Best adverts to cut through the noise

We’re bombarded by adverts, with some experts saying we are exposed to up to 10,000 a day. How on earth are organisations meant to cut through the noise, and do that thing EM Forster described in Howard’s End - ‘only connect’? Here are a few lessons to be taken from the best ads out there.

Make us feel powerful

Nike’s Just Do It campaign is heralded as the master of simplicity. But actually, the campaign that started in the 1980s does something that is difficult to achieve. Whilst keeping it short and sweet, they managed to encapsulate a sense of fulfilment, achievement, energy and urgency - all things people feel when they exercise. The slogan encourages us to push beyond our limits and feel satisfied as a result - and we all want to feel good.

Create a community

When Coca Cola started putting names on cans and bottles they built on the previous success of ‘share a coke.’ This time people were encouraged to find a bottle with a friend’s name on, and give it to them. There was a sense of excitement as people saw their own names in the fridge. Identity with the brand was heightened, and we became part of something bigger than just having a cold beverage.?

Make us smile

This year Heinz have released their very first pasta sauce. The brand have been making ketchup, beans and soup for years using tomatoes, but somehow this product had been missed from their repertoire. They recognised this, and tongue in cheek teased themselves about it. ‘Ridiculously late, ridiculously good’ is the slogan.

Help us show off

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic DIY and home improvement went through the roof - for some quite literally. Wickes encourages us to show off our homes and reverse the normal private nature of Brits to ‘Open Up.’ Remi Nicole’s upbeat track ‘Welcome to My World’ fitted the theme well, as people opened their doors and invited us to view their work.