Since the global pandemic situation broke through, brands around the world have released hundreds of campaigns to support social distancing and staying at home, among other measures. While other brands, continue to wonder whether it’s a good idea to maintain marketing efforts during this time.
We want to share with you some of the strategies and concepts behinds some of these brands’ advertisements – so that you can use this inspiration on your own campaigns! At the end of the day, everyone wants to create an impact and make a difference. Let’s dive in.
1. Victory Against Covid-19 | Iaso Hospital
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/iaso_hospital_victory_against_covid19
Be concise: A picture is worth a thousand words and Ogilvy (the agency behind this ad) knows how to craft a compelling message by using a few, unique elements. Sometimes, all you need to do is showcase something people see every day under a new light.
Here, they successfully implemented the correct colors, elements, and resources to communicate victory and support to medical teams around the world.
2. Keeping it Safe | HOK-Elanto
Say it differently: At this point in the game, everyone wants to stand out from the crowd. If your company is interested in putting out a message to show support during the crisis, the best thing you can do is be innovative. Ensure that what you are creating counts on unique elements to your brand. Stand out!
3. Contact Exclusively Online | Activ
Use insight: Are you able to spice up your advertising and marketing efforts by utilizing elements from our every day lives? If it makes sense to your brand, use it to your advantage. This may not be the most poignant message tactic, but if you’re looking to show your support through a crisis, it’s best than not doing it at all. Besides, messaging throughout quarantine has kept people in touch all around the world!
4. Stay Home | Yellow
Use color: Sometimes, we can’t stress enough how color and design are elemental in advertising and marketing. If your brand has an amazing color story, use it to your advantage! Plus, nowadays, the art of illustration has made it possible for many companies to stand out and create stunning artworks, which even end up in museums. Remember, if you’re in the mood for doing something impressive, the combination of great design and illustration can never go wrong.
5. Keep Your Distance | United Nations
Have fun: If the United Nations can be quirky and witty with a “help control COVID-19” ad, so can you. It’s true, a global pandemic is no simple subject to talk about, however, people are waiting to scroll and find something that brings a smile to their faces! So, after you publish new preventions and ways your company is being responsible, have some fun, and create an ad that is fun and spreads words of support as well.
6. Covid-19 Flags | Wunderman Thompson World Health Organization
Be “creatively” informative: If you’re looking to communicate impactful data to create awareness around a certain issue, there are creative ways to go about it than just slapping a big number on an ad. Take Wunderman’s latest Covid-19 ad. They successfully urge people to stay home through graphs on country flags. It’s an incredible idea as it delivers information and is visually moving.
7. Ramadan Tips | Panzani
Product-forward: Are there ways you can use your product center-stage in your ad? Panzani did a great job of using their pasta to show which activities people are doing in quarantine and how their product is there to help them through it!
8. #AdoptANeighbor | DDB Portugal
Make a change: Ads aren’t simply visually appealing pieces of communication. Ads can also serve a bigger purpose to create movements towards social change. Like in this example, DDB Portugal proposes a new way to spend quarantine by “adopting a neighbor”. They explain how you can still communicate with neighbors through social networks and this way, make new friends and create support groups to get through quarantine.
9. Now is Your Chance | Nike
Be confident: If your brand is known for its poignant and confident messaging, this is your chance to showcase it. With this “now is your chance” ad by Nike, people are instantly encouraged to “play for the world” and stay home. In terms of design, there isn’t much to see, but in this case, it’s all in the copywriting. Ask yourself: What are some impactful messaging tactics I can implement during a crisis?
10. Go Outside Again | Heraldist & Wondermarks
Do your research: Good ads aren’t created from little research. In this case, Heraldist & Wondermarks discovered that one of the few situations where people were allowed to go outside during COVID-19 was to walk their dogs. This ad creates awareness around responsible adoptions for dogs during a time where it may not be at the top of the priority list. However, they successfully communicate how a dog or cat can help you stay active now and in the future.
11. #SupportTheDoctors | McCann
Show support: It’s important to show your support through creativity. Nowadays, users can tell whether you put in the effort to create a wonderful piece of information. Do it like McCann and thank the medical teams through beautiful illustrations!
12. Keep Distance | Audi
Use your logo: One of the most elemental things that reflect your brand’s visuals is your logo – use it!
13. Facts to Safe | Who
Make it simple: Sometimes, it isn’t necessary to go all out to create an award-winning ad. During a crisis, companies need to get the message out there – quickly. Try to put your best effort into it, but if visuals are not your strength, use data to make it impactful.
14. Long Live Rock n’ Roll | Kiss FM
Use nostalgia: What would the world have done to keep music and rock and roll alive? Pretty much anything sounds about right. Without inspiring musicians, there would be no music, so stay at home! This is the logic behind Kiss FM’s COVID-19 advertisement… Truly noteworthy.
15. Greetings from Home | Dadada Production
Stay clever: When crafting a wonderful advertisement, try thinking about people’s everyday lives and how your product can tailor to their experiences effectively. This idea was to use vintage postcards to let others know where you are during quarantine… probably in the living room. Amazing! This ad creates awareness and it stays insightful.
16. Stay off the Road |Changan
High-Quality Images: Photography makes the world go round. Use impactful photos in high-quality to create awareness.
17. Stay Home Instructions | IKEA
Staying on-brand: There’s something about IKEA’s ads that work every time. And that’s because they are constantly asking themselves… “How would IKEA say this?”. Of course, it isn’t this simple, but if more brands would ask this simple question, more amazing ads like these would be created!
18. Art of Quarantine | IKEA
Think outside the box: And by “outside the box” we mean, think about what has been done in the past and how you can re-make it into something unique? Here is a clear example of what art would look like during quarantine.
19. A Safety Driven Lifestyle | Nissan
Do more with less: We enjoy how simple and yet product-forward they were able to communicate what an empty seat means at the moment.
20. Keep your Distance | National Parks & Wildlife Service
Stay positive. You can still create awareness and a sense of support while being clever about your advertising and using the right tools to create ads like OnlyMega.
Final Thoughts
Some of these creative ads were published by world-renowned companies, as they continue to pivot on the fly and communicate in a meaningful way. Because if one thing’s for sure, is that creativity never dies… especially during a global pandemic.
