Pepsi Uncle Drew advertisements

Pepsi have recently released the long awaited, much anticipated part 4 to their 'Uncle Drew' series.

The advertisements feature professional Basketball player Kyrie Irving disguised as an elderly man playing basketball against young people at the park. He lulls them into a false sense of security at first by making mistakes before turning it on and playing amazing basketball.

Each part features a new Basketball player alongside Irving and each one is as amusing and entertaining as the last for Basketball fans.

Fans of the series have waited over 2 years for a new addition to Uncle Drew and their dreams have come true.

The short viral advertisements created by 'The Marketing Arm' advertising agency have a huge following and I am a huge fan of the series, I often find myself getting involved in the speculation of who will be the next basketball player to be included.

Creating such a huge buzz for these viral videos can only be good for Pepsi. Fans eagerly anticipate the next part and Pepsi have gained a huge following because of it.

Cat treats 'temptations' advertisement

Adam&EveDDB have created an incredibly unique advertisement for the cat treats brand 'Temptations'. The minute long advertisement features various different cats dressed up in festive outfits.

The message conveyed at the end of the advertisement is that you should apologise to your cat for dressing them up in ridiculous outfits by giving them temptations treats.

The advertisement is very amusing and a unique way of selling the product and also a unique way of capturing the zeitgeist of the Christmas period.

Warburton's win the war on Christmas?

Warburton's christmas advertisement featuring the Muppets singing the 'Giant Crumpet Show' song has been voted the best Christmas advertisement of 2015.

In a time when Christmas advertising is usually dominated by the sad short stories, usually created by supermarkets it is quite strange and refreshing to see a bakers win the war on Christmas advertising with a comedy advertisement featuring the muppets.

The advertisement created by WCRS London, Featuring old classic characters such as Kermit and Miss Piggy using their famous sense of humour is hilarious and has proved wildly popular with the general public.

Using a comedic tone of voice is pretty unique for Christmas advertisements, so it is great that it has been so well received so far.

St Johns Ambulance- Chokeables

St Johns ambulance have decided to create awareness on how to help save a choking baby after a recent survey suggested that 79% of parents would not know how to save one.

The advertisement created by BBH features various miscellaneous objects that babies could choke on voiced by several celebrities such as David Mitchell and Jonny Vegas all explaining what to do if a baby starts to choke.

Roughly 21 million people the advertisement in it's first week on television. Also, apparently many babies have been saved as a direct result of the advertisement, many people claiming that they learned the technique from the short clip.

In that regard the advertisement is a huge success. The main goal would have been to raise awareness of this issue and explain how they can stop these accidents from happening.

By creating this short animated advert, they have achieved their goal and saved lives in the process of doing so.

'This Girl Can' campaign

Sport England introduced a campaign called 'This Girl Can'. The campaign features 'real' girls working out.

Created by FCB Inferno, the advertisements intention was to combat women's fears of working out
after a recent survey suggested that 75% of women would like to work out more, but don't because of the fear that they will be judged.

Sport England also released an app to support this campaign and encouraged women to post videos of themselves working out.

The campaign has clearly been very successful, winning nine Cannes Lions since its release.

Targeting a real-life issue is often a great approach to take with an advertising campaign, as it often gets many people talking.

Listerine - Feel every Smile

Most people take smiling for granted. Its an everyday expression and interaction that most of us have on a day-to-day basis. For blind people however, it is much more difficult for them to know whether or not people around them are smiling.

Listerine introduced an app to four blind people which uses facial recognition technology to recognise a persons smile. The blind user can wear their phone around their neck and if a person is looking at them and smiling the phone will vibrate.

The short video advertisement which features the four blind people shows them using the app and experience what it is like to see someone smile. They are also asked what a smile means to them.

The advertisement is beautiful and heart-warming and is different to the majority of toothpaste advertisements out there, which tend to focus on gleaming white teeth and high key lighting.

Listerine’s brand director Alice Lovell says the brand are trying to focus more on what a smile means to different people.

Listerine have done a great job standing out from the crowd by producing a great and thought provoking campaign.

Coca Cola's one brand strategy

Coca Cola have radically changed their advertising strategy this year. As opposed to all of the separate products having their individual advertising campaigns, they have decided to bring all of their products together and advertise them as one.

This is an interesting strategy from Coca Cola, bringing all four of their popular products together rather than advertise them individually.

I personally like the choice that Coca Cola have made and like the look of the products altogether.

Everyone has their favourite Coca Cola product and by bringing them together like this just subtly reminds people that Coca Cola are the company responsible for so many different products and flavours.

WWF's endangered emoji

Weiden & Kennedy have created a campaign for WWF titled 'Endangered Emoji'. According to WWF 17 of the emoji animals are endangered.

Using a zeitgeist to communicate a serious issue is an incredible thing for WWF to do. According to a recent study by the BBC the 'emoji' is the fastest growing language in the world. Therefore, WWF are able to communicate this serious issue with the whole world by using these unique characters that virtually everyone can understand.

By signing up to the campaign, you can donate 10 pence to the WWF for every endangered animal you tweet.

This incredibly unique campaign is considered one of the best advertising moves of the year and I can't help but agree. This is a great idea and I hope it proves to be successful for the WWF.

Great Business move spotted locally

I recently walked past a Timpson Dry cleaners and noticed a sign outside. The sign reads: 'If you are unemployed and need an outfit cleaned for an interview, we will clean it for free!'

This is not only a really great gesture by Timpson but also a great bit of advertising for them as a company. If an unemployed person does this, they are likely to return to the company if they are happy with the service. Also, even if people are not unemployed, just by seeing the sign they will appreciate the gesture and recognise the good nature of the company.

A subtle gesture like this one can be great for the reputation for a company.

Vodafone & Terry the Turkey

Vodafone's Christmas advertisement features a family lovingly raising a Turkey which appears that they will eat on Christmas Day. When the time comes however, the Father of the family decides against it and they all have a nut roast instead.

In a time when most companies are attempting to pull on the heart strings of the nation with their Christmas advertising, it is quite refreshing to see Vodafone us a comedic tone of voice whilst still portraying the value of family at Christmas time.

It may not get the recognition of the likes of Sainsbury's and John Lewis, but I think Vodafone have done a great job from standing out from the crowd by using a slightly different tone of voice.

'Robert Dyas' Sexuality advertisement [Ethics]

Robert Dyas is a DIY store based in London. Like most retailers at the moment they have recently released their Christmas advertisement for this year.

Their Christmas advertisement features both members of staff and customers commenting on their sexuality and also information about the store and their products.

The acceptance of sexuality is a zeitgeist at the moment, especially after many recent laws being changed in many different countries allowing same sex marriage. However, this advertisement is somewhat confusing as it seems to have no real proposition or agenda, other than the fact that the company support any sexuality.

The advertisement has certainly got people talking however, many people simply confused by the random nature of the advertisement. Any publicity is good publicity!

Creative local advertising in Stoke-on-Trent

An illustrator who goes by the name 'eight bit' has created some alternative illustrations for A local coffee shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent called 'Tsp.' The illustrations depict the latest John Lewis Christmas advertisement 'Man on the moon' but with a unique twist. When the little girl sends the telescope to the old man, as opposed to being happy he is disappointed to not receive cake. The slogan then reads 'Show someone they're loved this Christmas! (With Cake)

Christmas advertisements are a zeitgeist at the moment, the John Lewis advertisement in particular has got people talking more than most. To capture the zeitgeist with such unique illustrations is great for a small business to do!

Domestic abuse interactive billboard

London Agency WCRS have created the worlds first interactive billboard for Women's Aid

The billboard features a woman who has been domestically abused and has bruises on her face. The advertisement uses facial recognition to identify how many people are looking at the advertisement. The more people that are looking at the advertisement, the more that the injuries on her face disappear. The message here is that more people should be paying attention and acknowledging the serious issue of domestic abuse.

This advertisement could be considered a form of 'shockvertising'; which tends to be effective when raising awareness of serious issues, however disturbing or upsetting they may be.

The unique format of this advertisement is another reason for people to pay attention to this issue, which would have been Women's Aids main goal.

Protein World controversial advertisement

Protein World were relatively unknown until recent controversy with a print advertisement for their weight loss protein shakes.

The advertisement features a slender, half naked woman with the caption 'Are you beach body ready?'.

The advertisement featured 378 ASA complaints and there was also a petition to remove the advertisement from London Underground which received over 40,000 signatures. The ads were also defaced and there was even a hashtag #EachBodysReady.

Protein World CEO Arjun Seth was immensely pleased with the advertisement however, even with the negativity surrounding it. He claimed 'sales have tripled' and the 'PR department got their bonus'.

Although the general public are upset with this advertisement, you cannot argue with statistics. If sales are going to triple, I'm sure they would do it again in a heartbeat.

Kit Kat unique print advertisement

J Walter Thompson London have created a unique and subtle print advertisement for Kit Kat during the 'Black Friday' chaos.

The advertisement uses the vernacular of shopping to capture the zeitgeist of Black Friday, by subtly using the chocolate fingers within a barcode.

Capturing a zeitgeist is vital in advertising and the way that J Walter Thompson London have done this for Kit Kat is fantastic.

Coca-Cola fascinating packaging

Coca Cola are one of the most iconic brands in the world; especially when it comes to festive advertising and branding. They re-invented Santa Claus' suit and have one of the most iconic Christmas advertisements of all-time- The Holiday's are coming.

This year Coca-Cola have released some special-edition bottles with some incredibly unique packaging that forms a ribbon.

The Christmas-themed packaging would certainly cause an average consumer to look twice and is a great and unique way to get involved with Christmas branding.

John Lewis inspires

Age UK have recently seen a huge increase in volunteers since the release of the John Lewis' Christmas advertisements; which tugged on the heartstrings of the nation.

The advertisement encourages the audience to spend time with their loved ones; especially those who may not have any company at Christmas time.

Although the advertisement by Adam&EveDDB has largely split opinions this year, there is no denying it's success and in this case it even causes a positive contribution to society.

Digital Adshells

Companies are constantly attempting to make use of new technology in order to promote their brands. 'Adshells' at bus stops for example, have usually been an exception to this, up until recently.

Adshel is a company attempting to revolutionise adshells and billboards by making them digital; which could mean less print advertising.

An advantage of this form of advertising is the potential to be more engaging to passers by as oppose to a static image. A disadvantage of this, is the potential dangers and distractions a digital billboard could be to drivers. Overall it is just yet another platform for businesses to utilise.

Take Mini for example, who have made great use of digital advertising by showing the corresponding colours of traffic lights on their cars; demonstrating the range of colours that the mini is available in.

Eye magazine article

Eye is a graphic design and visual culture magazine that was first published in London in 1990.

I recently read an article in eye magazine about a man called Pete Hardwicke who is a sign writer in London and has been for many years.

The variety of signs that he is capable of doing is rather extraordinary. Ranging from the classic serif typefaces to more complexed forms of Calligraphy, Pete has made his mark on a significant area of London.

The fact that he remains humble, does not sign his name on work and appears to not care for any recognition or fame is what was surprising about the article. He seems to love what he does and he is great at it.

Sainsbury's and Mog the cat

John Lewis and Sainsbury's are the two major companies to look out for in terms of Christmas advertising. John Lewis have arguably gained the majority of attention this year with their man on the moon advertisement, but Sainsbury's may well be the nations favourite with their loveable Mog the cat Christmas advertisement.

The advertisement is based on the series of children's books by Judith Kerr dating back as early as 1970.

Mog, the forgetful cat gets into multiple difficult scenarios in which she inadvertently continues to ruin things until the house is set on fire. The neighbours then precede to help the family to get the house back together again and Mog is happy again.

The agency responsible for the beautifully animated advertisement is Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

Sainsbury's have already sold out of Mog toys and the book which accompanies the advertisement 'Mog's Christmas Calamity' is climbing the children's best seller list.

Aldi vs John lewis

Aldi have subtly parodied John lewis' iconic Christmas advertisement this year by creating an almost identical scene but with some subtle and amusing changes.

John Lewis' original advertisement is a heartwarming story of a young girl who sends a telescope to a man, who is all alone living on the moon; with the heartwarming message to show someone they are loved this christmas who may otherwise be lonely.

Aldi depicts the man on the moon next to two telescopes, one with the John lewis price tag of £109.95 and the other with the Aldi price tag of £69.99. The old man is then greeted with a companion flying in on a sofa with balloons attached to it, to which he says 'I'm over the moon with this one'.

The agency responsible for Aldi's clever comparison style advertisements are McCann Manchester. The amusing tone of voice used in these adverts has radically changed the publics perception of Aldi and advertisements like this one will continue to do so.

Christmas coming early

The first Christmas advertisements this year came from both Aldi and Lidl on November 1st, just a day after Halloween. Many people tend to complain or claim that these advertisements are coming earlier and earlier each year.

A reason for this is that each brand wants to out perform each other; particularly supermarkets. This means that if for example Asda choose to release their Christmas advertisements on the 11th November one year and Morrisons released their advertisement on the 15th November, they would be a full four days behind Asda and their festive advertisements. With this in mind, the next year they are likely to release their Christmas advertisements earlier in the year, to tackle this problem.

Andy Atkinson, Interim marketing director of Morrisons acknowledges this trend, stating that they were 'one of the last' to release their Christmas advertisements, which he felt was 'inappropriate'.

This seems to be something that will likely continue. If companies continue to release their advertisements earlier each year, other companies will be forced to follow suit.

John Lewis Christmas advertisement has arrived!

John Lewis is a company that since 2007,  has produced the best of the best Christmas advertisements. They often feature a classic song, covered in a heartwarming way. The song often gains a boost in sales from these advertisements, proving how effective they really are.

This year the advertisement features an Oasis song 'Half the World Away', covered by Aurora - a 19 year old Norwegian singer.

The narrative follows a young Girl named Lily, who when looking through her telescope finds a Man on the moon all alone. She attempts to befriend him by sending gifts to him but fails to reach until Christmas day. The elderly man receives Lily's gift and sheds a tear of joy; the message reading 'Show someone they're loved this Christmas'.

The beautifully shot 2 minute piece created by ad agency Adam & Eve DDB is sure to be as successful as the previous years. The ad really is a tear-jerker and plays on the sad fact of elderly people not being able to share Christmas with their loved ones.

It is clear why John Lewis have gained this reputation for beautiful and emotional Christmas advertisements.

Smart packaging by Walkers

Something which has always caught my eye in the snacks aisle at supermarkets is the brilliantly clever packaging by Walkers 'Tiger nuts'.

The way that the Tiger markings compose the words is nothing short of genius in my opinion.

Personally, I don't eat nuts but i think that this packaging would make me purchase them above all other brands because of the creative packaging. The packaging has clearly not gone unnoticed too, winning a couple of 'Pentawards' for the design.

The design is a fairly simple concept, but executing the idea could not have been easy, yet it is done expertly.

Lidl Christmas Advertisement

Lidl has become one of the first companies to jump on the Christmas bandwagon, considerably early too, around Halloween time.

The advertisement features a 'school of christmas' which teaches students how to deal with problems usually encountered around the Christmas period, such as untangling fairy lights and assembling a snowman.

Usually Christmas advertisements feature a heartwarming story. However, this Lidl festive themed advertisement uses a humorous tone of voice to get the audience in the festive spirit.

Although it has surfaced surprisingly early, I believe Lidl have done a great job in getting people excited for Christmas by highlighting some of the problems we have all faced at this time of year.

Seasonal Starbucks

Starbucks are just now releasing the Christmas range of beverages such as the Gingerbread latte, Eggnog latte and the new Gingerbread whipped cream with waffle sprinkles.

Starbucks is a wildly successful company and it is no secret that their seasonal themes help them to keep their level of success. These christmas drinks come shortly after the autumn themed beverages like the insanely popular Pumpkin spice latte.

Around this Christmas period Starbucks staff wear red aprons and all beverages are served in red cups, which have become popular among customers.

Personally I am a huge fan of Starbucks and how they market themselves and stay relevant with their unique 'themed' events and recipes.

Funny Amazon advertisement ft. Jeremy Clarkson

An amazon advertisement featuring Jeremy Clarkson has gained a lot of attention recently for poking fun at the BBC.

Jeremy Clarkson was fired by the BBC earlier this year following various altercations; one of which he allegedly punched a producer of his show 'Top Gear'.

Since then, there has been an incredibly high demand for the TV show to return; Amazon being the company who chose to gamble on the show.

The advert features Jeremy Clarkson scrolling through and listing the features of the Amazon Fire TV stick, and upon reaching 'BBC iPlayer' he simply refers to it as 'that'.

The advertisement certainly has a comedic tone of voice and I don't think it was an attack on the BBC from Amazon, as iPlayer is a key feature on the product. I believe it was a tongue in cheek comment towards the events that transpired between Jeremy and the BBC and it was quite amusing.

Snapchat owns your pictures (ethics)

Snapchat has recently altered its terms and conditions to the point where they are allowed to do what they like with the publics pictures and videos.

The USP of snapchat is the fact that after sending your pictures or videos to your friends, they normally disappear forever. However, this privacy policy means that Snapchat can do as they please with all shared media through snapchat.

This policy could be damaging for snapchat as it completely opposes everything that makes the app great. It definitely makes you think twice about what you will send to your friends knowing that the media isn't gone forever.

Pepsi and Uber Capitalise on 'Back to the Future day'

The most recent zeitgeist is 'Back to the Future day'. 'Back to the Future' is a classic 1985 sci-fi film in which the protagonist time travels. One of the dates in which he travelled to was October 21st 2015; which just recently passed.

This gained huge social media attention, many people commenting on which predictions in the film came true and which ones didn't.

Pepsi and Uber teamed up to capture this zeitgeist by offering a few select passengers of Uber a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a ride in a DeLorean - the vehicle used to time travel in the film.

The passengers also received a 'Pepsi Perfect', a product which was predicted by the 1985 film to be released in 2015.

This was an incredible opportunity for brands to seize and Uber and Pepsi captured it perfectly.

Oreo Halloween Advertisement

A recent Oreo advertisement has captured the zeitgeist of Halloween by creating this short animated advert, with a catchy song from Owl City.

Animated or 'computer generated' advertisements are often popular. Compare the market's meerkat mascots or recent Cadbury's viral ads for example.

'Oreo' is a brand that are still trying to become as popular in the United Kingdom as they are in the United States.

The features of the advertisement, such as easy on the eye pastel colours and child like drawings along with a catchy jingle are not typically associated with Halloween. However it conveys a friendly tone of voice from the brand.

Advertisers admit unethical behaviour

Scott Cunningham, the senior vice president of technology at the 'Interactive advertising bureau' has admitted and apologised to 'messing up' the web.

Many of the problems that Cunningham admitted to affect iPhone users in particular. For example, the often frustrating pop-up advertisements that appear whilst using apps or browsing the web. Numerous iPhone users even resorted to installing ad-blocking software to combat these issues.

In an attempt to resolve these issues many companies have developed solutions. Apple for example, has released an 'Apple News' app which eliminates the need to browse the public web in which these issues occur.

Interactive advertising bureau have also stated that they are launching a 'Lean ads program'. Basically suggesting that the advertisements we will see from now on will be less invasive and safer.

Personally, I don't mind when advertisements are targeted to me and would be something I may be interested in. However, there is nothing worse than irrelevant and 'in your face' style advertisements which interfere whilst you are simply browsing your phone.

McDonald's final days?

According to a recent survey, the majority of franchisees of the McDonald's fast food chain state that they are in a 'deep depression' and could be in its 'final days'.

Many people used to consider McDonald's as a spontaneous treat or possibly even a reward if a family member had achieved something. Nowadays many consider it a guilty pleasure, or even a last resort when they are desperately hungry.

One of the problems that McDonald's are facing is the level of competition. Fast food places like 'Chipotle' or 'Five Guys' are becoming vastly more popular. One of the reasons for this may be that these kinds of places pride themselves on the atmosphere and quality of food rather than the speedy service of food; which in McDonald's case often diminishes the quality.

Another issue that McDonald's have been facing for a while now is the healthiness of their food. With more concerns in society of tackling childhood obesity, the situation can only get worse for McDonald's. Despite their best efforts to combat the reputation they have built as being 'junk food' like including chopped fruit with happy meals, they are still just regarded as being unhealthy fast food.

It would be a bittersweet feeling to see McDonald's go if this in fact the case. Many people grew up eating McDonald's and it is still loved by many. However, it may be a step in the right direction of tackling childhood obesity and making the world a healthier place.

Emotional Wrigley's Extra Gum advert

Emotional advertisements are often some of the most successful advertisements; John Lewis for example are iconic due to their heartwarming stories around the Christmas period.

A recent advertisement from Wrigley's Extra gum is no exception to this, gaining a lot of social media attention in it's first weeks of showing.

It depicts a young romantic relationship between a couple in love sharing tender moments such as their first kiss and buying a house together. At each of these moments the female hands her partner a piece of Wrigley's Extra gum. Later on in the narrative she discovers through pictures on the wall, that at each of the moments, her partner had sketched their life as it happened on the wrapper of the gum. One of these drawings, includes him proposing to her and as she turns around he is behind her, on one knee.

As well as being a captivating and beautifully shot advertisement, the message is clear and intelligently conveyed. The message being that Wrigley's gum is with the consumer throughout their whole life and never changes. The consistency is what Wrigley's are priding themselves on and really selling to the consumer.

Barbie's new approach to advertising

Barbie have recently released a short and brilliant advertisement for their dolls in a remarkably unique way.

The advertisement consists of young children aged from 4-6 acting out everyday jobs such as professors, veterinarians and football coaches. Many of the adults in these situations, such as the students or football players find this rather confusing and amusing.

Like many recent advertisements, it may be hard to guess the product or service being sold until the very end. The end of the advertisement reveals the young children playing with their barbie dolls with the tag line 'You can be anything'.

The advertisement seems to target the parents of the young children using a playful and amusing tone of voice by showing children in every day jobs. It also has a heartwarming message that their children can become anything that they want by playing with Barbie dolls.

Targeting the parents of the children is a smart move by Barbie, because if a brand is approved by the parent, they are more likely to buy the products when their children ask for it.