Grandmothers and their boys
Gillette added another short film to its growing library of content about sons and fathers (following this and this), with a new effort for the South African market.
The mini-documentary has a uniquely “South African context,” according to Grey, the agency that created the film. In South Africa, according to P&G’s Gillette, two-thirds of boys are raised to manhood by their mother or grandmother. “Instead of making an ad to sell a product, we made a short film celebrating the women raising the next generation of South African men.”
The film focuses on a grandmother, Nozizwe, recounting the challenges of raising a boy. “She’s the one who taught him to shave and who is still teaching him how to be the best man he can be.” The film ends with the Gillette tagline, “The best a man can get.”
Apple provides a sneak peek of its big show
In March, Apple announced plans to take on content front-runners like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon with a significant new investment on original programming to launch Apple TV Plus. The announcement was a star-studded event, with Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams and Oprah all committed to making content for Apple. The content play is widely viewed as an indication of how Apple can evolve to sell more services absent any significant new hardware innovation and slowing handset sales.
The spending is still way behind Netflix, and new players like Disney Plus are further crowding the space, but Apple also has a unique reach advantage thanks to the popularity of its iPhones. As Oprah said at the time: “They’re in a billion pockets, y’all. A billion pockets.” On Monday, we got a taste of what to expect from the new AppleTV Plus with the release of a trailer for its first major new series, The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon. Bloomberg also reported Monday night that Apple plans to launch the new TV service in November, for $9.99 a month, but with just five shows in the catalogue.
NFL 100th anniversary ad
Last week the NFL enjoyed what seems like a branding win by partnering with Jay-Z. Having one of the biggest stars in hip-hop give his stamp of approval helps the league move on from the lingering complaints about how it treated former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his calls for social justice (the impact on the Jay Z brand is still TBD, particularly after he was criticized for saying last week that the league has “moved past kneeling”). The gridiron goliath also released a new ad to mark the upcoming 100th anniversary season, which is now less than three weeks away.
Kellogg’s Love Notes for children with autism
Kellogg is launching new new wrapping for its Rice Krispie Treats specially designed for parents of children living with autism. The company introduced writable wrappers in 2017 which allowed parents to send encouraging notes in their kids lunch-boxes, which was followed last year by Love Notes, braille stickers for parents of blind children. This year, the company is working with Autism Speaks to roll out sensory Love Notes—heart-shaped stickers that feature smooth, soft and bumpy textures including fleece, faux fur, satin and velour, for children with autism who enjoy tactile experiences.
“This is a beautiful way to extend our Rice Krispies Treats Love Notes and showcase the many ways to express love and support as kids return to school,” said Kris Bahner, senior vice-president of global corporate affairs at Kellogg.
