Whiskey Galore And A Very Special Delivery: 5 Ads You Should Watch Right Now
writes Jamie Fraser
Nick Offerman drinks whiskey, Victoria Secret models pretend to sing and a young boy realises his dream of becoming a UPS driver Yep, it’s just another week in AdLand!
But which ads have caught fire on the web over the last seven days? Here are our five picks.
Enjoy!
5. Diageo – Nick Offerman’s My Tales of Whiskey
Expensive alcohol advertising tends to be a little cold, calm and removed, like this spot featuring David Beckham and his charmless tycoon mates ambiguously congratulating each other. Partnering up with the hugely popular EliteDaily, Diageo goes off-book by producing an ad that’s both funny and completely unlike the competition.
Their first right step is hiring Nick Offerman, a man of stoical voice and moustache, best known for playing Parks and Recreation’s uber-American, Ron Swanson. The ad, part of a series called ‘My Tales of Whiskey’, finds Offerman singing a ridiculous ode to his favourite liquor, while emphasising that customers shouldn’t do woodwork while on a tipple. As you can guess, Diageo’s second finest move is letting all this happen.
4. UPS – Your Wishes Delivered: Driver For A Day
What did you want to be as a kid? An astronaut maybe, or a fireman. For the dreamers among us, there was always the possibility of a vacancy opening up as the Blue Power Ranger. Still counting on that one, to be honest.
Young Carson Kight, from Colorado Springs, has a slightly different dream (not to mention, a very cool name). Seeing how their son responded to the arrival of the UPS truck every morning, Carson’s parents quickly realised their boy aspired to be a delivery person himself.
In a move so adorable it nearly melted BuzzFeed, UPS made Carson his own teeny-tiny delivery van and let him serve the neighbourhood all morning. As cute as this all is, I should note that Carson doesn’t appear to be taking signatures from customers. Rookie error, I guess.
3. Facebook – How To Block Someone
Facebook has never been known for its cool ads, but that looks like it’s about to change. With their new series ‘Just In Case Studies’, the brand, and their in-house creatives The Factory, brings a charmingly deadpan spin to practical social media advice.
Four have been released so far, including ‘How To Untag A Photo’, ‘How To Edit A Post’ and ‘How To Block Someone’, posted below. The latter finds a young woman, languishing in post-split awkwardness, blocking her ex in order to find a little peace of mind. Don’t worry though, all’s well that ends well and the spot eventually turns into ‘How To Unblock Someone’. Aww.
2. Victoria’s Secret – Shake It Off
Are we looking at a lip sync renaissance? If two data points indicate a trend, then I’d certainly say so. Firstly, Jimmy Fallon’s chat show has done the most to revive the least work-intensive musical genre, with Joseph Gordon Levitt setting the standard and Stephen Merchant reminding the world that Brits can’t dance.
Now, lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret are getting in on the game with a cover of ‘Shake It Off’ by little-known indie songstress, Taylor Swift. In the spot, a crew of Angels (read: models) convene in a room that looks like suspiciously like a school disco to mouth along to a song that’s stuck in the general public’s heads anyway. Talk about a public service.
1. Kmart – Masters of Madness
Kmart has produced some truly world-beating ads in the last two years, from festive favourite ‘Show Your Joe’ to one of 2013’s biggest ads and its related spin-offs. This is a brand which knows how to pull off a swift, sharp gag in an eminently shareable fashion.
That’s why its latest, ‘Masters of Madness’, is so perplexing. It begins as a funny juxtaposition of a buttoned-down suburban family dancing their way to Kmart, with a bit of ‘The Hangover’ thrown in, but never really goes anywhere. This is even leaving aside the title, which, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with the events depicted on screen. Oh well, even the makers of ‘Ship My Pants’ miss from time to time.
