The ad world is influenced by our world. Or maybe, it’s the other way round. Whatever it is, the ad world has COVID-19 at its centre now and no one’s complaining. While the usual handwash, sanitizer ads have squeezed the virus element in, there are a few that went creative. How? By weaving stories into it. We might not be reading books anymore, but we continue to look for stories in everything. That’s how we, the consumers (or products as per social media), connect with it. Or else we skip or remove our earphones or turn mute on. Getting the attention of people is a task and the advertising world has to do that as fast as they can. The best way to do that is put it in accordance with a theme.
We found these ads online, from India & around the world, that brought forth the issue at hand – no, not only COVID-19 but also the consequences of it – in such a tug-at-your-hearts, make-you-laugh-till-you-pass-out way or simply by making you go “hmm, that makes sense!” Here are some of our favourites.
#SnehamKaruthalaanu - Nambisan's Ghee
This popular brand from Kerala uses the mother-son long distance call to bring home the point. Using food as the main subject, the ad has no mention of COVID-19 anywhere, but is successful in bringing home the point, quite literally. The ad featured in the first page of the list of Ads of the World and can make any NRI emotional (so characteristic of Indians, you see!). With a melodramatic background score and the last scene ending with the open gate of the house, signifying a mother’s hope to see her son walk in one day through those gates, there’s little that needs to be said. Food and emotions are always a safe marketing strategy, no?
To the Human Race – Coca Cola
A Coca Cola with no Coca Cola in sight anywhere – well, that’s a first. With careful selection of footages of contrast from around the world, the beverage company created this ad saluting the spirit of humanity and ending with the message – for everything that divides, the human spirit unites. The pandemic has been all about negativity so far and the visuals shown in the ad take everything into account – falling economy, closing borders, lack of adequate healthcare, racial & social inequalities – but not without making you look at the bright side – of people helping each other out, a few random acts of kindness, the moment when families, who hadn’t seen each other for months, get to meet each other. Showcasing the ‘reasons to believe’, the ad is accompanied by a rousing song and text overlays instead of voiceovers and that adds to the tone and the pace of it. Making the maximum impact with no Coca Cola in sight anywhere – still works. Because the brand too shows its human side this way.
Thank You For Not Riding – Uber
Call it the maximum impact campaign, or what? Uber’s COVID-19 ad has no Uber too. A company that incurred heavy losses during the lockdown and continues to in spite of Unlock puts together home videos of people working out at home, doing fun activities, playing, living life however they can (or can’t) and thanking them for staying inside and not ‘using a Uber’ is a nice play with psychology, for sure. The visuals move quickly but do not fixate on happiness only. You see the image of a man in silhouette, people’s eyes longing to go back to the outside world, the problems that kids encounter playing inside the house and more. The ad presents no solution, but things as they are. And thanks you for doing the bare minimum – staying home.
We’re Never Lost if we can find each other – Facebook
While this one too makes use of home videos and empty streets with a haunting piano music and a voiceover that keeps saying – I love faces, Facebook makes the ad more literal and brings forth its name everywhere each time I love faces happens. It is not exactly very subtle but just somewhat there. The power of technology has kept people together and Facebook owns most of the popular ones where people have been showcasing their creative sides throughout the lockdown and even now. We have missed seeing faces and that’s the point of the ad – you need to see faces of other humans like us.
Ode to Close - Heineken
Now, this one will take you back to pre-COVID days quite literally with its handshakes, fist bumps, kisses of all kinds, hugs of all types and more. A large part of the ad is nostalgia of a time (8 months ago) where socialising was the It thing, the buzzword and went beyond friendly parties and get-togethers to networking. The ad focuses on friendships only though and that can be the tugging-at-your-heartstrings part. Only the last few minutes are about what life is like in the times of COVID-19. This is unlike most ads that almost always start with empty roads. It slowly drives you from old normal to the new one, trying to reinstate the belief that nothing much needs to change; it’s just the mode of socialisation that has changed. And again, the beer doesn’t make much of an appearance – it’s the spirit that does. So, on-point that way. Also, the tagline – Socialise Responsibly – hits the bull’s eye.
It’s About People – Frito-Lay
Unlike others, this ad has been in-your-face. It doesn’t make any philosophical arguments. But yes, it does start with a simple sentence – It’s not about the brands – and then makes it all about what they did in different sectors through their employment records, donations, etc. What makes it stand apart is that it does not show you anything pandemic-type. It blatantly says what it is doing for people during this pandemic – loud and plain and clear. The visuals used are also pretty straight-forward. It might seem like one of those corporate CSR videos but it still makes an impact – by just being honest.
#ThisIsUs: Humanity Prevails – Hyundai
Probably with a far more humane touch than others, the makers of this ad knew exactly where to point their cursors at – the human mind. One of the major problems COVID-19 has laid bare to us is our mental health. When you see the words vulnerable, weak, fragile on the screen while you play the ad, you see where they went different than the rest – making positivity and negativity co-exist side by side in a way that’s not too much in-your-face. The text overlay and voiceover work in sync while the visuals shown differ in sequence from similar ads made around the world. It is towards the end that you see the automobile. Unlike the Frito Lay ad, it doesn’t let the ad become about the initiatives undertaken by the brand. It puts it all towards the end, once it pulls you in by talking about the things human beings don’t like talking about – their weakness, vulnerability and fragile mind during COVID times.
Have you seen more such ads related to COVID-19? Share them with us in our comment section.
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