Blog Posts

Amazon One enables digital identification by waving the palm of your hand over payment devices to complete a transaction. Biometric handoverThe e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence multinational explains that the system studies subcutaneous elements such as vein patterns as well as lines and ridges in the skin to establish a person's unique 'Amazon One ID'. This harvested data can then be used to connect the individual's Amazon-registered activities across b
Read more...

Would you buy an ice-cream from this man?Brilliant ad? Downright offensive? Either or both?To celebrate the US's National Ice-Cream Day (July 18) and this whole week, we're taking a peek at our fave summertime treat through the ad lens.Although the ancient Greeks were eating a mix of snow and fruits in the 5th century BC, ice-cream didn’t reach America until 1800. The USA is now the world’s largest producer and consumer, with the average American eating some 20 pounds of the yummy stuff a year, a
Read more...

Cruel metricsOne ball doesn't go in, another ball does.It's that simple.Net zero goalsThe net looks empty but it's rammed with expectations and emotions.Did you know that they christen a new type of ball for major championships? The art of getting the balance, shape and dynamics right has come a long way from the original cow or pig bladder encased in leather.UniforiaThe one in use at the highly-charged Euro 2020 tournament final stages was an Adidas Uniforia - a combination of  'unity' and 'euph
Read more...

Ronaldo stays cool, but do big brands like Coke and Heineken need to pay better attention to their sponsorships?BackstoryWhen superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (aka CR7) removed bottles of Coca Cola at a recent European Championship news conference, pointedly opting for water instead, the images went viral. Coke's stock immediately dropped $4 billion (but soon recovered).Subsequently, Italy's Manuel Locatelli followed Ronaldo's lead over Coke, while practising Muslim Paul Pogba removed a (be
Read more...

La alegría de vivir / The joy of living - at any ageIs silver finally striking gold?Advertising's neglect of the silver market - that time of life when people traditionally have more financial security and time to enjoy themselves - has long been a mystery.Here are three relevant, recent ads which caught our eye.OMG, what prompted that expression?Step up from the stairliftA Canadian bank has put out a series of cheeky ads reflecting the reality of many people's senior lifestyle. This one, 'Sore B
Read more...

Children tell G7 to 'Act Now'The voices of children and the stunning spectacle of drones in animal shapes make up this Stop Extinction campaign from non-government organisation (NGO) Greenpeace.Send in the dronesWhen leaders including US President Joe Biden landed in Cornwall, UK, to attend the G7 summit - an event in part intended to pave the way for the upcoming COP26 climate change conference - they were greeted by the breath-taking 'Act Now' message featuring 300 illuminated drones.The flock
Read more...

Like the planet itself, this one's beenheating up for a while....BackstoryLast December, US outdoor apparel company North Face turned down an order for 400 branded jackets because, as the CEO for the Texan company in question said, it's an oil & gas services outfit.North Face's apparent stand against the petroleum sector - already the object of boycott calls from climate change activists and environmentally concerned consumers - continues to cause it grief.In March 2021, the Colorado Oil &amp
Read more...

"We have finally foundthe thing that makes us allmore attractive"(White House announcement of new partnership)I know. Surprised us too.Was anyone looking to government for this kind of insight?Beyond celebrity endorsementDays before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his partner and mother of their one-year-old, the US government astonished many with this ringing endorsement of a slew of top-selling dating apps, most of which belong to the same company, Match Group, Inc.The campaign aim
Read more...

From Switzerland to Sulawesi, the mood's lifting along with lockdownsHollywood heart-throb George Clooney losing out to a piece of toast at British bakery Warburtons kicked off the week's wit, and Switzerland's Roger Federer ran with the humour.No DramaThe tennis legend goes head to head over the 'phone with Hollywood legend Robert de Niro in this 1'30" promotion of the Fed's stunningly beautiful homeland, Switzerland."It's just not happening"But the star of 'Raging Bull' and 'Goodfellas' needs d
Read more...

The people are fleeing!” lamented the King of Adlands. “Ad-blocker Anarchists and the Army of Ad-free Streaming are everywhere!” “Send out the Retargeting Reserves!” cried the Queen.  But their Treasurer shook her head. “Since word got out about Admiral Adfraud and Major Mistrust, fewer and fewer people will engage with the Reserves,” she said.“Then call in Dr Data!” screeched the King. “Not cost-effective,” said the Treasurer. “Consumers are more health-conscious now, they’re not swallowing all
Read more...

The non-fungible futureWhen a digital-only work of art sold for $69 million last month, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) hit the mainstream headlines.If you're hazy on NFTs, here's a great explainer from The Verge.Not all of the attention was admiring - the artist who produced the big ticket work admitted that creating it used up the equivalent of two years' worth of electricity. Hm.It turned the head of eternally on-trend Barbie - she of 'one sold every three seconds' fame.Born in 1959 as both a blond
Read more...

Advertising's out on the tightrope of public perception - and it's a looooong way down...European Super Bowl, sorry, LeagueThe week kicked off with a multi-faceted furore as it emerged that 12 top football clubs including Real Madrid and Manchester United had signed up for a new championship backed by JPMorgan.The US investment bank's $4.8 billion bid sparked outcry from all sides, a swift multi-billion counter-move from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to defend the existing Ch
Read more...

Is Matthew McConaughey following in Ronald Reagan's footsteps?One of Hollywood's most distinctive actors, he's known to many of us from 1993's indie comedy movie 'Dazed and Confused', 'The Lincoln Lawyer' (2011), and/or 'Dallas Buyers Club' (2013), veering seamlessly from casual sexy through down-and-out to implacable across his varied roles.In 2019, he became a professor of practice at the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas, his home state with his wife the Brazilian-Ameri
Read more...

Whose face should appearon a $20 banknote?When we ran a quick straw poll on this question, answers were broadly in the 'why should I care / what do I know / why even ask that, let's talk crypto' range.Which is sort of the point of this new campaign from US upstart Varo Bank.And the answer is....Ours! Yours! Theirs! Hers! His! Mine!Talk about identifying with the audience.San Francisco-based financial services company Varo, which was set up in 2015, illustrates its credo of financial inclusivity t
Read more...

Artificial intelligence (AI) paves the way for marketing messages from the deceased- tribute or travesty?You can argue that branding beyond the grave has been around for a long time, particularly in the form of product placement in movies, such as this 1919 Buster Keaton /Roscoe Arbuckle film 'The Garage'.Movie giant MGM has just unveiled the updating of the traditional opening for its movies: we now see a computer-generated (CGI)  'Leo the lion' roaring into action (top image). Can you spot whic
Read more...

'Be the CEO your parentsalways wanted you to marry'Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of female-led and focused dating app Bumble, has certainly practised what this company tagline preached by becoming "a rare female billionaire" (Bloomberg).'Make the first move'Founded in 2014 with a women-first approach, Bumble differentiates itself with a system whereby in heterosexual matches, only female users can make the first contact with matched male users, while in same-sex matches either person can se
Read more...

No humans were harmed in the making of this ad.(But was humanity?)Seeing is no longer believingThere's a lot of talk around fake news. It seems we're now heading towards fake advertising as some 'creative' uses of artificial intelligence (AI) show us increasingly sophisticated - i.e.hard-to-spot - illusions.Backstory examples: a 2018 anti-malaria campaign showing footballer and style icon David Beckham apparently speaking nine languages, and supermodel Bella Hadid apparently kissing another woman
Read more...

Q: Boom or bust for celebrity booze stakeholders?A: Bit of both.Q: Right. How do we advertise, then?A: Erm...Three popular public figures who also happen tohave stakes in spirits companies have one answer - a cocktail of humour and actionDavid mixes with Diddy and RyanYou may get distracted wondering whether that is the real kitchen of football legend and style icon David Beckham, and if so, what you think of it.You may be wondering what actor Ryan Reynolds' facial hair is about - a new role?Or s
Read more...

"Love, can you hear me?"In the UK alone, we spend an estimated £855 million+on gifts and activities to mark Valentine's Day.Dining out is usually the most popular celebration.LDR takes on a new meaningIn this four-minute film, Kwentong Jollibee, a fast food chain in the Philippines, brings on the romance within the context of changes wrought by COVID.The brand's ads are becoming as popular as the products, racking up millions on YouTube and other platforms."Filipinos are die hard romantics, we ev
Read more...

Sexism, apparentlyThe UK's government got itself into hot water by launching a campaign to urge us to 'Stay Home. Save Lives' in light of the rapidly spreading new COVID variant.Within a week it had withdrawn the campaign following an outcry over the images it had selected -  three out of four showed women working in the home while the only one portraying a man depicted him comfortably splayed on a sofa with his arm protectively around his relaxed female partner and child.We might be thinking 'un
Read more...