Google – Valentine’s Day Doodle
Google’s animated ads have become increasingly clever and cute over the years. Like the ever-changing Google logo on the search page itself, the “Doodles” are also always related to current events because Doodles like this Valentine’s Day short are a fun way for the search giant to keep current. The little boy in the ad searches online to find gifts for the jump-roping girl he wants to woo, but she turns her nose up at everything he comes up with. Finally he returns with a jump rope of his own and she sees him in a new light. To be even more topical, Google added cute animated couples at the end including a dog and a cat, a cookie and some milk, and a man and man. For the soundtrack, Google used the song “Cold, Cold Heart” by Tony Bennett, an artist whose name was also trending on Valentine’s Day. It was quickly the top trending ad online, garnering over 30,000 shares in 24 hours.
Sharpie – The Wedding
Sharpies are an office staple almost as much as staples themselves. This brand didn’t need to introduce their product or protect its credibility, so instead they chose to use the ad to highlight (no pun intended) the kind of shenanigans that their indelible markers are not intended for. The church full of wedding attendees are all displaying very un-wedding like emotions. The father of the bride is so angry his wife has to hold him back, the bridesmaids are irritated and shaking their heads, the groomsmen are doing a terrible job trying to hold back their laughter and the bride is wringing her fists around the bouquet as she says “I do.” Finally we see the groom, his face covered in Sharpie, the word ‘boobs’ scrawled across his forhead. If this were real life, we all know what would be drawn on his cheek. Drawing on friend’s faces with Sharpies is classic college humor (not recommended for bachelor parties) and a brand that recognizes the sillier side of their product is a brand that people feel good about using. Way to go, Sharpie.
Tiense Suiker – Home Sweet Home
Belgium sugar company Tiense Suiker created this very sweet (the puns are unstoppable today) ad depicting the journey of their sugar cube hero, T-man. A (careless) family out on a holiday ends up leaving many of their picnic supplies behind, including their sugar cubes. Lucky for them, these sugar cubes truly care. They transform into the T-man who hikes across forest, desert and pavement, walking and hitch-hiking until he finally gets sent in a package to his home address. The video is well produced and features beautiful shots of the country and poignant shots of the T-man in his travels. We love how polite he looks while sitting in the passenger seat, hands crossed, listening to the truck driver who picks him up. The upbeat ditty about coffee and tea is also a nice touch that keeps the viewer interested for the full minute and a half and also keeps the ad lighthearted. Sure the sugar would’ve dissolved in the rain he trudged through and sure we wouldn’t want the weathered, dirty T-man to slip back into our box of sugar to drink, but reality checks have never been good for storytelling and ‘Home Sweet Home’ is a great little story.
Ecotricity – Collapsing Cooling Towers
Ecotricity is a British renewable energy company that we wonder how many people had heard of before their ad went viral last week. Their motto, People:Power, encourages consumers to vote with their energy bills. The ad takes the ugly cooling towers of nuclear power plants and makes them into cute, British characters drinking tea and catching some zzz’s. We did wonder why Ecotricity would make the entities we’re meant to hate into adorable cartoons but that didn’t stop the ad from catching more than a million views nor did it stop anyone from getting the very clear message of the ad. The tea and operatic soundtrack do give the impression that the towers are meant to be cute but outdated. By the end of the ad, all of the cooling towers have collapsed and are replaced with the cleaner alternative of wind turbines. The “Big Six” energy companies have a reputation for being involved in ethical violations and an unwillingness to move forward with alternative energy solutions and Ecotricity’s ad is a call to action for the public and their potential customers.
Central Institute of Technology – It’s a Snap!
Henry and Aaron are an Australian comedy duo who have long been working towards notoriety on the web with their funny videos for the last couple of years now. They teamed up with Perth’s Central Institute of Technology to create this ad as spoof on the prototypical university ad. The result is undeniably funny and also more than just a bit disturbing. Aaron uses the “It’s a snap” advertising cliché to transport Henry and himself around campus, showing off CIT’s feature’s and departments until Aaron hits a bit of a snag with his travel technique. The commercial (probably NSFW) has already been featured on popular viral websites like Dooby Brain and Viral Viral Video and it looks like Henry and Aaron might finally get the fame they’ve been joking about dreaming about.