Creative commercials
Great marketing does so much more than make us aware of a product, it makes us emotionally connect with a brand. In this blog, we share with you a selection of stand out and memorable ads that we think have made a huge impact and changed the advertising landscape forever. Sometimes simple, sometimes shocking, sometimes just a bit of fun, they all have one thing in common; they are all commercials that sell so much more than the product.
1. The best vintage advert
We start with Apple’s ‘1984’; one of the most celebrated adverts in history. It was directed by English film director, Ridley Scott (famous for Alien and Blade Runner) and served the purpose of advertising Apple’s original Macintosh computer. It was at a time when IBM was their biggest competitor and Apple were developing the first Macintosh Personal computer. Apple hired their go-to advertising agency Chiat/Day to produce the video, which was loosely inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984. The video depicts a grey, bleak, totalitarian world where mindless figures are glued to a towering projection.
When premiered to Apple’s board of directors, it received negative feedback. In fact, they absolutely hated it and wanted to pull the advert completely. The only reason the ad went on air during the Super Bowl was because they were unable to sell back their time slots. Apple were required to go ahead with taking the video to primetime TV. Look at them now, eh!
2. The best iconic advert
A gorilla playing the drums? Legendary. Argentinian director Juan Cabral, came up with a never-before-seen idea for Cadbury, which was instantly shot down by execs. When it was pitched their response was: “Let’s get this right. You want to make an ad that’s three times longer than a normal ad, has got no Cadbury’s chocolate in it and there’s no message?”
However, with patience and perseverance, the advert was made and aired during the finale of the eighth series of Big Brother (31 August 2007). The UK fell in love with the Gorilla experiencing a moment he had “waited for all his life” as he played the iconic drum solo to Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight.” The response was overwhelmingly positive and the video went viral immediately. It was successful in commercial terms too. Cadbury’s saw a sales bump of 10%, helping them bounce back from the salmonella scare of the year before. Speaking about its sucess, Juan Cabral says :“A brand needs to go to the heart and not to the brain. Gorilla is – in those 90 seconds – trying to take you somewhere.” This advert shows us that sometimes it really pays to not take no for an answer…
3. The best drink advert
Today, celebrities interacting and promoting a product is almost second nature. However, in the 80s, this was a rare occurrence. And so, Pepsi teamed up with the world’s biggest pop star to compete with their biggest rival, Coca-Cola. In November 1983, Michael Jackson struck a $5m partnership with Pepsi to become the first pop star to front campaigns for the brand. Like today and very much in the 80s, there are two types of cola drinkers. You were either team Pepsi or Coca-Cola. But guess what, if you were a Michael Jackson fan, you became Team Pepsi.
The goal for this commercial was to position Pepsi as young and cool and make Coca-Cola look dated. Directed by Bob Giraldi, it featured Michael Jackson and look-alikes fans, moonwalking and dancing to a reworked version of Billie Jean, with lyrics written espcially for the advert. Michael Jackson had full creative input, from choreography to location scouting. Released in the US on 27 March 1984, it became one of the most memorable commercials of the 1980s.
4. The best Nike advert
There have been many stand out Nike adverts over the years, featuring sporting icons like Michael Jordan, Colin Kaepernick, Charles Barkley and Tiger Woods (American professional golfer). But for one of their most iconic campaigns, Nike chose a slightly different approach for this advert.
In July 1988, Nike introduced its now-famous “Just Do It” slogan with an advert starring 80-year-old Walt Stack, who jogged 17 miles across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge every day. Created by David Kennedy, co-founder of Wieden+Kennedy, the slogan made an immediate impact. As Walt runs, he explains that some people ask him how he keeps his teeth from chattering on cold winter mornings, to which he replies “I leave them in my locker.” Stack ran approximately 62,000 miles (100,000 km) in his lifetime. What a legend!
From Apple to Pepsi, Cdburys to Nike!
