venture, ’JBL Land,’ a virtual realm on Roblox, to offer users a virtual space to express themselves through sound and creativity.

The brand describes JBL Land as a fusion of music, gaming and personalized avatars to help users develop their unique ’Sound.’ The launch includes three dynamic games showcasing the power of sound. The virtual space is designed as a vibrant arena where users can engage in games, earn and discover ’Soundbytes,’ which the brand describes as short snippets of sound ranging from reggaeton beats to iconic JBL sounds.

Rite Aid: It Means More by Leo Burnett

Retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid launched new creative starring real-life heroes in blue vests: its employees who better the lives of customers daily. Titled ‘It Means More,’ the commercial emphasizes Rite Aid’s dedication to fostering and nurturing relationships with customers.

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The ad, created with Leo Burnett, unfolds like a series of relatable scenarios where Rite Aid employees become unsung heroes. Its underlying message goes beyond the pharmacy shelves; it positions Rite Aid as a trusted partner – a pillar of support in life’s unexpected twists and turns.

Smokey Bear: Decades by FCB New York

It’s one of the most recognizable PSAs (and the oldest campaign in America): “Only you can prevent wildfires,” delivered by the iconic ‘Smokey Bear.’ The USDA Forest Service (USFS) and the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) celebrated Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday with the launch of a new PSA, ‘Decades,’ produced pro-bono by award-winning creative agency FCB New York and distributed by the non-profit organization, Ad Council.

Voiced by Emmy-nominee Brian Tyree Henry, the nostalgic spot takes viewers on a journey through time, with Smokey teaching campers how to safely enjoy the outdoors, from safely building a campfire to dealing with hot coals. Through these vignettes, the spot demonstrates the impact of the bear’s critical message: “Only you can prevent wildfires.”

Pinterest The ‘P’ is for Performance by Tim Godsall

Pinterest unveiled this week a global B2B campaign designed to attract advertisers to its visual bookmarking platform, ‘The P is for Performance.’ Directed by Tim Godsall and voiced by Corey Burton, the creative features two over-the-top heroines dodging dangers while discussing how advertisers crave a performance-based platform that can boost conversion rates and increase traffic.

Comprising four action-packed spots titled ‘Car Chase,’ ‘Snowmobile,’ ‘Train’ and ‘Volcano,’ the campaign promotes a suite of products for advertisers seeking to convert users into buyers, as well as notable improvements for to the platform, which evolve it from an upper funnel and lower funnel champion for advertisers.

Lay’s: No Lay’s, No Game by Slap Global

Lay’s recently unleashed its global ‘No Lay’s, No Game’ campaign, promising unexpected rewards for soccer fans chipping out on gameday. In anticipation of the Uefa Champions League in late June, Lay’s launched a TV commercial starring soccer legends David Beckham and Thierry Henry. The spot was shot in under five minutes during a live match between AC Milan and PSG at Milan’s San Siro stadium before a crowd of 75,000 fans.

Their task? To reward those with Lay’s in hand in an effort dubbed “Chip Cam“ – a play on the traditional “kiss cam.” The duo rewarded a fortunate father-daughter duo spotted with Lay’s, elevating their game-day experience with an exclusive invitation to watch alongside them.

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