Oh, for crisis sake.

The world and his/her wife/husband/significant other have been posting on LinkedIn over the past three months (might be more, might be less - I don’t even know day or night anymore, I had crunchy nut for dinner last night and pizza for breakfast this morning) about how to successfully advertise during this global pandemic.?

It’s been a bit of an interesting rollercoaster and one hell of a PR exercise for some of the worlds biggest brands. It’s also served as an equal platform for start ups and smaller brands trying to grab some of the limelight - big or small, companies have the same agenda… Be front of mind when this thing goes away. I’ve always been a bit of cynic about the good PR vs good marketing argument - how many marketing teams genuinely want to do good (for the world, that is)? You can bet your favourite item of clothing that quarterly catch ups don’t start with what size shoe fills their new and improved carbon footprint or how much of their profit has been donated to local charities.?

There has been a smorgasbord (if that makes it through proofing, I’ll be amazed) of ad offerings and I wanted to pick out some of my favourites, all for very different reasons. I don’t claim to be the judge, jury and executioner of successful campaigns, I do work in the industry, but more importantly, I am a consumer. I buy things, because of how they are marketed - I even judge myself for doing it. I find myself handing over my money whilst wincing during these difficult times using contactless payment methods whilst rolling my eyes with the disgust character from Disneys ‘Inside Out’ inside my head shouting ‘you’ve fallen for it, again!’ at me.?

Here are some of my favourites, from the top… I suppose it would be weird if you read it from the bottom:

Brands are starting to publicly put their best foot forward - I have seen great examples over the past few weeks of brands trying to occupy different pockets of the advertising space by striking emotive chords with consumers - the first example that springs to mind is #heineken and their #connections ad. Simply, it makes sense - it's relatable and isn’t trying to win any social responsibility awards, I don’t feel cheated that I am enjoying it and most of the things in the ad have actually happened to me. Dropping a phone on your face hurts, I get it!?

Another brand that have been brilliant throughout is Nurture Brands vegetable crisp brand EMILY. They have planned to release their very first EMILY outdoor ad campaign during the first week of lock down, which obviously they weren't aware of when booking the media! Instead of mass panic and any elaborate cover ups, they owned the situation and went with it anyway amending the messaging and posting about the mishap online which gained huge traction and engagement. I thought this was absolutely brilliant.?

I’ve also started to notice brands recycling material, obviously in the current climate you can’t wheel out to any location or studio with a film team and shoot the high budget ads we are used to getting in between Simon Cowell shattering dreams on a Saturday night. The best example I have seen is #budweiser and their rehash of the #whassup campaign. “Just quarantining, havin’ a bud”. Bravo.?

I’m not suggesting by any stretch of the imagination these brands are doing the most to combat the crisis, or are doing more than the average brand to help move us though it - merely that they have successfully stuck their head above the parapet.?

We recently posted about how important a brands perception and position is, in scenarios like this, brands that have been created well, market well. None of the above ads are working too hard, they have just adjusted accordingly - there are no earth shattering ideas, just good execution and discussable content. Essentially, a lot of these adverts are using the same formula as christmas adverts - the brands want to be spoken about leverage something everyone has in common (obviously christmas and coronavirus are very, very different. Presents would be good though).

It’s also been really interesting to watch how brands have conducted themselves when celebrating their own contributions. Car brands like Vauxhall and SEAT have adjusted facilities to help produce PPE for our well documented shortfalls and brands like Brewdog have used their plants to produce hand sanitiser. Striking the right tone is difficult, you’re essentially humble bragging about a selfless act… Which makes no sense at all!?

Which has been the most impactful approach? Short term, the humble brag approach appeals to the masses, but I’m not sure people are going to be hopping into an Astra or buying Pale Ale because of the selfless acts - it’s probably done more for brand perception than actively seeing a decent ROI. For me, brands that have stuck to their own - believing in their values and personality, advertising in an understanding way are the brands that have won the day, or 80 odd days it’s been since BoJo slammed the metaphorical door on my spring adventure plans.?

Still, Espresso Martinis can wait. For now.?

The next stage will be the recovery effort from all the brands actively damaged by the last few months, we’ve already seen brands like KFC come out with the #welltakeitfromhere campaign before opening 600 stores in the UK. No more zoom video recorded adverts though, please.?