From Ribena telling us to “Chin Up” to a whisky with a $75,000 price tag, we round up the most impactful ad campaigns of June.

In a rather meta-move, June saw the launch of a new advertising campaign debut at Cannes that celebrated UK advertising.

The campaign was launched by The Department for International Trade (DIT), in partnership with an industry coalition led by the Advertising Association to celebrate the very best of UK advertising. 

Luckily for you (or unlucky, depending on how you see it), you don’t need to have been to Cannes to see what we have to offer. I've got it right here for you in our latest roundup of impactful ad campaigns.

GO! host free-to-attend workshops for brands looking to evaluate and enhance their current marketing efforts. Join an upcoming session here.

Ribena: Chin Up

We begin this month’s roundup with Ribena’s campaign ‘Chin Up,’ themed around awkward moments in life that we can all relate to. In the campaign, ‘Ribena’ has replaced the words ‘been a’ in phrases such as ‘When it’s Ribena high pressure parking palaver,’ and ‘When you’ve Ribena caught out.’ 

Created by BBH, the £7m campaign hits during peak summer season (perfect for a cold glass of Ribena goodness,) and is set to reach a staggering 91% of UK adults.

We asked Bridget Hirst, Senior Brand Manager at Ribena at the time of launch, how the campaign came to be. 

Ribena’s repositioning represents a major shift in direction for the brand, with the aim to be seen as more than just bouncing berries & nostalgia and to drive reappraisal & relevancy of the brand today.  

To do this, we worked with BBH to create comms that people couldn’t help but chuckle at and relate to. Chin Up’ is rooted in those awkward, ‘banana-skin’ moments (like calling your boss ‘mum’), which might make you cringe in the moment, but once shared with friends, gives everyone a good laugh. 

‘Chin Up’ puts our brand’s cheeky irreverent personality at its heart by encouraging the nation to reach for a Ribena to help them laugh through life’s awkward little stumbles.” 

 

See the key learnings from one of our recent sessions, ‘Evolution or Revolution – Defining and Refining your Brand Identity.’ 

 

 

Boots: Summer Better Be Ready 

Also launching its summer campaign in June was high-street staple Boots.

Created by Boots together with The Pharm/VMLY&R, along with media agency MediaCom, the ad begins with a montage of people singing to themselves while getting ready for their day (all by using products available – you guessed it – in Boots.)

One lathers on the fake tan, one applies party-ready makeup, and one fella even bravely waxes his own chest hair. The cloud part, the sun comes out and our characters are thrown into a medley of typical summer scenes, including a festival, seaside shenanigans and pool parties. 

All of this plays out over a re-record of the Delfonics ‘Ready or Not’, produced by record producer and Grammy-winning artists Al Shux. 

Bowmore: Beyond Limits

To celebrate the launch of Bowmore’s second high-end collaboration with Aston Martin (following the success of Black Bowmore DB5 1964 in 2020), Beam Suntory has launched a new, multi-channel advertising campaign.

The new series is named Bowmore ARC and launches with the release of ARC-52, one of the rarest and oldest single malts created by Bowmore (where can I get myself some?) 

Bowmore describes is as a ‘striking creation’ that ‘celebrates the very definition of balance; a point in time where past meets present; where function meets style and where character is intensified.

Bringing together the deeply intriguing spirit of Bowmore and the ground-breaking visionary style of Aston Martin, true synergy is created to realise spectacular innovations with the capacity to redefine perspectives and perceptions.’ 

‘Spectacular’ is definitely a word that comes to mind when looking at the bottle. The spaceship-esque vessel, vastly enlarged, hovers powerfully in a mixture of different landscapes reminiscent of scenes from Denis Villeneuve’s epic ‘Arrival.’ 

The marketing communications strategy was led by Wake The Bear, with creative strategy and development by Miroma Group.

Speaking about the campaign, Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman said, “In marrying together the oldest and rarest Bowmore with the uncompromised principles of what makes an Aston Martin, we have created a timelessly beautiful piece of art.” 

  

National Lottery UK: The Chase 

A regular in these write-ups, adam&eveDDB have hit the jackpot with their latest campaign for National Lottery owner Camelot.

Appearing towards the end of June, the campaign highlights how a winning ticket has the power to bring an entire community together.

For several years, Camelot have been focusing on how the National Lottery raises money for good causes, including the funding of British athletes. This new chapter shift to focus on the individual winners, and how this can make a difference to those around them. 

To demonstrate this, the new TV ad shows the character of Mo celebrating his winning ticket in a shop before it is blown away by the wind.

He naturally chases after it, with the shopkeeper rushing to help. A chase ensues through a quaint-looking town, as the ticket journeys through a packed marketplace and busy high street. As it passes through, more and more people join in trying to recover it. After an encounter with a road sweep, and a crowded bus-journey later, the ticket is finally recovered.

The ad will run during the Women’s Euro 2022 and The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. 

 

Channel 4 / Barclays: Money on My Mind 

Probably not inspired by Sam Smith’s song of the same name, Channel 4 and Barclays have come together to launch ‘Money on my Mind’, a new show for Channel 4’s social media channels that focusses on how people can develop a more positive relationship with money.

The series will be a six-parter, and it marks 4Studio’s first partnership with a financial provider and features a group of money experts dissecting and exploring the spending habits, money mind-sets, and lifestyles of real people. 

The series takes a closer look at how real people deal with money, using authentic and heart-warning storylines and the provision of tailored money management coaching. 

If money matters to you, check out how proper cross-business financial planning can support your marketing strategy here.


California Almonds: Do you Almond? 

The question here is, ‘do you almond?’ I’m not sure what ‘almonding’ involves, but if California Almonds' new TV ad is anything to go by, I would define it as the ‘showing act of strength after consuming almonds.’

That’s because The Almond Board of California have teamed up with Marvel Studios to promote the release of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, and to demonstrate this, the ad depicts a carnival/fairground scene with a woman taking on the ‘are you worthy?’ hammer challenge. 

After eating her almonds, the woman rises into the air, wields her hammer and brings it down on the target.

The whole thing sparks with lightning, and we cut to some creepy bears asking the titular phrase ‘do you almond?’ 

The TV spot was created by London-based creative agency isobel, who worked with California Almonds for their UK launch.

  

Teva: The Chemo Show  

On the roster for Great Guns, Commercial Film Director Duncan Christie has teamed up with VCCP Health, for pharmaceutical company Teva to create ‘The Chemo Show’, a piece that aims to show how spirit-raising interactions can lighten the process of chemotherapy.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage entries for Teva’s Humanising Health awards. The awards support initiatives that go beyond medicine alone to improve like for people with chronic conditions.

The film depicts a patient going into hospital for a day of chemotherapy. She sits with a companion and looks at loved ones on her phone, but the sense of monotony and a gloomy atmosphere hangs heavy.

Things change when the lights are dimmed and curtains opposite open onto a makeshift performance area. A string of lights hangs from the ceiling and a series of performers take to the area, doing a mix of singing, juggling, and magic.

The performance brings a much-needed smile to the watching crowd, and they forget they are patients, even just for a while.

 

 

Mulberry Softie: Falling 

And finally, to round up this roundup, we’re highlighting creative agency Above+Beyond’s global digital campaign to promote the new white ‘Mulberry Softie.’

Admittedly, I first thought this was some form of ice cream (like a fancy 99,) but I have subsequently learned that it’s actually a bag.

With its curved quilting and soft, pillow-like feel, the Mulberry Softie’s tactile appeal centres the theme for its launch. The ad features a young person walking through a city street, dressed in white to match her bag. Holding her softie (I’m sorry), she falls into a dream-like world of clouds until landing on a pillowy landscape, bringing her back to reality.

 

 

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