In response to the COVID19 outbreak, brands across the globe are shifting their messaging and changing the way they interact with their customers. According to new data, one-third of advertisers have cancelled at least one campaign before it started in response to COVID19. Many agencies, including us at Explore, have been reevaluating plans and shifting timing parameters for clients in order to adjust to this disruption, while being creative. These crazy times don’t mean all advertising and marketing efforts should cease. In fact, its actually a fairly uncluttered opportunity to reach an attentive audience, as long as your message is relevant and of value and service to the consumer. People never want to be sold snake oil, especially right now.
Here are how some major brands have put their creative spin on advertising during these frightening and uncertain times:
- Cottonelle– The Kimberly Clark brand is discouraging hoarding this highly desired household staple by promoting #ShareASquare instead. According to Nielsen, U.S. sales of toilet paper were up more than 120% last week compared to the same week last year. Watch the video here:
Who knew that finding toilet paper at the store would feel like winning the lottery!?
- Burger King– The Burger King division in France is advertising how to make your own Whopper at home due to the shutdown of restaurants. They are calling it the “Quarantine Whopper”.
Perhaps making a Whopper at home isn’t the healthiest of choices, but for those who frequent Burger King, this is a nice way to stay connected to their most loyal customers. Not to mention their TV commercial that offers two free kid’s meals with an adult order at the drive-thru.
- Jack Daniel’s Whiskey– the famous American whiskey brand is taking advantage of user-generated content by pulling together videos of real-life people doing activities that ends with drinkers holding glasses of whiskey, giving each other virtual cheers. The video ends with a message of “Dear Humanity. Cheers to Making Social Distancing, Social.” Watch the ad here:
Nobody knows how long we will be sheltering at home but I think everybody knows our world will never be the way it was before COVID19. Will ad campaigns make changes in tone and messaging to align more with this sudden new world of ours? Or will it eventually go back to the way it was before and it will be up to us to ignore and avoid blatant sales pitches of things we may or may not need?