Cookie Eaters & Record Beaters: 5 Ads You Should Watch Right Now

We spent the week scouring the web for the ads you just have to see and, aside from the influx of cute fluffy Easter animals, things in Adland have definitely taken an interesting turn.

Chocolate egg season is approaching, and with it comes a whole host of sugary chick and bunny-based content.

At least, that’s what you might expect from advertisers at this time of year. Instead, this week’s basket features some pie-in-the-sky imagining and, well, the cookie monster.

He’s kind of like an Easter-bunny, right?

5. Apple – iPhone 6S Timer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCbWyYr82BM

So there’s a lack of chocolate-themed easter mascots in our ads this year. Luckily, for the big kid in all of us, Apple have delivered their own campaign starring a fluffy creature with an insatiable sweet-tooth. The latest ad from the tech-giant aims to show off the hands-free applications of Siri, and does so by having everyone’s favourite Sesame Street character use the virtual assistant to help him make, you guessed it, cookies. Cookie Monster waits patiently for his treats to cook, using Siri to track the time and play some inspirational music. Unfortunately for the big blue guy, a watched cookie never bakes.

4. Persil – Free The Kids – Dirt Is Good

It might seem obvious why Persil, the detergent company, would be in the business of encouraging kids to play in the dirt. However their latest campaign, Dirt Is Good, made headlines this week due to its bizarre take on just this. The ad predominantly features voiceovers from American prisoners discussing the importance of their ‘yard time’, and lamenting the ‘fact’ that lots of children spend less than the 2 hours they get, outside. It’s a starkly different direction for the brand, and suggests someone at Persil turned the wash-cycle up to ‘intense’.

3. Fisher Price – The Future Of Parenting

On the other end of the spectrum from Persil, Fisher-Price’s latest spot is a futuristic celebration of all the ways technology may be able to enhance children’s play in coming years. ‘The Future Of Parenting’ is the kind of future-gazing we usually expect from the automobile industry, and it’s oddly reminiscent of the self-driving car ad we got from BMW earlier this month. The ad is full of some wonderful ideas, and lots of holograms, and promises a future where having children doesn’t always mean having crayon on the walls.

2. Nivea Men – The Double

Nivea Men’s latest ad for it’s signature ‘creme’ product is sharp and simple. Supposedly inspired by DostoyevskyCookie ‘s famous novel of the same name, the short video features a normal guy who is constantly running into his more successful, moisturised, doppleganger. The implication is clear, Nivea créme will make you feel more confident. We’re not entirely sure how the 19th-century Russian author would have felt about his most famous metaphor being applied to cosmetics, but then maybe his outlook would have changed if his skin was a little softer.

1. Visa – Rio 2016 Olympic Games: The Heart

Rounding out the pack this week is this ad from Visa, inviting comparisons between their system and the pounding heart of an athlete. It’s not unusual for brands to try and get ahead of the pack with events like the Olympics, and Visa are hardly known for resting on their laurels. This visually impressive spot follows and Olympian-in-training, and cuts between his gruelling regime and hard-working heart. It’s a smart move by Visa and the message clear- their system is always performing and is literally the ‘beating heart’ of Olympic transactions.