In this Breakdown, we're looking at three ads - from The Ordinary, Duracell and McDonald's.
1. Skincare brand sells eggs
As a delightful piece of commentary / marketing.
Eggs have hit $15 / dozen in New York, after an outbreak of bird flu torpedoed the supply. There have been a ton of memes about it, and several businesses doing what they can to either take advantage or help out. A Brooklyn restaurant gave out 1500 free eggs, while bacon, egg and cheese specialists (read: bodegas) have been trying their hand at alt-egg vegan options alongside the Just Egg brand.
But The Ordinary might be the first skincare brand to wade in - selling eggs at a reasonable price in their stores.
WHY IT WORKS
The Ordinary are known for their straightforward, effective and affordable skincare. They don’t add unnecessary chemicals and fragrances, keep their packaging plain, and focus on clinical, meaningful levels of active ingredients. Real simple stuff.
In that light, this egg-stunt is a really good reflection on the brand. It follows all of the brand’s core principles, while doubling as a reason to get people in store (that restaurant that handed out 1500 free eggs? they ran out in 10 minutes) AND is an earned-media swoop.
I’ve seen lots of people comment that the “brand alignment” is off, but I don’t really think that’s true. Simple ingredients at a price that aren’t just affordable, but a genuine steal compared to the alternatives is what The Ordinary are about. They don’t do a lot of brand marketing either, so it’s hard to pick at this idea for being a bit random - random compared to what exactly?
The one stitch-up could be the brand’s vegan claims (which this obviously violates), but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think that’s too much of a misstep.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
Know your brand’s superpower - the thing people instinctively know you for, or what you want them to know you for. For The Ordinary, it’s affordable, effective skincare. That’s enough of a starting point to get to eggs on shelves. You don’t need campaigns that are similarly left-field, but knowing who you are and how people think of you lets you take more risks when you want to get their attention.
2. Duracell publicise parents’ nightmares
With some kinda horrifying out of home
I had to do a bit of a double take when I saw this ad. Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to tell what these ads are for, so don’t register that double take as 2 impressions yet, you fiendish media analysts.
To show off their batteries that have a bitter-tasting coating that discourages kids from eating them, Duracell launched a campaign featuring other things that are too bitter for kids to swaller. Things like…
- Mummy loves your brother more than you
- Your dog didn’t go to ‘live on a farm’
- No one likes your singing voice
WHY IT WORKS
It’s bold as hell. The brand recruited children’s illustrators to really dial up the contrast with these evil lines, and it really works. Can you imagine seeing something like this with your kid while you’re out and about?
But I think that’s almost the issue with the work. There’s a bit of a garden path, both visually and conceptually, that you need the audience to walk down to get to the point of the ad.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
I love the idea, and I love the creative strategy (in principle) of bringing some shock factor to what is a pretty serious and potentially dangerous thing. It’s not a million miles away from Dumb Ways To Die in that sense (one of my all-time favourite campaigns) - but I think clarity needs to be prioritised for work like this. I think I need to know why I’m being shocked, rather than being shocked into finding something else out.
3. McDonald’s, will you never learn
Either that, or they’re gluttons for LinkedIn punishment
Another day, another ad without a logo that will get people all in a tizz.
McDonald’s launched a new campaign for their breakfast offering without showing a logo or mentioning the names of their products. Their bet is that they simply don’t have to.
WHY IT WORKS
They’re right. They don’t have to.
Years upon years of consistency means that, at least in the UK, when you hear this voice, when you hear the whistle at the end, you know you’re watching a McDonald’s ad.
Plus, decades of consistency in terms of product mean that also, yes, when you see a little corner of a sausage and egg McMuffin, you know exactly what it is.
On some level, I think it’s fair to call this work a smidge lazy. I don’t think there’s anything particularly standout in the way the campaign has been put together. But I’m not dumping on Leo Burnett or McDonald’s when I say that. They have put in the work already - these are just the fruits of their labour.
WHAT YOU CAN STEAL
You can’t steal from this ad. You need to steal from all the other McDonald’s ads that make ads like this even possible.
Consistency. Years of layering things together to create something that is actually memorable is what you can steal. The best time to plant that tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.