What other brand comes to mind when you see this Heinz ad below?



I’m guessing you said Corona, right?

In Canada, for this year's Victoria Day, Heinz Ketchup and agency Rethink whipped up this clever ad—a clear reference to Corona and its famous lime-wedge-in-the-bottle. The line at the bottom reads, "Eat responsibly."

In Canada, the coming long weekend is associated with people drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Heinz wanted to get involved in the festivities, but when food isn’t the focus they needed as smart way to make themselves relevant to the occasion.

So why not piggy back on a brand that is always welcome when it comes to chilling out in the sun? The best thing about this is is that there are no losers, only winners. Both brands are getting important share of mind during this important consumption occasion.

Even Corona showed their love when they got involved on social. This is post was so reactive and fuelled the conversation.












For me, this is a brilliant example of the power of KBAs and how they can used to deliver your comms message in a simple, yet impactful way.


I love it!

A lot of heritage brands have sonic trademarks and identities that have become invaluable brand codes (KBA’s). They can employ these audible properties in their comms and across their various touchpoints to drive brand salience and instantaneously cut through in our system one world.

When it comes to these audio signatures, Coke have so many. From their infamous jiggle “I’m loving it”, to the sound the bottle makes when you open it.

While the latter isn’t technically ownable, it is still so distinctive. The brand over the years has managed to inextricably connect these natural, category sounds to their brand, so now when you hear them there is only one curvy bottle that appears in the mind’s eye.

Not one to miss a trick when it comes to playing with their audio assets, Coke hero them in their latest campaign which plays on Synesthesia - a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualisation of a certain colour.

A new campaign for the European market from David Miami banks on the idea that the sight of a bubbly glass of Coke will have an synesthetic effect on consumers--so that by merely looking at the ads, they’ll be able to “hear” them.

The effort features a series of close-up shots of the soda in a glass, an opener prying the cap off a Coke bottle, a finger lifting the tab off a can. The copy then “baits” viewers: “Try not to hear this.”

The campaign is running across multiple markets in Central and Eastern Europe, on billboards, magazines and newspapers.

“With this campaign we are aiming to activate that sensorial memory from our consumers, challenging them to hear an image for the first time, finishing our ad in their heads,” says Camilla Zanaria, Coca-Cola Content Lead of Central and Eastern Europe.

Check it out here; https://adage.com/creativity/work/coca-cola-try-not-hear/2166866

As part of the army's broader campaign to show how negative stereotypes about young people can be assets in the army, I saw this on the gram this morning.

Now, I haven’t been privy to the insight behind this, or any of the thinking, but based solely on the ad I can assume it was something like this...

“People who constantly share selfies are confident about who they are and are very sure of themselves. These are qualities that the army hold in high regard so they should consider a career in the armed forces.”

If this is indeed the logic, I am afraid I don’t buy it.

There are a number of reasons why “selfie addicts” take a lot of selfies and at the root isn’t always confidence. Taking selfies is the norm on social channels, so it doesn’t always require a huge amount of confidence to take them. It could just relate to the behavioural principle of “social norming” - everyone is taking selfies, so should I.

Also, people who take a lot of selfies might just be vain. Vanity isn’t interchangeable with confidence, certainly not the confidence you need in the army where vanity is likely to hold you back. Rolling around in the mud and not showering for days isn’t something I can imagine Kim K enjoying, can you?

Finally, some people who share selfies all the time are not confident at all and in fact have very low self esteem. They take selfies to gain likes as a way to boost their self confidence.

So while I like how the army is trying to make their creative ‘relevant’ for social media and it speaks to broader, younger demographic, for me it doesn’t fully understand selfie culture so makes their call to action a little tenuous.

In today’s fractured and ever-growing media landscape, attention is in short supply. It's a commodity that comes at a high price and has an extremely short shelf life. Brands are not only competing with others brands in this mobile-first world, they are competing an influencer's latest selfie.

So, how do brands draw the consumers’ gaze away from their digital looking glass, especially when what you have to offer can’t always deliver that same immediate dopamine hit as crushing some candy?

Well, you work with their normal behaviour and “appear” to support their digital addiction.

Shops across the pond have started to install phone chargers in-store. People can walk in to charge their life-support devices free of charge. This is a clever tactic. Not only do you appear to understand the consumer and their need to be constantly connected, so adding real value to their lives, you are simultaneously removing a massive barrier to the consideration of your offering in the process.

While two-thirds of shoppers feel panicked when their phone battery is running out, people are increasingly grateful for moments when they can actually switch off. ChargeItSpot’s kiosks offer to solve both problems for shoppers, while also benefiting the retailers as it gives them a more engaged, relaxed customer. Meanwhile, providing the service can also help brands make a bigger impression on customers: "You stay in their minds because they’re going to remember you helped them out," says Cisco Seader from InCharged, which manufactures chargers and locker solutions.

Artist Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) surprised fans with a free pair of kicks with a brilliant example of experiential done right. Using iOS Airdrop at Coachella, he send out a photo of the shoes he created in collaboration with Adidas. By using this mobile-first tactic, Glover was able to a create buzz and excitement at a moment when people are already highly distracted and would normally actively avoid brand experiences. He was able to get his audience to opt-in to a brand experience by playing on their natural human curiosity. Those who accepted the Airdrop received a free pair of the sneakers and signed a contract stating they would wear the shoes, attend the show, and keep the shoes on all weekend.


It is so frustrating seeing brands using technology for the sake of using technology, in a vain attempt to appear "with it". This is so refreshing. The use of Airdrop as the marketing vehicle here is far from contrived and is just a simple, surprising and delightful way to connect with an audience who is always glued to their phone.

Big thumbs up from me!

Wait, is that really Marks and Sparks?

The household brand has debuted a new interpretation of its “This Is Not Just Food” advert.

The campaign, dubbed #ThisIsNotJust, comes 15 years after the company introduced its famous tagline “This is Not Just Food... This is M&S Food” and adverts featuring slow-motion close-ups of food. The adverts were last seen on television 12 years ago.

Instead of close-ups of food, the new advert sees M&S customers being distracted from their daily lives and unable to resist describing the brand's food in a sultry voice, mimicking the voiceover of previous adverts.

Although it is a notable step a change for M&S, this Junior Planner welcomes it. It’s good to see how a well-established, household brand can mix it up without sullying their brand image and what made them great in the first place. This is a clever re-imagination of a beloved brand campaign that will certainly get chins wagging. In fact, it seems to be working already

It is making M&S accessible and humanises it without effecting it’s premium stance. We all know that M&S produce brilliant, delicious food but now they are putting a different,approachle lens on it. This campaign also creates clear water between M&S and Waitrose by adding another feather to the formers bow beyond eloquent food porn which is a bit done to death now. Don’t get me wrong I love to see beautifully presented food but that is no longer ownable anymore with every supermarket bring out premium ranges and hiring the same food photographers.

This is clearly part of M&S broader strategy to reach a wider market, with them at looking to into launching home delivery.

Can’t wait to see what they do next!

I saw this one on my way home last night and was captured by it's simplicity. Heinz has brought out a new and improved microwaveable version of their famous tomato soup. #YUM.

Ensuring the busy passerby knows what the ad is all about and who it’s from, the ad is smothered in recognisable properties. The infamous Heinz red and all those KBAs (Key Brand Assets) are clearly visible. But for me, the use of the sound, a microwave makes when your food is ready, is what made me smile. It's such a simple yet eloquent way to communicate that this is a new variant, the key point of difference and how to easy it is the make. All this encapsulated in the use one word. Ping in this context is imbued with so much meaning, and is an apt example of how sometimes less is more in advertising. We see here the weight that words carry, so make sure you are purposeful and deliberate with yours!