The OREO “Fiercely Together” advertisement, with the 2021 Olympics theme, may only be 30 seconds long. Still, it packs a punch in each of those 30 seconds. But at the end of the video, you’ll feel like you have run a marathon yourself. The advertisement has a fast and furious pace. Keep up with it if you can!
Back to school
It begins with the words, “The more we play together”.
It seems like the very feel of the words, the echo and the atmosphere, will take you back to your school days when you loved to share with your friends and play with them. So music-wise, there is no music. However, there is this pure, evergreen, sing-song choir tune. The viewer will be transported back to their school days, of innocent playfulness and sharing of the best things in life.
The tension
Now, at the beginning of this ad, this line is often repeated ““The more we get together, together, together…”. At precisely 0.08 seconds of the advertisement, the viewer sees two girls on the playing field, looking or glaring at each other, perhaps with hostility. Their parents and the audience in the gallery watch with anticipation. Will the two girls be friends? Will they learn to share?
“…the happier we’ll be!”
That’s when the two girls are shown sharing Oreo cookies. It is indeed a sweet and kind gesture between them, the feeling of which is enhanced since they are not fighting!
“Your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friends.”
The overall feeling from the ad
As the ad progresses, it shows sportsmen from various sports like rowing, wheelchair basketball and more. In a gist, the choir, the actions on screen, and the fast-paced movement leave a pleasant feeling, a sense of belonging and togetherness.
Viewers may not mind watching the ad repeatedly since it brings a joyful feeling while showing the role of Oreo in all the joy. And with the theme of the 2021 Olympics, the ad is certainly timely and brilliant in execution.
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Mr. Prime Minister shows you the way out from this pandemic-struck situation
The Singapore Government is up in arms to deal with the stubborn Covid19 as it threatens its variants. In a bid to accelerate the pace of vaccination and mass testing gov.sg released another motivating video – Together, towards a new normal.
“In the new normal, covid-19 will not dominate our lives. To keep our people safe, while reopening progressively, we have to test, we have to trace, we have to vaccinate,” says honourable Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The video reflects the nation’s assertive stance taken by the government to deal with the pandemic that’s growing in intensity with every wave.
The video opens up with a refreshing view of the iconic Jewel at Changi Airport. A lady resembling an air hostess reminds the viewers about the ‘new beginning’. The three new strategies to get to it are test, trace and vaccinate. It introduces the audience to the covid19 self-testing tool that’s easy to use and authentic. Characters in the video are young and vibrant with oozing positivity that captivates viewers’ attention and makes them open to the message; without any sign of difference. It takes the audience to the solution of a critical situation that they are in. “In the likely event of our country’s reopening, vaccinate, stay safe. It’ll keep Singapore going.” It is what we all wanted to have for so long.
The latest video gives you hope and build a sense of inclusive responsibility in all of us to make it happen.
Just when the world was in grief and on the verge of losing hope, the vaccines came in. The timing was perfect and brought in hope amid despair. The massacre by the virus has been heart-breaking, but the vaccine is here, and the vaccination drive is on!
Open the newspaper; there’s a leaflet inside is asking you to get vaccinated. Your letterbox might have one such pamphlet as well. There is a conspiracy theory, and people are dying. Singapore has the vaccine, and Phua Chu Kang is asking us to get vaccinated!
The latest video is a part of the Singapore government’s vaccination campaign. It is making headlines at home and overseas. Why not? When the world is almost ravaged by the deadly virus, vaccines are the savior. When finally covid-19 vaccines are here, this video adds to the campaign momentum! It brings in hope, informative and entertaining at the same time.
“Faster go and vaccinate” loud and clear in a peppy and happy setup. The YouTube music video features on gov.sg – the Government’s YouTube channel and the video has 1,357,771 views so far. Not just that, the footage grabbed attention from overseas and got featured by Australia’s ABC News and the prestigious British daily, The Guardian, as well.
It’s like a bubble of positivity amid the gloom. The video is bright and beautiful.
Phua Chu Kang’s Covid-19 Video
It is one video that Singapore is talking about. In it, we have our very own Phua Chu Kang – the best contractor in Singapore, JB, and some say Batam. Phua – acted by actor Gurmeet Singh, is your friend-next-door, in a clean and cool look with trademark yellow boots, dances to the exhilarated music and asks you not to wait to vaccinate. “Singapore, don’t wait and see. Better get your shot. Steady pom pi pi.” His wife – enacted by actress Irene Ang, is doubtful. She says, “Chronic illness still can take? I’m not sure, I am quite afraid.” Phua thus explains to her that the vaccine is safe; if you doubt, you can ask the doctors at the clinic. There is nothing to panic about it. “It’s safe for most, including elderly. Because the government got check properly.”
Resistance to vaccination has majorly slowed down the vaccination drive. The video is seen as a strategic approach by the government in getting the message across to you more convincingly. That’s pretty obvious. Vaccination can effectively slow down the spread and protect you from the worst consequences. Isn’t that what you wanted?
The government’s decision in having this video in the covid-19 campaign has been a great help in improving public health against the crisis. The character – Phua Chu Kang has guy-next-door appeal, and that syncs well among the citizens. It’s not like preaching where some authority asks people to follow something, but a fellow being, just one among us, has been vaccinated and is happy with it. He is sharing the information and clearing doubts and on the other hand, his wife – Rosie, played by Ang, represents resenting citizens. It’s like watching a conversation that even happens in our own drawing rooms.
The Singapore Government has been proactively dealing with the covid-19 pandemic ever since it started showing up. Though the numbers are low yet taking a chance is not worth the risk. Vaccination is the only way to tackle this pandemic – one of the most ruthless among the many ever witnessed by humankind.
Although everything terrible has happened over a year, there’s hope, and we cling to it. When all of us get vaccinated, no one gets infected and affected. So, make sure you get your jab! “Singapore, don’t wait and see. Better get your shot.”
On April 6th, 2021, Wix launched series of ads to promote their services on providing website solutions for business. But unfortunately, it did not end up well on some website developers and search marketing communities. Wix’s ads campaign “You Deserve Better” has seen as negative ads against WordPress, and the WordPress community did not feel happy with it.
Who is Wix?
Wix is an Israeli software company, which provided cloud-based web development services. It allows users to create HTML5 websites through the drag and drop tools that already provided.
Wix’s Ads Campaign Caused Anger
Wix’s latest ads campaign causes controversy among search marketing and the website developer’s community. The ads themselves focused on WordPress negatively, and a web developer was coming to a psychiatrist, seeking help for his mental health issues. This portrayal seems caused anger in the WordPress community.
In the ads titled “The Update Button of Doom”, WordPress portrayed as a grotesque person experiencing some glitching during a conversation, and that becomes of the causes that make the web developer experiencing mental health issues. The video ads below have considered typical attack ads.
Through video ads, the “You Deserve Better” campaign by Wix, along with Bose headphone, shipped to some developers and marketing influencers. Most of them are confused with Wix’s approach because they think Wix only wasted their marketing budget by sending those headphones to those not pleased with the campaign.
On the other video titled “White Screen of Death… Is That You?”, “WordPress” was asked by a psychiatrist for the updates, and suddenly he felt sick and dead. The web developer on the ads mentioned that there could be any problem like plugin issue, hosting problem that caused “WordPress” death.
Maya Grill as the representative of Wix, say, “The campaign shows in a clever way that WordPress users don’t need to be stuck in a bad relationship with their platform, and they should consider the alternative which allows them to focus on their actual work,” Grill said. “Each video in the campaign revolves around user pain points, which also highlight Wix’s strengths.”
But instead of a clever way of a marketing campaign, Morten Rand-Hendriksen, one of the influencers who received Bose headphone, said that the campaign was “All Nuclear Troll-Marketing” and indeed not pleased with that.
Anti-Wix Responses Online
As mentioned before, the new ads campaign by Wix has caused furious and Anti-Wix, not only from website developers but also from the search marketing community. Wix’s ad campaign described as distasteful and bashing.
Meanwhile, Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress gavehis responses on the Wix’s ads campaign as below,
“Wix is a for-profit company… whose business model is getting customers to pay more and more every year and making it difficult to leave or get a refund. (Don’t take my word for it, look at their investor presentations.)
They are so insecure that they are also the only website creator I’m aware of that doesn’t allow you to export your content, so they’re like a roach motel where you can check in but never check out. Once you buy into their proprietary stack you’re locked in, which even their support documentation admits…
So if we’re comparing website builders to abusive relationships, Wix is one that locks you in the basement and doesn’t let you leave. I’m surprised consumer protection agencies haven’t gone after them.”
Wix vs WordPress Tensions
After all negative comment and responses to Wix’s ads campaign “You Deserve Better”, Avishai Abrahami, as Wix’s CEO, given his responses, by mentioning that Matt Mullenweg is angry and not telling the truth and accusing him by being hypocritical for criticizing Wix for negativity by claiming it was Matt that begun the bitter exchanges by being first to go on a damaging attack.
With the open letter by Wix’s CEO, Wix offers a public apology, as long as from the WordPress side, they also clarify regarding the issue mentioned on the Wix’s ads. Avishai Abrahami said in the open letter that they try to make the ads funny, but if the ads ended up offended the WordPress side, he apologized.
Positive Campaign and Brand Goodwill
Given the example of how Wix marketing their services with their latest ads campaign, we can all agree that the way of Wix advertise it was terrible and it brings negative assumptions about Wix from the audience. Even Wix mentioned the truth about the issues that WordPress has. But by bashing and imposing other brands to make your brand stand out is not a good marketing campaign. Most consumers will choose a brand that gives them positivity and goodwill through their campaigns or their products while not making other brands looks terrible.
Running a good marketing campaign
If you are running your own business or part of a giant corporation, you understand the need for marketing. It can be an absolute nightmare to navigate the inner working of creating a successful campaign. What would help alleviate this would be someone who could take this burden off your hands.
MIU offers a range of marketing services that will help your company successfully launch and maintain a marketing campaign. With experience and skills, the disasters mentioned above can be avoided with our help.
Feel free to contact us for a free digital audit or check outMIU’s website to learn more about how we can help you.
Lazada is known for having big discounts and huge sales on its site, so it’s no surprise that they are hosting a massive event for their 9th birthday this coming weekend.
Known as Lazada Super Party, this event includes a virtual concert, flash sales, surprise boxes, games, and more. The full performance lineup can be viewed here, although Lazada has already teased us with a few names.
Headlined by Katy Perry and NCT Dream, other local artists such as Jasmine Sokko and Nathan Hortono will also be performing for the virtual concert.
On 26 March at 9:30 pm, Lazada will be streaming this virtual concert via LazLive to countdown to its official birthday which falls on 27 March.
In fact, Lazada will be streaming live performances of various K-Pop idols every Saturday at 8 pm for seven consecutive weeks, starting 20 March. Viewers will be able to partake in games and other giveaways for a chance to win a prize!
Beyond these live streams and performances, Lazada has organised a bunch of pre-sale activities to keep us interested in grabbing ridiculous deals off their site. Before the big day, participate in as many games and activities as you can to obtain vouchers, free shipping, LazCoins and more. These will definitely come in handy during the two-hour storewide flash sale from 12 to 2 am on 27 March!
More than 200 stores are involved in the celebration of Lazada’s 9th birthday, offering more up to a whopping 90% discount on some of their products! The list of participating stores can be found here.
Lazada is definitely going all out for their birthday celebration this year. Indeed, the blend of international celebrities from Katy Perry to NCT Dream to local singers is bound to draw a huge crowd to join in on their festivities.
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Some ads are such a masterpiece that they don’t feel like an ad at all.
This film advert by Bartle Bogle Hegarty achieves just that. With a soft rendition of Semoga Bahagia, a well-known Children’s Day song, the ad nestles itself right in the hearts of all parents alike.
Portraying itself from the point of view of a parent, the ad shows a family hanging out together and having fun… all up to the point where the mother suddenly looks sick.
The sudden silence is filled in as the father supports the mother and continues the song where she left off. We then see the father-daughter duo continuing on their familial activities, although without the mother. One such activity was them visiting a piano shop and playing the instrument together, much like they used to before the mother fell ill.
Through this, the ad still holds onto a heartwarming atmosphere, though viewers might harbour a little concern at what would happen to the mother. We find out later that due to the health insurance they bought with NTUC Income, the family was still able to pay for the piano that the girl had an obvious interest in.
Because they were covered, their daughter’s dream and happiness were protected. As parents, your children always come first and this ad nailed that parents’ desire to care for their children. Though languish, it was a clever way to incorporate an ad into such a beautiful storyline.
This ad becomes even more pertinent when you realise that 82% of parents agreed that money is important to their child’s security since they are just starting out and are still financially dependent. However, 73% of the same parents also felt that they had to cut down on expenses due to reasons such as a critical illness or a reduction in income. These studies, conducted by NTUC Income themselves, support the idea put forth in the ad – reminding what parents are able to do to provide their child with financial stability.
Overall, the ad works so well because it understands the concern of parents when it comes to their children. By finding an emotional angle to portray the ad from, BBH Singapore manages to successfully send their message to us – that parents can protect their child with NTUC Income.
One of the most challenging things we’ve had to face this year was the pandemic. With Covid-19 in mind, Coca Cola has thus decided to cancel its annual Truck Tour. In its place, they released an emotional commercial for this yea that warmed the hearts of many even in the absence of their truck.
The ad’s message is simple: make time for the people you love at Christmas, and give something that “only you can give”. Go on a journey with Coca Cola even as they will not be holding their Truck Tour this year.
Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi, who has also directed the likes of Star Wars and Thor, it is no wonder this advert touches our hearts so. Ranked the most powerful ad of the season by Kantar, Coca Cola’s ad beat the likes of many others’, including Disney’s and Tesco’s.
Over 3000 UK consumers were paired with LinkNow AI facial coding technology, which revealed that Coca Cola’s Christmas ad elicited the greatest response from audiences. Indeed, they deserve the title of the most powerful ad this festive holiday!
Not only that, but it was the top-performing in seven out of ten key measures, scoring 96 out of 100 in terms of long-term return potential as well as creating brand memories. It also gained a full score in terms of remembering the brand. Talk about effective!
With Covid-19 interrupting many Christmas plans this season, Coca Cola’s ad helped viewers to feel more positive about Christmas – the only ad to score in the top percentile (74 to be exact) for this metric. Beyond that, it also scored 88 for creating warmth and love for the brand and 93 for feeling different.
KFCheese. That’s the name of KFC’s latest ad campaign, which posits that everything tastes better with cheese. Everything — that is on KFC’s menu.
The alluring ad features KFC’s iconic food including their fried chicken, Zinger, fries and even local dishes as well. Knowing Singaporeans’ adoration with KFC’s cheese, KFC strategically developed their latest campaign around it.
With such a visual reflection of KFC’s cheese being drizzled onto everything, the ad clearly intended to arouse viewers’ cravings of KFC’s cheese sauce, together with various food dishes enjoyed by all Singaporeans.
Indeed, such an invigorating ad manages to demonstrate KFC cheese’s versatility across plenty of food dishes, and showcases its wide-ranging appeal.
Interestingly enough, the idea for this ad came about when one of the staff on The Secret Little Agency (TSLA) accidentally spilled some of the cheese sauce onto the brief. TSLA, who was recently appointed to be KFC’s marketing agency partner this September, was founded in 2007 by Nicholas Ye, who was just a 19 year-old university student at that time. An independent agency, TSLA has worked with the likes of Netflix, Circles Life, and the Singapore government.
Now, 17 years down the road, they are collaborating with KFC to promote the fast food chain’s signature cheese sauce — and have done a wonderful job at it too! In fact, if you looked at the ad close enough, you can see the KFC cheese sauce being poured on products from other fast food chains as well — a cheeky little move to imply that KFC’s cheese sauce just makes everything taste better.
In line with Deepavali, SingTel has released a short film featuring two of its Hindu staff preparing for the festival. This year’s Deepavali celebration is definitely different due to the ongoing pandemic. However, all hope is not lost as SingTel wants to share in their latest ad.
With a sombre piece selected to play in the background, the camera follows as two of SingTel’s Hindu staff decorates for the holiday and shares their favourite memory of Deepavali. As we get an idea of what Deepavali means to them, the topic gradually switches over to the current situation and how Covid-19 has impacted them.
For these SingTel staff, they were unable to see their loved ones often for fear of putting them at risk. Having to work from home every day also meant that tensions at home were constantly on the rise and it was easy to clash with family members.
Deepavali this year, then, meant something even more than it usually did. A signifier of light and new beginnings, this festival is a good chance for everyone to put the bad behind them and come together as one. As one of them mentioned, Deepavali is a time to put all negativity aside and to only focus on the positive ahead.
This film aligns with SingTel’s ongoing brand campaign, which encourages Singaporeans to stay positive amidst the current climate, showing examples of how ordinary Singaporeans display tenacity in such trying times. If they can do it, so can you.
The ad, aptly titled “There is light”, follows behind SingTel’s other campaigns including the films “Keeping the spirit of Hari Raya alive” as well as “This is the year”, both of which were released a few months back to commemorate Ramadan and National Day respectively. Of course, the circuit breaker meant that these events had to be celebrated in a different manner than usual, but the spirit was still kept alive by our sheer determination and unity.
Similarly, the spirit of hope brought about by Deepavali can be applied to all of us as we look forward to the rainbow after the rain that is this pandemic. It could even be said to be a happy coincidence that Deepavali comes around as fewer infections occur, resulting in Covid measures easing up and a sense of normalcy returning.
This personal narrative definitely serves to add a sense of comfort and encouragement as a reminder that even the hard times will pass. Indeed, SingTel’s latest ad is a note to us all to stay together and to be there for one another, for that is how we thrive.
McDonalds’s decision not to brand their recent ads was a bold move, but an effective one. Their minimalistic campaign certainly turned heads and showcased their strong brand power.
With just a picture of McDonalds’s products itself and nothing else, TWBA/Paris took to the streets and placed these billboards in various neighbourhoods. Even with part of the billboard chomped away, McDonalds’s burgers and fries are so iconic that they are easily distinguishable, without any other words or logo accompanying it.
And this is no easy feat either. These life-sized billboards were custom-made to appear bitten using a traditional boiler work technique before they were installed in the streets.
It isn’t just any brand that would be able to pull off the same thing – but with McDonald’s heavy brand recognition amongst consumers, these ads would certainly communicate just what it was meant to.
Indeed, the closeup shots of the food only serve to present it in an ever more tempting manner. It’s no wonder these billboards have been “bitten off”! At least, that’s what the displays seem to be trying to convey to us – that McDonalds’s products are so irresistible that anyone walking past the billboards on the streets would be tempted to take a bite, momentarily forgetting that they aren’t real!
With such an unconventional ad design, the billboards certainly turn heads due to its deviation from the normal rectangle shape. The lack of a logo or supporting text further powers the message through to consumers.
TWBA/Paris has been working with McDonald’s on their marketing campaigns over the years. Though headquartered in New York, they have a global presence, including Paris, France, where these billboards were installed. These ads were meant to be a continuation of McDonald’s No Logo campaign concept, where they intentionally avoid using their brand on their ads – to showcase just how recognisable McDonald’s truly is.
McDonald’s statement ads have been so tremendous thus far, we can’t wait to see what they are going to come up with for their next step of the No Logo campaign.
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