Viagra sums up modern relationships with ‘Love Story’
Advertising around erectile dysfunction remedies has traditionally relied on a combination of humour and/or euphemisms, but Viagra is taking a different approach with a sweet new ad from VMLY&R London called “Love Story.”
The two-minute spot, animated by Sao Paulo’s Zombie Studio, shows a couple trying (and failing) to maintain their sex life while juggling work commitments and the distraction of modern technology.
In a tactic that’s become increasingly common in recent years, the dialogue-free spot is soundtracked by a sensitive version of an otherwise upbeat song—this time it’s the Proclaimers’ hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”—while the visuals show the couple growing increasingly distant (literally) as everyday life gets in the way.
The solution is Viagra Connect, the brand’s over-the-counter product which launched in 2018. The spot concludes with the tagline “Don’t let life get in the way of your love story.”
Burger King gets into the spirit of… mid-summer
By our estimate we’ve reached… what, day 1,743 of the COVID crisis? We could probably all use some good cheer right about now.
Like the rest of us, Burger King can’t wait for the year to be over, and it’s urging things along with a Christmas in July promotion that includes a festive TV spot. There’s even a “gift”—a food offer that lets people mix two menu items for $5.
The accompanying ad, from David‘s Sao Paulo and Miami teams, shows a Burger King location decked out for the festive season, complete with Christmas lights and employees wearing Santa hats—much to the delight (and confusion) of mask-wearing consumers.
“2020 has been a challenging year,” says the ad. “So we’re doing our part to wrap it up early.” The QSR chain has also updated its social feeds with a Christmas-y colour scheme. According to XmasClock.com there are only 153 days until Christmas, which is about 1,884 days in COVID time.
The Underdogs are back in Apple’s tribute to WFH
Apple has released a follow-up to 2019’s beloved ad “The Underdogs” that takes the whole “go big or go home” mantra to heart. At just under seven minutes long the new ad, entitled “The whole working from home thing” might best be described as a short film.
It follows a work team, known as The Underdogs, as they work to develop a prototype for a mysteriously named project called Pandora’s Box, except this time they are attempting to accomplish the task while working from home.
Taking place over the course of a work-week, the film references the all-too-common aspects of WFH—from casually attired co-workers, to employees juggling work with minding the kids, to people talking over each other during video chats.
Bird Brain’s new ads are a gas
We’ve all had those moments where we said the wrong thing, called someone the wrong name, forgot why we walked into a room or pushed on a door clearly marked “pull.”
The correct medical term is, we believe, “brain fart,” and it’s the basis of a fun new campaign from start-up energy drink brand Bird Brain (whose wonderfully irreverent positioning is “Make your brain suck less”).
Originally conceived as live-action ads, the crudely animated spots from HellHorse and animation studio GifyTube show people saying or doing the wrong thing, immediately followed by a fart that visibly ruffles their hair.
So, it seems that humour has started to return to advertising. To which we say: It’s about thyme…
(fart sound)
