A round-up of the best new experiences and campaigns we’ve seen on our travels. Here’s what you need to know about.
Everyone was talking about Mouldy Whoppers and then…
Wow! So Burger King’s mouldy burger dominated the ad land conversation when it hit last month. Read WARC’s great analysis of its impact right here. What really wowed us was how quickly and cleverly Nando’s surfed the publicity wave and won the burger war!
Be a Lady They Said – International Women’s Day and poetic justice
On March 8 International Women’s Day attracted unprecedented media attention. One piece in particular stood out to us, and to many others it seems – amassing over 20 million views within just a few weeks of launch. Be a Lady They Said, from fashion mag Girls Girls Girls, is a simple yet powerful adaptation of poetry originally featured on the Writings of a Furious Woman blog – a blast against the conflicting demands women face each day. We think it chimes perfectly with a key trend of 2020: “Accept me, whoever I am’.
Valentine’s 2020: let’s talk about sex differently
Back in February, the month of love, two brave campaigns stood out. Durex adopted a new brand positioning and visual identity, which focussed on a more honest, positive portrayal of sex – a move on from the porn-inspired, nudge-nudge tone that’s always dominated. This is about connecting with a younger consumer who’s comfortable with a franker approach and wants to free themselves from society’s ‘sexpectations’: “Worry less about how it ‘should’ look. Celebrate how it can feel. Porn’s not the norm. STDs are kinda real.” Meanwhile, the KFC-Moonpig link-up brought quirky fun to the party. This unlikely pairing felt like a stroke of genius at a time when the nation needed some light relief. It was a witty, disruptive boot up the backside of conventional, often very tired Valentine’s gifting options. The language of love is changing.
Gymshark’s frenzy-causing physical retail
Much anticipated, February saw Gymshark open its first physical space as a pop-up in London. This promises the allure of new, exclusive product in-store every Monday, plus a collaboration with London’s hip GYMBOX that will offer highly desirable fitness classes. This is a bold venture into the world of physical retail for, internationally, the UK’s fastest-growing fashion brand (Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200). Innovating on so many fronts, Gymshark is a young player that seems to have mastered the art of creating drama around its brand – something we think retail needs a lot more of right now!
Primark and wellness done well
Primark does another great job of creating new memories around the brand experience with a pop-up space dedicated to wellness (also available in a fuller form across 11 UK Primark stores). The concept design, product and comms have left customers startled and delighted in equal measure. We know that disruption equals attention equals exploration, and the surprise emphasis on wellbeing and sustainability cuts through. The pop up’s mantra is “comfort, rest, and reflection” – not perhaps the qualities shoppers would associate with a brand celebrated for fast fashion at full tilt. The message, supported by simple packaging and authentic backstories, is tailor-made for an era where wellness and well sourced are very much on trend.
