Break Through Buzz is the creative stuff that impressed Ketchum’s creative community this week. Check out what captured our imaginations and inspires us to keep pushing the boundaries of possibility.
How to Be a Terrible Parent
Selected by Jeff Lewonczyk
What it is: Boxes featuring realistic but sinister child-rearing products – such as ‘Lovely Straitjacket,’ ‘Funny Cage’ and ‘Baby Trap Chair’ – started turning up in Brazilian toy stores, to the dismay of shoppers. But surprise! A closer look at the empty packaging revealed it to be a publicity stunt for the reality show Super Nanny.
Why makes it break through: As the parent of a rowdy toddler, I would have been simultaneously thrilled and horrified to encounter these at a store. In both insight and execution, this campaign perfectly captures the contradictory impulses of parenthood with a dark humor that mirrors the voyeuristic, judgmental pleasures of reality TV. The resulting gut-punch is funny, scary and shareable – a true marketing trifecta.
Hipster Troll Carwash?
Selected by Norbert Brema
What it is: The abbreviation for international technology giant HTC stands for ‘High Tech Computer Corporation,’ but nobody knows that! In order to increase its brand awareness and emotional appeal and poke fun at its unexciting brand name, HTC launched a global advertising campaign on YouTube this week, with actor Robert Downey Jr. as the lead character – a fun but also somewhat bizarre clip in which the company plays around with its abbreviation.
What makes it break through: HTC shows courage by being open with its brand identity. Consumers are likely to play with the brand anyway, so why not beat them to it by providing examples for how they can play?
100 Days in 100 Seconds
Selected by Markus Fischer
What it is: This is a visual tour de force – the experience of 100 days presented in 100 seconds of video footage. One second per day, no particular order or narrative pattern, just a sequence of amazing shots with original sound (no music involved).
What makes it break through: I’ve rarely watched a video this inspirational. It’s the visual counterpart of the phrase ‘Every second counts,’ demonstrating that even one second leaves you with enough space and time to tell a story. Highly recommended.
Agency at Work
Selected by Elena Weinstein
What is it: Advertising agency, W&K London, has created the Agency at Work Project, part of the Hello Neighbour Initiative, which strives to entertain the public with local artists. For this specific initiative, they have opened a pop-up space in which employees take turns manning the store.
What makes it break through: Aside from premiering the work of local artists, W&K’s initiative speaks to how selling is a public experience and strives to reverse critiques about the advertising industry being vapid and profit-driven. By practicing what they preach, W&K is demonstrating how authenticity and creativity are what really spark interest as well as drive sales.
Live Like Grandpa Did
Selected by Stacy Roth
What it is: I love this spot from Coke, which gives a then-and-now side-by-side comparison of moderation versus overindulgence.
Why makes it break through: It really shows what a tactful marketer Coke is and how the brand really understands its own customers – and vice versa. Not only does it tug at our heartstrings as only Coke can, it takes on an issue that many are laying squarely on the shoulders of the beverage industry – the current obesity epidemic -in a way that shows the brand understands the issue and is doing something about it.
