Sorry for the hiatus last week. Briefly HQ had a very urgent coffee disaster on Monday morning that I had to attend to.
(There was no coffee. I had to go and get it).
Anyway... this week we're looking at work from Heinz, KFC, and Magnum.
1. Heinz: Proving Parents are Just Big Babies
When it comes to baby food pouches.
It's a really simple campaign - parents get their toddler's lunches ready (a Heinz for Baby pouch), and sneak a little taste. This is quickly followed by a disapproving look from their partner or their baby. There are three ads, all following this formula.
Why It Works
Well, I think there are two pretty nice insights in this campaign: (1) Parents often sneak a taste of their kids' food, because why wouldn't you, and (2) Parents surprisingly care about what this kind of food tastes like.
The second is a bit weird - well, of course parents care that the food they give their kids tastes good. But when it's in a squeezy pouch, something strange happens. It loses its regular status of 'food' in a way. The best comparison I can think of is pet food. Yes, it's still food, but it's in a can that gets served in a bowl on the floor. It's a different kind of thing to the food we eat.
There was a great campaign that I remember running on the London Underground, for a small, premium pet food brand, which essentially used the same idea. It's good enough that you'd want to eat it too.
For Heinz, this campaign drives a subtle quality message, while communicating the idea that they get parenthood. Which they do need - after all, they're a brand normally associated with glossy red sauce.
What You Can Steal
Empathy in marketing is valuable. Having a real understanding of what life looks like around your product (where it is bought, where it is consumed, who uses it and how do they use it etc.) makes straightforward ads like this a doddle.
Relatively speaking.
2. KFC: Still Getting Weird and Cult-y
The gravy is the star of this show, though.
Every new iteration of the "Believe In Chicken" platform gets weirder and weirder, and incredibly more watchable.
Why It Works
The "Believe" cult (or 'creative platform' if you're that way inclined) is essentially doing what cults do best - making it really hard to leave.
Check the YouTube comments under this ad - a fair few of them are from people who were watching the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday, with this ad airing during half time. This ad, it's film-trailer-like sequencing and otherwise general bonkers-ness, is somehow hard not to watch again. The OOH does the same:
I don't know if it's some special technique that makes you feel like you've missed something, but it's this incredible feeling that I can only compare to the feeling of watching these last few episodes of Severance. Nearly the entire time I'm asking myself, "What am I looking at?" - but because I'm interested, I keep on looking. It's a real stake in the ground for those who believe (as I do) that advertising must be entertaining. We enter people's homes without invitation, so we may as well be good house guests and give them a good time.
What You Can Steal
Metaphorical cajones.
3. Magnum: Creating Media Magic
Really, this is insane from the media teams.
As an extension to their "Nothing Cracks Like a Magnum" campaign, the ice cream brand have worked with Lola MullenLowe and Global to combine digital OOH with digital radio.
When someone drives past one of these billboards, and is tuned in to Heart radio on DAB or Global Player, they will hear the signature Magnum crack at the same time.
Why It Works
Obviously, this is some data wizardry that is both cool and horrifying. Location data always feels like one of those things that we sign away but never remember exactly when we did it.
But putting that aside for a moment - we've covered Magnum work before. I like it a lot because it is so archetypal of good FMCG marketing. Magnum are so incredibly single-minded (DBAs out the wazoo) and this is a really thoughtful expansion of that.
The 'crack' is such a great brand device. It's a sonic logo by itself (lord, remember when they were the new hot craze?), and it's a quality signal as well, since it implies a thick layer of chocolate.
Playing that up with this very cool media combination feels like a great move. I am a bit sceptical about how many times this radio crack will actually trigger, though...
What You Can Steal
The next time you're writing a brief for your media pals, try spicing it up a bit:
What signals do you have for your brand? Go through your five senses, and think about what triggers people to think about your brand or your category.
When is a good time for someone to think about your brand or your category? And where is a good place? Think about when someone might really want to buy from you, but can't just yet. Or when someone is just about to buy from your category. Or when your product would really solve a problem for them.
Stick both of those in your brief, and ask your media team if they can come up with some ways to reach your audience with those signals, in those moments, in those places.
You might get some wacky stuff in response (and I can tell you for free, just say no to "scratch 'n' sniff" billboards), but give them something to run with.