Adverts: in the swim with HTC, giffgaff, Boots and HSBC
Author: CIMCOM
It’s impossible to celebrate Christmas properly in a heatwave. And nobody bothers to advertise soup in summer since our collective psyche craves salad and barbecues. Tapping into the seasonal mood makes sense. This summer HTC, Boots, HSBC and giffgaff make a splash with four different poolside treatments that nod in approval at our summertime optimism.
All-action selfie from HTC
How do you get consumers to understand that this Taiwanese-manufactured mobile phone is superb fun? Agency Hope&Glory produced this campaign for HTC’s smartphone. The central story is a diver attempting to take a selfie mid-dive to illustrate the squeeze to shoot function and the phone’s water resistance credentials. Cue the fun film; cue the cooling imagery that’s spot on for summertime; cue the high-quality action shots that explain how good this is without resorting to words. Best of all, cue the right celebrity for the story.
HTC U11 - Extreme Selfies with Tom Daley
Teamed with a PR plan that saw 40 news, tech and lifestyle media channels given access to the product pre-launch, the campaign has gained in-depth, positive publicity with 140 pieces on launch day alone. See the Hope&Glory blog.
Fantasy treatment for disruptor giffgaff
With one mobile network provider much like another, how do you differentiate? It’s even more of an issue for giffgaff which runs using the O2 network. Well, how about defying expectations with an unexpected narrative? That’s how giffgaff’s agency Who Wot Why solved the messaging conundrum. The brand’s TV advert shows a woman dive from the board above a swimming pool only to fly skywards instead of making an immediate splash. It’s a great analogy for freedom. Since giffgaff’s point of difference is that there are no contracts, freedom is a point well made. The Walker Brothers’ track, Stay with Me Baby is the glue that holds the storyline together.
Free to go. Free to stay. | giffgaff
To discover more about the creative thinking behind the ad and how it was made see the Little Black Book website Celebrating Creativity - Life Aquatic: Behind the Scenes on giffgaff’s Sparkly Summer Campaign.
Boots wakes up to summer
How do you promote myriad personal care and beauty products that are so familiar they could easily blend into the background? In its last campaign for Boots in a 13-year run (before the account moves to Ogilvy & Mather), Mother London sells summer anticipation. Multiple products are wrapped into the excitement of that day at the pool that we all know is coming soon when the jeans and jumpers come off and the swimwear goes on. The message is just like the controversial ProteinWorld ads with their uber-skinny model in a yellow bikini which asked, ‘Are you beach body ready?’. Yet this execution which aired on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1, E4 and More4, has none of that controversy. This is an ad full of warmth, told with humour and with players that are charming caricatures of people we all know.
It #FeelsLikeSummer - TV advert
There’s been no shortage of creativity at Mother. Recent work on the ‘Ready’ campaign for Boots No. 7 cosmetics hits the mark. See the full story from Rebecca Stewart in The Drum.
Drudgery, devotion and HSBC
What’s so good about a mortgage service with a one-day approval timescale? Potentially faceless financial brand, HSBC Mortgages, is given oodles of personality in this spot by JWT London. This ad communicates the transformational power that that the speedy approvals process can bring. The brand hooks us in with a devoted dad who gets up at 5am every day so his daughter can get to the pool and train. What might someone like that dream of? This is one dream drama; there’s more in print. A variety of stories target first-time buyers, movers and re-mortgagers, to demonstrate what securing a dream home can mean to our everyday lives. Interactive content on Facebook Canvass carries the message into the social sphere.
HSBC Mortgages | The Swimmer | TV ad
For more on the Facebook mobile ad tool, Canvass, see Jon Loomer’s explainer and ‘how to’ guide.