The Best & Worst Advertisements During The Coronavirus Crisis

As India completes 21 days of lockdown, it seems like the right time to look back and see how well brands have responded to this pandemic across the world. Who did it right, and who did it (horribly, horribly) wrong?

I won’t be ranking these ads from best to worst, or even at all. In fact, I am just going to put them in a randomly ordered list, and let you make up your mind. I’ll give you my analysis, and you can see if you think if it’s good or bad!

Dettol’s Soapy Suggestion

In response to being one of the few industries making money during this crisis, Dettol is in a difficult situation. In response, they put a generic pro-soap that was shot all at home.

After their advertising crisis in March when the Bombay High Court ruled that Dettol’s negative ad implying criticism of competitor Lifebuoy’s product needed to be pulled, this was a safe option.

That’s not to say it is not creative, or that it does not resonate with viewers. But, it is always a risky strategy to build an entire ad campaign around a viral social media trend. Will it build viewership, or just be seen as an unimaginative rip-off?

Does The Virus Make You Desire Reliability?

In another stay-at-home production special (albeit, a much more in-your-face version) Honda follows Ogilvy’s advice and seemingly focusses on building their brand at the expense of their business.

With this smart but simple advertisement, Honda is venturing into some seriously smart territory. However, unlike Dettol’s ad, there does not seem to be enough brand value attached to the advertisement.

Honda is undoubtedly know for its safety and reliability, but is that really what the consumer wants when the world leaves their house? As we can see in China, auto sales are bouncing back as the economy opens up. However, will this video convince people to buy Honda?

Amul’s Back To India Special

At the start of February, when Air India flew to China to pick up Indians unfortunate enough to be in the country (a great piece of marketing for the ailing national carrier!), Amul put out a controversial cartoon welcoming them back.

The image instantly created controversy as people from across political spectrums started to ask why this kind of fearful and opportunistic advertisement was needed.

On the other hand, it got people talking. Amul’s cartoons have always been built to start conversations, to maintain the co-operative’s relevance to the national consciousness. But, did they go to far this time?

Dove’s “Courage” To Try Again

As the world worries about cleanliness, one of the globe’s most popular soaps put out a video advertisement glorifying the frontline workers and reminding us of their brand value — without once mentioning the health benefits of their product.

On one hand, this is a brilliant campaign. It trusts viewers to know that Dove produces clean soap, and it is on point. It matches their branding philosophy that they have espoused for years; Dove brings out your beauty, no matter what you look like.

However, after the backlash many of their previous beauty-based campaigns have faced, is this the smartest time to use images of frontline workers to sell soaps? In comparison, American hand sanitiser company Purell has shut down all marketing, and is focussing on supplying demand only.

The Mom’s Co.’s #21DaysOfBranding

The Mom’s Co., a relatively small organisation compared to some of the other names on this list, put out a simple yet smart campaign. For the 21 days of lockdown, they put out 21 ideas for ways to keep kids entertained at home!

As a brand focussed on beauty and health products for mothers, this is a smart piece of advertising. It fits their brand, it provides value to their customers, and it has that all-valuable digital marketing fit; the ability to inspire followers to respond with their own personal homage to your ad!

However, this is an ad that has everything but distribution. By focussing on word-of-mouth, they are hoping that it picks up through organic virality. From an advertising standpoint, it is brilliant. However, if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, did it make a sound?

Vodafone’s Dog Days

Vodafone’s throwback to the days when they could afford to buy out other telecom companies from a position of strength rather than weakness.

It’s definitely a heart-warming video, just as all those old Hutch videos used to be. But, I can’t help but ask, what’s the point? We all know the state of Vodafone-Idea. A dog walking into a kennel is not going to boost their sales.

What are they trying to achieve? I understand that branded advertising has a vaguer end-game than the more common performance marketing on social media. However, every smart marketer builds an ad to bring people into some part of the sales funnel. How does this video reverse sales trends for a dying company?

Nike’s Backing 7.8 Billion People

In response to the death of outdoor exercise, Nike has put out a simple, low-cost video advertisement that encourages people to not let the coronavirus get them down.

As usual, Nike’s advertisement is on brand. It’s entertaining, it’s inspiring and it’s re-watchable. However, there is one issue that I can’t get out of my head. It’s mild. It’s mildly entertaining, it’s mildly inspiring and it’s mildly re-watchable.

There is no X factor. No special message. No superstar to push the message. Nike’s inability to maintain the high production value of their videos really shines through as a series of stock photos are overlaid with inspirational text. It works because of Nike’s long standing brand position, but it feels like a film student’s last minute homework.

Does this video build Nike’s library of inspiration, or was this a big missed opportunity for perhaps the most inspirational brand on the planet?

Are you sure of which ads were good and which were bad? If you think you got them right, reach out to me and I’ll give you a free consultation on how to market to regional India!

You can contact me at tarutr@getlokalapp.com, or at malhotratarutr@gmail.com.You can also DM me on my LinkedIn page or my Twitter profile. I would love to talk to each and every one of you personally!

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