Stereotypes And Playground Fights: 5 Ads You Should Watch Right Now

After another busy week in AdLand, we’ve picked out the five videos that are definitely worth your time.

In our round-up this week we’ve got the return of the ever-popular #LikeAGirl series, this time with emojis, as well as a light-hearted look at VR and some fun with UK reality star Joey Essex.

So let’s get started, shall we?

5. Android: Rock, Paper, Scissors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYxpX3N20qU

In the latest ad in Android’s hugely-popular ‘Be Together, Not the Same’ series we watch the trials and tribulations of a rock, a piece of paper, and a pair of scissors as they take on their primary school bullies. It’s a clever concept, as the three are obviously suited to teamwork, and it’s deceptively simple.

The ad mainly works thanks to the adorable animations, but also because of the fantastic use of St. Elmo’s Fire – a song epic enough to take any ad to new heights.

4. Always: #LikeAGirl – Girl Emojis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3BjUvjOUMc

Always returned to our screens this week with the latest ad in their #LikeAGirl campaign. The new ad highlights the fact that young girls use emojis more than any other demographic, but feel severely underrepresented in the medium. Always commissioned a survey that shows 54% of girls feel that female emojis are stereotypical, and 75% of girls would like more progressive female emojis. In the ad a series of young girls challenge the stereotypes they see in the images and suggest alternatives.

3. Bachelor’s Cup-A-Soup: Deliciously Thick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGkOmHWVEYc

Everyone’s favourite lunch-in-a-mug solution released an ad this week that genuinely made us laugh. The video features TOWIE star Joey Essex making cup-a-soup shirtless, in what feels like a throw-back to the chocolate ads of the mid-2000s. It’s a simple concept with a simple joke at its core, all of which comes together in the last second as Joey figures out why HE was chosen for the ‘deliciously thick’ campaign.

2. HTC Vive: Paddle Pass

After a long development process, phone manufacturer HTC, in conjunction with software company Valve, is finally ready to release its Virtual Reality headset this month. In preparation, HTC has launched a series of ads that transplants classic video games on to the real world. This particular ad follows two men dressed as giant versions of the paddles from the classic game Pong as they disrupt, annoy, and generally get in the way of passers-by. The ad works well by cleverly playing on the nostalgia of HTC’s target audience, gamers and early adopters.

1. Burger King: #BetterToBeTheBurgerKing

After McDonald’s released its #McDriveKing ad last week – highlighting the number of its restaurants compared to rival Burger King – we knew it wouldn’t be long before the King retaliated.

And, sure enough, this week Burger King took Maccy D’s “#McDriveKing” video and added their own special twist to the messaging. The new ad features a couple stopping at a McDonald’s, which is conveniently close by, to get coffee for the long drive ahead. At the end of the video we see the same couple arrive at their destination and, you guessed it, it’s a Burger King. The back and forth between the two companies is unusual, and certainly welcome. Let’s hope we see more of this one-upmanship in the future!