Campaigns on Inside That Ad

Apple 'Great Ideas Start on Mac': Jane Goodall's Last Campaign

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Dr. Jane Goodall died on October 1, 2025. Three weeks later, Apple released “Great Ideas Start on Mac” — a campaign she had recorded voiceover for before her death, narrating a quiet film about the moment before anything exists: the blank page, the blinking cursor, the instant of not-yet.

The timing was not planned. The resonance, consequently, was impossible to manufacture and impossible to ignore.

The Campaign’s Central Idea

TBWA\Media Arts Lab built the “Great Ideas Start on Mac” platform around a deceptively simple observation: every significant creative act — every scientific discovery, every film, every design — begins with nothing. The blank page is not a metaphor. It is the literal starting condition of all creative work, and it is also the moment of maximum anxiety for anyone who makes things.

Coca-Cola 'Drink in America': A Celebration for America's 250th

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

America’s 250th birthday arrives in 2026 in a cultural moment defined less by consensus celebration than by argument about what America is and who gets to claim it. Coca-Cola, which has spent decades being one of the most explicit carriers of American soft-power symbolism, chose to enter that moment with a campaign called “Drink in America” — a phrase operating simultaneously as product imperative and cultural instruction.

The Double Meaning

“Drink in America” is doing two things with the word “drink.” The first is the obvious one — Coca-Cola is a drink, and the campaign is about drinking Coca-Cola. The second is the invitation to drink in America as a scene, an experience, a thing to absorb rather than observe from a distance: “drink it in,” the way you drink in a view or a moment.

Google Gemini 'New Home': The Most Effective Super Bowl Ad of 2026

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management ranked “New Home” as the most effective Super Bowl ad of 2026. That is a specific claim from a specific institution with a specific methodology, and it is worth taking seriously — not because rankings settle arguments, but because the criteria for effectiveness in their framework (emotional resonance, brand clarity, purchase intent) illuminate why the ad worked when so much AI advertising doesn’t.

The Story

A mother and son are moving into a new house. The rooms are empty. The future is hypothetical. They use Google Gemini — through text prompts, photo uploads, and the AI’s connected features — to imagine what those empty rooms could become: the furniture that could fill them, the colour that could warm the walls, the life that could happen inside these spaces.

Instacart 'Bananas': Spike Jonze Returns to the Super Bowl

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Spike Jonze hasn’t directed a Super Bowl ad in more than twenty years. His return to the format — for Instacart’s “Bananas,” starring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone — is the kind of casting decision that either seems obvious in retrospect or never seems obvious at all, depending on whether the creative idea was good enough to justify it. “Bananas” is good enough to justify it.

The Concept

Ben Stiller and Benson Boone are a retro European disco-pop duo. The act is called something appropriately absurd. They perform a theatrical rivalry — played out on a 60-foot glitter-lit stage, shot on vintage tube cameras in an aesthetic that is more 1970s Italian television than Super Bowl commercial — over their competing banana preferences and the Instacart feature that resolves them: Preference Picker.

Levi's 'Backstory': Backsides, Doechii, and a 20-Year Return

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Levi’s hasn’t run a Super Bowl ad in twenty years. The return, “Backstory,” is directed by Kim Gehrig and features James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing” as the soundtrack to a film that shows its entire cast exclusively from behind. For the full runtime, the audience sees Levi’s jeans and the backs of the people wearing them — until the very end.

The campaign is called “Behind Every Original,” and the pun is doing real work.

Pepsi 'The Choice': Taika Waititi Sends the Polar Bear to a Rival

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Comparative advertising is one of the oldest tools in the category playbook and one of the most dangerous. Done poorly, it elevates the competitor by naming them. Done well, it takes an icon belonging to the rival and makes it yours. Pepsi’s Super Bowl LX spot, directed by Taika Waititi, does the second thing — and does it with the Coca-Cola polar bear.

The Concept

“The Choice” opens on an unmistakable image: the Coca-Cola polar bear, the icon of the rival brand’s Christmas advertising since 1993. In a blind taste test, the bear chooses Pepsi Zero Sugar. The reveal triggers an existential crisis. The bear wanders, displaced, through a journey of self-discovery that ends with it choosing its own identity — and Pepsi.

Squarespace 'Unavailable': Yorgos Lanthimos and the Domain Crisis

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Squarespace has made a habit of its Super Bowl spots by pairing the brand’s product — website creation — with a director who has no business being in an ad for website creation. The results have been consistently better than they have any right to be. “Unavailable,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, is the latest entry in this tradition and possibly the most formally committed.

The Concept

Emma Stone tries to register emmastone.com. It’s taken. She tries variations — each one more desperate, more surreal, more detached from her actual identity as the name slips further away. Shot on black-and-white analogue film, the spot follows Stone’s gradual dissociation from her own name as the domain system’s neutral rejections (“Unavailable”) pile up into something that looks very much like an existential crisis.

VW 'Drivers Wanted' Returns: Johannes Leonardo's Super Bowl Bet

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

“Drivers Wanted” ran from 1995 to 2002 and was one of the defining brand platforms of its era — a campaign that made Volkswagen feel young, irreverent, and European in a way that American car advertising had not previously figured out. Reviving it is a high-wire act. The nostalgia trap is obvious: do it wrong and the resurrection reads as a brand out of ideas, reaching backward for borrowed credibility. Do it right and the platform’s equity transfers into the present moment.

Guinness 'Lovely Day': AMV BBDO's 2025 Premier League Anthem

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Guinness has a long relationship with sport advertising and a longer relationship with pubs. “Lovely Day for a Guinness,” launched to coincide with the 2025/26 Premier League season, is a campaign that understands both — and knows that what actually connects them is not the sport itself but the people gathered to watch it.

The Music Choice

Barry Can’t Swim’s “All My Friends” is the sound of a particular feeling — the warmth of being in a room with people you’re glad are in your life, set to a track that builds without quite resolving. The producer and DJ, who emerged from Glasgow’s electronic scene, found a global audience in the mid-2020s with music that walks the line between club and kitchen — too melodic for a dance floor, too alive for background listening.

Stella Artois 'David and Dave': Beckham, Damon, and the Lager Pivot

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck founded Artists Equity, a production company, with the explicit intention of making content where the talent participates in the economics of the project. The fact that Damon then appears in a Stella Artois Super Bowl ad produced through his own company is either a conflict of interest or a perfectly aligned incentive structure, depending on your point of view. Either way, “David and Dave” — the resulting spot — works.

Nike 'So Win': Doechii and the Super Bowl Ad About Doubters

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Nike has run Super Bowl advertising before. What it has not always done is find the specific thing it wants to say. “So Win,” the brand’s Super Bowl LIX spot from Wieden+Kennedy Portland, directed by Kim Gehrig through Somesuch, is specific in a way that Nike advertising has not always been in recent years — specific about who it is talking to, what it is saying, and why now.

The Voiceover

Doechii’s voice is the entire architecture of the spot. The rapper and Grammy winner narrates a catalogue of things women in sport are told — that they are too aggressive, too emotional, too loud, not good enough, not the right kind of athlete — and then responds to each one with the same two words: So win.

Budweiser 'First Delivery': The Clydesdale Foal's Super Bowl Debut

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Budweiser has been running Clydesdale advertising since 1933 — the year Prohibition ended and the brand’s founders sent a team of the horses to deliver a case of beer to President Roosevelt. The 2025 Super Bowl spot, “First Delivery,” is the 47th time the Clydesdales have appeared in the Big Game. The familiarity of the setting and the familiarity of the animals are the point: this is a brand that knows what it is and is not apologizing for it.

Orange Egypt Understands Funny

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The 2026 World Cup is upon us here in the United States and of course I start looking for ads and ad campaigns that capture my attention to present to you right here on InsideThatAd (ITA). And as luck would have it, I noticed one brand — Orange Egypt — that definitely understands comedy.

Telecom giant Orange Egypt launched a series of commercials ahead of the FIFA tournament. The creative concept directly addresses the typical cultural pessimism and anxiety of Egyptian football fans who often expect an early, group-stage exit. But this time they are encouraged with the tagline “To all the doubters, this time we’re staying longer” — or in Egyptian Arabic: لكل الشكاكين… المرة دي مطولين — the official slogan for Orange Egypt’s major World Cup ad campaign.

Dove 'The Game Is Ours': A Super Bowl Ad About Girls in Sport

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:30:00 +0000

The stat Dove leads with is real and it is damaging: by age 14, girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys. The reasons are well-documented — body image pressure, social comparison, a culture that critiques how female athletes look as readily as how they perform. “The Game Is Ours,” Dove’s Super Bowl LX entry created by Ogilvy and directed by Savanah Leaf, takes that fact and tries to turn it into a film worth running during the biggest advertising slot of the year.

Nike 'Rip the Script': The World Cup Ad That Rewrites the Hero

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

The most dangerous thing Nike can do is repeat itself. Forty years of “Just Do It” means the world knows exactly what a Nike ad is supposed to feel like — and knows, consequently, when it doesn’t feel like that. “Rip the Script,” launched ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is Nike choosing to take that risk.

What the Ad Does

“Rip the Script” opens with a familiar football hero setup — a player, a moment, the weight of expectation — and then deliberately, visibly, tears it apart. The campaign’s central idea is refusal: of the predictable, the prepared, the pre-written outcome. Directed by Dan Streit through Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the film works as both an ad for Nike and a manifesto against sporting cliché.

Amazon Five Star Theater: Benedict Cumberbatch Performs Customer Reviews

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:15:00 +0000

The premise sounds like it was written in one sentence and immediately greenlit: cast one of the most formally trained actors alive and have him perform the most informal writing on the internet as if it were Chekhov.

Amazon’s 2025 holiday campaign, “Five Star Theater,” features Benedict Cumberbatch — returning from a decade-long hiatus from live theater — delivering genuine five-star Amazon customer reviews as dramatic theatrical monologues. The reviews are real. The products are real. The performance is completely unhinged in the best possible way.

HOKA 'Together We Fly Higher': A Running Ad About Community

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Most performance footwear advertising is about the individual. The lone runner before dawn. The athlete breaking through the wall. The shoe that makes you faster, tougher, better. HOKA’s 2025 global campaign, created by Anomaly, deliberately walks away from that playbook — and in doing so, produces something more memorable than any of it.

“Together We Fly Higher” launched globally in July 2025 and centers on a deceptively simple idea: no runner gets there alone.

Heinz Ed Sheeran: When a Celebrity's Real Love Becomes a Campaign

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:15:00 +0000

The best celebrity advertising campaigns are not the ones where a famous person is paid to say they love a product they’ve never used. They are the ones where a famous person’s genuine, documented, well-established love for a product becomes the campaign itself. The Ed Sheeran and Heinz partnership is one of the best examples of this in recent advertising history, and it began not in a boardroom but in an Instagram comment.

Burger King's Moldy Whopper: The Most Disgusting Ad Ever Made That Won Everything

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 01:15:00 +0000

On February 19, 2020, Burger King released what many considered the most revolting advertisement ever produced by a major fast food brand. “The Moldy Whopper” showed a real Burger King Whopper decaying over 34 days — timelapse footage of a burger growing blue-green mold, going soft, collapsing, becoming genuinely and viscerally disgusting — set to “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Lena Horne.

It won the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. It won the Grand Prix at the One Show. It was named the most awarded campaign of 2020 by The Gunn Report. And it effectively communicated a product claim — that Burger King had removed artificial preservatives from its Whoppers — more memorably than any conventional food advertising could have.

John Lewis Monty the Penguin: Britain's Most Beloved Christmas Ad

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:00:00 +0000

In Britain, the release of the John Lewis Christmas advertisement has become something close to a national event. Schools discuss it. Newspapers carry front-page stories about it. Social media stops for an hour. And in 2014, when John Lewis and agency Adam&EveDDB released “Monty’s Christmas,” the reaction was one of the most extraordinary responses any British advertisement had ever generated.

“Monty’s Christmas” is a story about a boy and his penguin companion — the penguin’s desire for love and connection mirroring the boy’s own emotional growth. Directed by Dougal Wilson with a cover of “Real Love” by Tom Odell on the soundtrack, the two-minute film was watched by over 23 million people online in its first week and generated £132 million in earned media coverage, according to Thinkbox.

Nike Dream Crazy: The Ad That Risked Everything and Won

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000

On September 3, 2018, Nike posted a black-and-white close-up photograph of Colin Kaepernick’s face with the words: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just Do It.” Within hours, the internet had split. Nike’s stock dropped two percent. Videos of people burning their Nike shoes circulated on social media. The hashtag #BoycottNike trended nationally.

Three days later, Nike aired “Dream Crazy” — a two-minute film narrated by Kaepernick and built around athletes achieving the impossible — and the cultural calculus shifted completely. The full film hit 26 million views in the first week. Nike’s online sales increased 31% in the days immediately following the campaign launch. By the end of 2018, the company’s market value had grown by over $6 billion.

Vodafone Egypt Turns a 23-Year-Old Goal Into a National Joke

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:00:00 +0000

There’s a very specific kind of national joke that only works if the person at the center of it is in on it. Egypt has had one of those for over two decades: Magdy Abdelghani’s penalty goal against the Netherlands at Italia ‘90, which remained the country’s only World Cup goal for 23 straight years. That is until today when Mohamad Salah and the Egypt’s National Football Team won their first ever World Cup match against New Zealand. Vodafone Egypt and J. Walter Thompson Cairo built an entire commercial around the fact that everyone in Egypt has heard about that goal approximately one million times — and they got Abdelghani himself to play along.

Pass for the Ages: Michelob ULTRA's Knicks Legacy Ad

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Most real-time marketing is a brand sprinting to slap a logo on a meme before the moment goes cold. Michelob ULTRA and BBDO New York did something slower and smarter with “Pass for the Ages” — they turned a single Knicks victory into a conversation between two eras of the same team, and let a basketball do the talking.

The campaign’s centerpiece is a Times Square billboard called “Legacy, Passed”: a side-by-side image of 1973 Knicks champion Walt Frazier and current star Jalen Brunson, composed so it looks like the two are handing a basketball to each other across five decades. No tagline doing the heavy lifting, no copy explaining the metaphor. Just two eras of the same franchise, connected by one object.

Thai Life Insurance: Unsung Hero and the Power of Quiet Goodness

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:15:00 +0000

Most insurance advertising operates on a simple emotional premise: fear. Fear of illness, fear of accident, fear of leaving your family without financial support. Thai Life Insurance, working with Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok, decided to make something different. “Unsung Hero,” released in 2014, became one of the most watched and most shared advertisements ever produced in Southeast Asia, and one of the most genuinely moving pieces of brand communication ever made anywhere.

Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult Into a Battle Cry

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Ask a ten-year-old girl to run like a girl, and she’ll sprint with everything she has. Ask a teenager to do the same thing, and she’ll probably slow down, flail her arms, and laugh awkwardly. That observation — simple, devastating, and entirely true — became the foundation for one of the most powerful advertising campaigns of the decade.

Always, the feminine hygiene brand owned by Procter & Gamble, launched “#LikeAGirl” in June 2014. Created by Leo Burnett Chicago, the campaign reframed a phrase that had been used as an insult for generations and turned it into a declaration of female strength. The film won the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial in 2015, took Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, and sparked a global cultural conversation that extended far beyond anything a hygiene product brand might reasonably expect to own.

Dove Real Beauty Sketches: You Are More Beautiful Than You Think

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:15:00 +0000

In April 2013, Dove released a short film that would become one of the most watched advertisements in internet history. “Real Beauty Sketches” reached 163 million views in its first month online, was shared in 25 languages across 110 countries, and sparked a global conversation about self-perception, beauty standards, and the gap between how women see themselves and how others see them.

It was, in almost every measurable way, the most successful viral video in advertising history at the time of its release. And it came from a deodorant and soap brand.

Volvo Trucks: The Epic Split Feat. Jean-Claude Van Damme

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

There are commercials, and then there are moments that transcend advertising entirely and become part of the cultural conversation. Volvo Trucks’ “The Epic Split” is firmly in the latter category. Released in November 2013, this 75-second film did something almost no B2B advertisement had ever done before — it went genuinely, globally viral, racking up over 100 million views and earning the kind of earned media that no budget could buy outright.

Amica Helps You Understand Saver's Remorse

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 21:53:44 +0000

Do you know Saver’s Remorse is? If not, the Amica Mutual Insurance Company wants to help you understand it. According to the company, they are diagnosing you with Saver’s remorse if you pay less for auto insurance, but the coverage is not what you’d like it to be. Then you might be suffering from this affliction Amica has coined as Saver’s Remorse. Amica has several ads highlighting the various things they cover with their insurance, but I haven’t found different spots for Saver’s Remorse. I thought they would make an entire campaign around a phrase usually known as buyer’s remorse, not what’s discussed in this spot.

Burger King - A Day Without Whopper

Sat, 28 Sep 2019 19:38:49 +0000

If Burger King and McDonald’s can work together on a humanitarian ad campaign, why can’t the rest of the world? If you’re a fan of burgers, it’s no surprise that the competitors are often guilty of throwing serious shade towards one another in front of millions of eyeballs but for just one day they are working in unison for a common goal.

Burger King, Argentina went one day without selling any whoppers in support of McDonald’s with their annual fundraising campaign of donating $2 to Children With Cancer for every Big Mac and the signature burger that they sell. This seems to go over well with the public at least an appearance on social media. The net impact of Burger King sales of their most popular whopper wasn’t impacted at all. But unfortunately, the same thing applies for McDonald’s sales meaning that customers just showed up to buy their favorite burger.

This Bud is for 3 Also Known as Dwyane Wade

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 09:00:46 +0000

This Bud is for 3 is the latest spot from Budweiser, featuring the legendary basketball player, Dwyane Wade. The spot successfully and elegantly demonstrates Wade’s impact on and off the court but focuses on the off the court part. Before watching the spot below, grab a box of tissues for the waterworks that will undoubtedly start to flow.

The Commercial

But this spot from Budweiser, featuring Wade’s mother and others he’s inspired and supported through extreme hardship, is obviously even more emotional than the usual parting salutes. Wade helped one of his fans graduate college via a full scholarship. Another lady in the spot lost everything in a house fire so Wade took her and her family on a shopping spree. He also supported yet another family of a fan who died in the Parkland shooting tragedy. In yet another example he motivated one of his fans to change his life for the better, inspiring him to go get a job. Finally, Wade’s own mother spoke about how he stood by her while she was incarcerated and he eventually bought her a church because she was a minister.

NBA Superstars are in a March Madness Frenzy

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 17:00:33 +0000

This spot for Capital One credit cards is titled “Bracket Buddy.” It features Samuel Jackson, Spike Lee and Charles Barkley check into a hotel. Sir Charles is seen carrying a parrot named Larry “Bird” who will guide his bracket through the March Madness tournament. Larry the bird also serves as Sir Charles’s good luck charm. What is supposed to make the spot really funny is that a few seconds later the real “Larry Bird” walks in with a good luck parrot named Charles Barkley. All three superstars laugh at the irony of the whole situation.

French Railway Ads Look Extraterrestrial

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 00:24:00 +0000

Today’s post is very much thanks to Ads of the World. I’m not sure why, but these ads remind me of comic strips from the 50s and 60s. These ads were created by TBWA for the French Railway Company.

Nike's Dream Crazier Ad Teaches Us to Strive for More

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 23:37:36 +0000

Nike, the absolute god of all sports apparel has unveiled its follow-up, a 90-second ad narrated by Serena Williams set to air during last Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony on ABC. The spot, from Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, not only champions the accomplishments of female athletes but serves as a call to action, telling viewers to “Dream Crazier.” My favorite part was the fact that they included an athlete with a disability, a fellow U of I alumni, Tatyana McFadden.

Conspiracy Behind 'Elevator' Super Bowl Ad

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 09:00:32 +0000

Every year a week after the Super Bowl there seems to be some controversy with a commercial that turns into an advertising industry conspiracy theory. This year is no exception. We are all familiar with the Hyundai commercial created by Innocean where Jason Bateman, the star of Netflix original show “Ozarks” plays the operator of an elevator from hell, taking unfortunate passengers to all sorts of awful places like jury duty and a vegan dinner party before they saw the white light in the form of Hyundai’s Shopper Assurance service. See the ad below, it was featured in Inside That Ad’s 2019 Super Bowl Central.

Microsoft Shines a Light on Disability with For the Win Super Bowl Commercial

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 22:38:18 +0000

Hello World,

I was extremely disappointed with the final result of the Super Bowl game this past Sunday. As you probably have already figured out I was rooting for the Los Angeles Rams, who came up short this year. The game was so boring that one of the commentators actually called it the Snooze Bowl. On the other hand, the commercials did not disappoint. Microsoft’s ad titled: “For the Win” I believe really pulled at America’s heartstrings this year.

Pepsi Trolling Coke Before the Super Bowl

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:00:29 +0000

Hello World,

I read an interesting article this week regarding the Super Bowl. You know that not only is it football’s big day but it’s also a big day for advertising and marketing in general. One thing the city of Atlanta where the Super Bowl is taking place is known for is being the main headquarters of the Coca-Cola company (Coke). But Coke is not the main sponsor of the NFL, that honor goes to Pepsi. Pepsi is, of course, one of Coke’s main competitors. But I think Coke still got the last laugh over Pepsi in this year’s upcoming Super Bowl.

Year 2017 Most Watched Ads on Google's YouTube

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 09:00:05 +0000

It’s time for the year-end lists, and here’s a fun one—the 2017 YouTube Ads Leaderboard, featuring the most-watched ads on the video platform this year.

You’ll recognize many of the spots, from Super Bowl commercials (Mr. Clean, Kia, Budweiser) to well-known celebrity spots (Natalie Portman for Miss Dior, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson” for Apple).

Remarkably, the No. 1 spot on the list, with more than 150 million views, comes from India. It’s a Samsung spot that we wrote about back in January, shortly after it broke and began pulling in views by the millions in just its first few days.

Tom Steyer Even has Impeachment Banners appear on Skype

Wed, 01 Nov 2017 09:00:12 +0000

Last week I wrote about Tom Steyer’s Trump impeachment campaign efforts. Today, I discovered that his campaign even has unique banner ad placements. One of this unique ad placements includes a skyscraper banner that appears on a Skype chat window.

The banner takes you to Tom Steyer’s Impeach Trump Website. My question is why go through all this effort for something that will never happen what-so-ever? Now, I know what you are thinking. Well, if you think like that, it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn’t it? My answer is no and that’s because to accomplish Steyer’s goal you cannot simply disagree with the policy, and expect to change the public’s mind and move them to see things from your point of view, am I right? For what Steyer is asking to happen, the law has to be broken and the President has not done anything that warrants pursuing and or achieving Steyer’s goal.

The Flashy First Ad for the Xbox One X Wants You to Feel the 4K Console’s ‘True Power’

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 09:00:13 +0000

Xbox One X, the Microsoft product touted as “the most powerful console ever made,” continues to roll out advertising that’s so cinematic it might even lure adrenaline-junkie non-gamers into the fold.

A slick new spot from 215 McCann puts sports stars, race cars, aliens and warriors against a catchy Kanye West soundtrack for 60 seconds of nonstop action. It compellingly makes the point that you can be part of this immersive world, if you have $500 to plunk down on the 4K gaming console when it launches Nov. 7.

Under Armour Finds a Remarkable New Ad Star in Teenage Refugee Olympian Yusra Mardini

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 09:00:10 +0000

She didn’t take home any medals, but her story was perhaps the most inspiring of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Now, 19-year-old Yusra Mardini can add

Under Armour brand ambassador to her impressive list of accomplishments. The sportswear maker has announced that the freestyle and butterfly swimmer is the latest addition to its team of international athlete endorsers, representing UA Women alongside Misty Copeland and Lindsey Vonn.

Billionaires Impeachment Ad After World Series Game One

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:00:33 +0000

Today, I was watching game 1 of the World Series (Go Dodgers) and Tom Steyer’s (a billionaire) impeachment ad comes on my TV screen. Where he’s promoting a campaign to impeach the current, sitting President, President Donald J. Trump.

The ad is basically a series of situational images of President Trump along with a voiceover by Steyer. Steyer makes statements that are actually his opinions sound like facts. Well, maybe President Trump did say them but the ad keeps its accusations rather vague. Let me give you a few examples, first, the voiceover says, he’s (Trump) brought us to the brink of nuclear war, not exactly true, he doesn’t want North Korea to provoke us and force our hand into a potential nuclear war.

Burger King Reveals the Uncomfortable Truth About Bullying in a Remarkable In-Store Stunt

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 09:00:42 +0000

Bullying is a seemingly intractable problem, but there is one simple thing you can do about it. If you see it happening, you can step in and try to stop it.

Burger King, of all brands, makes that point saliently in a new ad from David Miami timed to National Bullying Prevention Month. Released this morning, the three-minute video features an interesting social experiment filmed by hidden cameras recently in a Los Angeles-area BK.

Bud Light Preps for a Special Sunday Night as It Tries to Make Ads That Break Into Culture

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 09:00:59 +0000

Bud Light is expressly trying to generate cultural buzz with its new “Famous Among Friends” campaign, and it sees this Sunday as its next big opportunity to do so.

The AB InBev brand, and agency Wieden + Kennedy New York, have created two 60-second commercials tailored to two high-profile events that day—the Patriots-Falcons NFL game Sunday night on NBC (8:30 p.m. ET), a rematch of February’s Super Bowl; and the Season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC, also airing Sunday evening (9 p.m. ET).

Add Value Or Be Labeled An Advertiser

Fri, 20 Oct 2017 09:00:36 +0000

TV is done. Radio is toast. Print is dead. Everything is always coming to an end. Unless it isn’t. Maybe life is circular, not linear.

One thing that does not appear to be coming to an end is the endless onslaught of bad advertising.

Many companies can’t waste their time and money fast enough on tired cliches and other advertising mishaps. We only need to turn on the TV to see the shocking lack of insights into the human condition.

Leather and Cookies by Axe

Mon, 16 Oct 2017 09:00:54 +0000

Way back in the 1970s, a team at Ogilvy came up with the timeless phrase “Two great tastes that taste great together.”

That classic bit of copywriting described the irresistible combination of chocolate and peanut butter in Reese’s cups. But it could apply to almost any two seemingly incongruous flavors, smells or other sensations, including … leather and cookies?

Since its 1984 debut, Axe has given the teenage boys of the world many classic bodywash and bodyspray scents, including Africa, Anti-Hangover and Denim. But this new product may be its oddest yet. The Unilever brand turned to German creative agency Dokyo to help promote the impossible combination of Leather + Cookies, and they did not disappoint.

Toyota's Championship Game

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:19:41 +0000

Toyota really scored big with this “Championship Game” commercial The spot features two sisters learn the meaning of sportsmanship when they attend their father’s wheelchair basketball game, nervously watching as he gets knocked to the ground by an opposing player, and then witness the dejection in his eyes after his team is defeated. As they are about to leave, he rolls over to the man who knocked him down and shakes his hand. It really appeals to the audience’s emotions, a tried and true tactic when advertisers feature “disability” in their advertising.

Domino's Made a 'Wipeable' Adult Onesie, So You Can Get Pizza All Over Yourself While Eating

Fri, 30 Dec 2016 15:42:02 +0000

Want to attack your pizza like a Neanderthal, but worried about getting sauce all over your fancy clothes? Domino’s has the perfect gag garment for you.

Just in time for New Year’s Day, which is Domino’s busiest day of the year in the U.K., the pizza chain has unveiled what it’s calling “the world’s first ‘wipeable’ onesie,” a ridiculous piece of attire made of “stain proof fabric with soft velveteen for comfort and resilience.”

Trump-Pence Logo Design is Quickly Replaced

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 22:49:37 +0000

Friday, July 15th, the Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump got a new running mate and a new campaign logo. The first version of the logo received so much ridicule online and otherwise that it was quickly replaced. Take a look at version one, no wonder people thought “Hey, that logo is NSFW (Not Suitable for Work).

First Trump-Pence logo

Trump puts a square peg in a round hole with Pence. The logo comes from joint fundraising committee in the Republican National Convention (RNC). In my opinion, most people thought the TP stands for “Toilet Paper.” And of course the T going into the P, well that just didn’t leave anything for the imagination, so let the ridicule begin. People of course thought about anal sex, shit, ass wiping and and how much they dislike the candidate.

This Condom Maker Just Designed Some Sportswear

Sat, 30 Jul 2016 19:06:28 +0000

Condom sportswear A new fashion-flavored campaign is putting a new spin on the idea of a full-body condom.

To prove how comfortable its proprietary non-latex material really is, condom brand Skyn decided to create a line of athletic wear, and put it to the test.

A smoky, sultry 1:30 ad from Sid Lee Amsterdam features tech-infused clothing designer Pauline von Dongen describing her approach to the project, including dragonfly-wing-inspired flaps on the arms of a shirt, which can supposedly give a long jumper more, um, lift.

New Uncle Drew Featuring Kyrie Irving

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:50:10 +0000

It’s been a while since Inside That Ad has published a post. It’s been so long that we’ve even lost our original domain name. We are now a .NET instead of a .COM. In any case, to commemorate the City of Cleveland’s first sports victory in 52 years via the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here is another installment of Pepsi’s Uncle Drew.

You can see older chapters of this phenomenal Uncle Drew series in a previous post.

Coke Continues to Show Caring Towards Disabled Community

Sun, 07 Jun 2015 03:20:51 +0000

Hello world,

I always knew that the Coca-Cola Company was one of the greatest companies in the world. The advertisement that we’ll discuss today further strengthens my belief. What you see above are Coke can designs created so that blind individuals can read them. Now, here’s why I believe the company is one of the greats, I think these cans were designed so that blind individuals can also be a part of the " Friend" campaign.

Ronald Getting new Threads

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 05:03:09 +0000

Apparently, the most famous McDonald’s character is getting some new threads. The fashion upgrade will be done with the assistance of Tony award-winning costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, famous for designing for Broadway shows such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Into the Woods,” according to Creativity.

I wonder what the reason is behind the new fashion statement? Ronald, where you starting to scare the kids with all the brightly colored clothes? Let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Mad Men: Final Season Underway

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 07:33:10 +0000

Hello World,

I realize that Inside That Ad has been off-line for a while but I really do have good reason, last August I began Pepperdine University’s full-time MBA program. Anyway, onto the most important topic, at least on this blog, “Advertising.” The final season of Mad Men began about two weeks ago and the psychedelic looking poster was a real attention grabber for me.

The psychedelic poster is courtesy of Milton Glaser, a graphic designer who also created the I ♥ NY logo. you all should roll on over to his site and check out some of his work, he’s at least got my approval. Back to the poster, supposedly it is a visual depiction of Don Draper’s mind.

Droga5's 'Recalling 1993' Project Turns NYC Pay Phones Into Geo-Located Time Capsules

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:50:59 +0000

Agency and client have launched “Recalling 1993,” offering a raw, unfiltered listen to what was going on around New York City 20 years ago. The campaign turns pay phones into geo-located time capsules—dial (855) FOR-1993 from any pay phone in Manhattan, and you will hear a personal account of what was going down in that particular area in 1993, a pivotal year in the city’s history. The recordings offer memories of everything from the World Trade Center bombing in the Financial District to the club culture at Limelight in Chelsea to the opening of Angels in America in Midtown.

Story Behind "Keep Calm and Carry On"

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 07:40:36 +0000

Apparently, there is an amazing story behind the “Keep Calm and Carry On” campaign. And that’s what I want the stories on Inside That Ad to be. To give you, the reader, the background story behind the campaign, advertisement, and/or agency.

The image below is courtesy of Adverblog.

Check out the video below for the full details.

The “Keep Calm and Carry On” campaign was born when the British government commissioned a series of propaganda posters intended to reassure the public during World War II with Germany. The campaign started with two posters. The first 2 posters are shown in the image below.

Geico Happier with Mutombo

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 06:07:14 +0000

NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo joins in the fun of American commercialism. In this commercial for insurance company Geico, Mutombo does the thing that he made into an art form during his NBA career “block.” Mutombo blocks people’s shots in various real life situations. For example, he blocks a business executive’s shot away from the trash can, a college coeds laundry is on the floor instead of the laundry basket, a 10-year old kids’ cereal is swatted all over the grocery store, all because Mutombo is so enthusiastic doing what he loves, “blocking.” All the while repeating some of his more memorable catch phrases such as “Not in my house” in his very unique accent.

Cossette Toronto Bungles Bugles Games

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:31:44 +0000

Client: Bugles Agency: Cossette Toronto

However, the two whitebread kids in the new Bugles commercials probably don’t have quality social lives, so to pass the time, they play five dull games with their snacks. Why five? Your guess is as good as mine.