This week we’re looking at how minimalism and some gorgeous photography work so well together. Here’s the work from Stella Artois, Pampers, Snapchat, Coke, Insignis, and Block Report. That’s a lot of brands. Let’s get into it.
1. Stella Artois make it all worth it
Shot by the incredibly talented Ale Burset.
WHY IT WORKS
They’re lovely pieces of advertising.
They work so well because of a time-tested match made in heaven - a great insight, fantastic execution, and enough bravery to let the first two do their thing. I don’t think I need to say any more than that - just keep looking at them and enjoying them.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
I’ve talked about this before, but it’s incredible how many creative insights can be found by thinking about how people actually use your product/category. Not the idealised, washed-out way that ends up getting featured in so many ads - but the real stuff. The annoyances, the disasters, the tiny moments of glee or relief. Even if they seem niche (“buying a beer in a crowded bar always feels like a bit of a risk”) they can lead to some brilliantly simple work. Oh, also, get a great photographer. It helps.
2. And if you can’t afford a really good photographer…
Do as Snapchat do
WHY IT WORKS
This is literally FOMO in an image. Snapchat picked out 17 users’ snaps and stuck them on ads. They picked funny ones, or ones obviously sent between good friends. You want to be getting snaps like this: for lapsing users or non-users, they remind you / show you how good Snap can be; and for existing users, they give you a free joke or caption for your next snap.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
Real people are always, always, always funnier than brands. Always.
So before you go trying to become the next Duolingo owl, why not have a think about the UGC that might be a teensy weensy bit funnier than you?
I know, UGC is not a revolutionary idea. And this isn’t a revolutionary campaign. It is a good one, though.
3. Pampers make you go ‘awwww’
Some excellent storytelling for very minimal messaging
WHY IT WORKS
Yes, on some level, these ads work for the same reason cat photos are still a mainstay on the internet: people like looking at cute things. But they do a great job of telling a story with a single image, in much the same way the Stella ads do. A baby sleeping soundly tells you that the mum is too (hopefully), that they’re happy and peaceful, that the morning might be a bright and cheery one.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
This is really the same energy as the Stella work - what does ‘good’ really look like, out there in the real world, when your product does what it should?
4. Another giant falls to the logo-less trap
To be fair, Coke do this a lot.
WHY IT WORKS
Well, it’s up for debate if it does. If anyone out there can try to make work like this, it’s Coke.
I think the idea is good - even if it’s not original. Coke have made a ‘thing’ out of their bottle for a while. But the shadows are a little too hard to parse as Coke. The ‘Enjoy’, and the font it’s written in, isn’t quite as famous as it would need to be.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
Meh. Maybe don’t steal from this one. I don’t actually hate the ads, but chances are you’re not as well-known as Coke, so it would go down even worse for you.
5. Finally, someone makes an ad for the LinkedIn lot
LOL, just kidding.
The copy is deliberately small. If you can’t read it, it says “We make ads for the real world, not the LinkedIn world”. And then signs off with the brand name - Block Report, a PR agency.
WHY IT WORKS
I love it, because it dunks on the LinkedIn legions of 💩-talkers. That includes brands who continuously mock-up fake ads and use this exact billboard spot as if they made it themselves (look, no hate, we’ve done it ourselves at Briefly). And it includes the endless reposters who have a worse influencer strategy than most teenage TikTokers.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
There’s a good audience insight in here somewhere. Something about where agency customers (read: marketers) spend their digital time, and the kind of content they’re used to seeing. Being poky and provocative isn’t always a good move, but when there’s a harmless enemy to unite you and your customers around, that could provide some good ammo to make people laugh.
6. Can someone confirm if this is AI?
These image gen models really are getting good, aren’t they.
I don’t actually know if this was AI-generated after a 10-minute Google around the campaign. It doesn’t really matter either way - I’m not about to get into a debate around whether AI imagery has a place in an edition of a startup’s newsletter on advertising where the theme is photography.
WHY IT WORKS
The good: it’s really bloody eye-catching. There’s a lovely idea at the heart of this - sitting on your money is dangerous. I like how simple it is, and how viscerally the idea was brought to life. I also like the “Get up off your asset” copy. It’s a bit hokey, but just funny enough to be quite enjoyable.
The bad: I am really not a fan of any brand trying to turn their name into a verb. Google did it. Facebook sort of did it. X spectacularly undid it.
My point is, unless there’s a really good reason to try to do it, I wouldn’t bother. Language isn’t that malleable from a single vector. I’d also argue that it almost never happens via advertising.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
Simplicity. If you think you’ve got a good idea, think about what the very simplest execution of that idea is. What would it be if you saw it right in front of you? What would it be if it were literally true? What would it say? Who and what would it like?
These questions are getting more esoteric and therefore away from the point, but hopefully you catch my drift.