By: Fatima Ansari, Senior Creative Manager at BBDO Pakistan

Fatima Ansari, Senior Creative Manager at BBDO Pakistan

Give an Adman/Adwoman the task to explain to any other person what they do for a living and watch us throw in keywords like problem solvers, solution providers, storytellers and sometimes we go as far as calling ourselves ‘need creators’. And now shift the same task to anyone else in the room and watch them hold a mirror to our faces in which we are nothing more than people trying to sell anything, in whatever way we can, even if it means jumping far away from reality. Is there a lie in that? Probably not. Are we lying? Definitely so! 

But since the pandemic hit the world, a lot (here goes the most overly used phrase) has changed and when it comes to the business of lying: it has changed for the best. It took everything to crumble down for the creativity channels to be unclogged and for the first time, in many years, advertising was relied on as an honest source of communication. So, what all changed? 

  1. Talking to people vs. convincing the consumers

The living beings once categorized under TG/core consumers/audience etc. were now just taken as ‘people’. People who were scared, helpless, and confused like us. Nobody had to convince anyone of the reality, but everyone felt the responsibility, to be honest, and considerate to each other. And that is exactly where Advertising stepped up to play its powerful role of talking to people (honestly). 

Heineken’s Connections: A real Ad showing real people in their real habitat experiencing the not-so-talked-about emotion; frustration. (Maybe not every time people opted for beer in such scenarios, most were into calcium infused healthy drinks, but it still stands true)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZnHkv5-z4k&feature=youtu.be 

Apple’s The whole working-from-home thing: In a world of shrinking concentration spans (as per ‘consumer’ data) and 30-seconder copies, Apple dared to produce an almost 7-minute-long film. It took a risk of having about 390 seconds more to their Ad than the ideal limit and yet made it out to the winning side. Why? Because they depicted what the people could relate to. Raw, anxiety-induced, and a chaotic life that talked to people in ways we had never seen being shown before.  

  1. When life gives you lemons: sell lemons or make lemonade?

As the traditional business setup goes, you take the ‘product/service’ you have and sell it preferably in maximum quantity or with a maximum profit or both. But what if there is nothing traditional left about the setup anymore? What do you do then? You pivot (the second most used word, I know)!  

WeTransfer’s Doubt. Create. Repeat: If I could, I would measure my time from last year in WeTransfer x-minutes remaining format (an idea ready to be explored). It was as if the whole working world was their consumer and yet WeTransfer chose to not sell their product to them. Instead, they sold the very emotion attached to sending gazillion links and expired transfers i.e., doubt. It empowered its people to question the certain, in times of uncertainty with this Ad and made a refreshing lemonade. 

Burger King’s Confusing Times: 

In the current times, when the world is creating a new ‘user manual’ of its own to survive life, it seemed impossible to introduce anything new in the new normal (I had to use this term). But could it stop Burger King from trying? Nope! While everything that could ever be said about the pandemic and its reality had been done with overuse of phrases and situations, Burger King flipped the dry emotions to the other side and grilled them all with humor. Saying the same, showing the same yet not letting you tune out. They did the impossible, possible i.e., no one broke the screen (hopefully) while watching the same old and yet completely new. 

  1. Everyday real stories against the past’s preachy tales 

Every new generation at one point or the other experiences disapproval by the older generation on the basis of ‘we had it worse’ – it’s a loop of who’s the toughest of the lot and that often translates into preachy Ads and life lessons being bombarded at the new adults on how it is done with an extra topping of motivational VOG. 2020-2021 threw this notion out of the window because honestly, everyone was experiencing the worst of the worse so what do we tell them now? We tell them to take it all in, sit with the experience and just be. 

Libresse’s Womb Stories: All the emotions that were once shunned for being too negative to be showcased are now being embraced by the brands because they built such a solid connection and recall that even years’ worth of Ads previously couldn’t. Libresse’s womb stories is an example of powerful storytelling about the pain that each and every woman could relate to. Plug it in any era and for any generation and you’ll still be telling the real story. It’s storytelling that gives you jitters. 

Dove’s Reverse Selfie: 

After a year of trial and error, people have tried adjusting to the new routines. With excessive screen time and unavoidable indoor sitting, a lot was affected. From sitting postures to multiple home-roles, from bad internet to bad health – mental and physical both. Dove talks about one of the facets of this and how it’s deteriorating the well-being of our new generation and why this issue has been aggravated. It’s happening next to you, at every scroll and on every like button and no one can deny that. Reality uncovered for us all.  

It doesn’t end at this list – a lot more has contributed to making the Ad industry’s tone and purpose more authentic and with more and more creativity festivals and hubs providing access to archives and shows for free for the virtual audience, it is just the beginning of learning from it and creating a permanent shift. From being in the business of lying to being the business of REAL creativity. Here’s to hoping that it takes less than a pandemic time to get there and the ripple of the impact reaches all corners of the world for good.