The new norm ad agencies can’t ignore
With the lockdown, creative agencies are shooting on mobile with real people. But the challenge would be competing with TikTok.
Necessity is the mother of innovation. With most of the world shut, due to the ongoing COVID-19, people are going crazy. Craziness also brings out novel ideas from nowhere. But love in the times of social distancing? Well, my dear friend, Rumi said: “I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.”
This happened with Jeremy Cohen in Brooklyn who noticed a woman dancing on her rooftop across the street. After the general greetings from a distance, the freelance photographer took out the drone and attached a note with his phone number onto it. He then sent it over to his neighbor's roof and guess what about an hour later he received her text.
Later we witnessed both dining and even taking a walk while maintaining social distance.
Obviously the story went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms. I don’t know what’s happening now but Jeremy has kicked the asses of lazy lovers. ( I definitely have no hope with my poems, and guess I will have to grow old with a chatbot)
Lockdown has also pushed the super busy celebrities to be somewhat natural on social media. While most of them have stopped posting videos of washing utensils and doing chores; Anushka Sharma posted a video of she giving a hair cut to Virat Kohli. I am no one to comment on how good was the cut but this is a sneak peek how human minds are getting creative while in lockdown.
India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) used Google trends data on various leisure-related topics for the last 90 days and found that interest in recipes reached its peak in the lockdown period. “'Recipe’ topped the chart followed by 'Netflix’ and 'health’; then came 'sex tips’ and 'Ludo’, a popular board game in India.”
Asian Paints in its latest film has shown scenes from Indian houses during the ongoing lockdown. The 49-second ad is a montage where the brand is asking people to stay home and stay safe. The ad was created by Ogilvy with the voice-over of Piyush Pandey. “I observed things people are doing in my house in Goa and wrote the film accordingly.”
In a recent Insta Live conversation with a friend who runs a brilliant media production agency told me that with the growing terror of COVID-19, the government has imposed a ban on film and television shooting as a precautionary measure. While the measure has hit thousands of unrecognized task force on the ground, the move has pushed new creative boundaries. Meeting rooms have evolved into Zoom rooms and the brainstorming sessions have become more productive.
“It is a sudden change on how we work but we don’t have an option other than adopting. Today we don’t meet for brainstorming sessions, we only come to an online session when he have done our groundwork. For some it is working and for others it is a challenge,” said another creative friend who works with a large network advertising agency.
Tata Sky recently released a new film shot and directed remotely by real people on their mobile phone cameras. The TVC aims to communicate that 10 of Tata Sky’s interactive content services have been made free, to encourage consumers to remain fruitfully engaged, learn and do something new in their homes. Conceptualised again by Ogilvy India the ad was shot remotely in seven different cities - Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Lucknow, Chennai, and Jodhpur.
Shooting on mobile phones with real people is slowly becoming the new norm, at least till the lockdown lasts. I don’t see going forward brands and agencies splurging enormous money on fancy ad locations. It’s time to get real and clean the dirt from the fancy world of advertising and marketing. Ad giant Publicis is already warning of unprecedented spending pullback. “This crisis is going to be unprecedented by its magnitude, complexity, and length,” said Arthur Sadoun, chief executive officer of Publicis Groupe SA, which owns agencies including Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi.
However, there is some respite for production houses because shooting remotely costs roughly half to one-third of the amount of money for a traditional shoot, according to Digiday. “Expenses, such as travel, location fees, equipment rentals, and associated costs no longer need to be accounted for under quarantine.”
Some advertisers are increasingly turning to production companies with computer generated imagery, visual effects and animation capabilities to add the finishing touches to campaigns already in progress.
Amazon India recently launched a new spot anchored by Amazon India, delivery executives Ankit (Amazon), Vivek (BigBasket), Mohit (Grofers), and Vinod (MedLife). In the 30-second-long video, the four can be seen talking about the importance of staying home and healthy, and how they will deliver the essentials at the doorstep of customers.
A message like #HumSabEkSaath from the people who are risking their lives to provide us a comfortable stay during the lockdown is relevant compared to the social distancing messages from Bollywood celebrities who are just doing it to be relevant and get more likes.
A handful of the leading brands are showing their presence by advocating social distancing, saluting the real heroes and doing their bit on supporting causes. Dove puts a face to the real beauty advertising through a “Courage Is Beautiful” campaign, breaking in the U.S., showing faces of healthcare workers marked by the protective gear they’ve been wearing during the coronavirus crisis.
The idea came from WPP’s Ogilvy Canada spotting photos of healthcare workers on the front lines, taken by Italian photographer Alberto Giuliani. The ad which is a series of hard-hitting visuals of healthcare workers broke first in Canada and later released in the U.S. with more photos featuring U.S. healthcare workers, to be followed quickly by ads customized for other countries with local photos. It is encouraging especially when nurses and doctors are risking their jobs if they go to the public with workspace concerns about coronavirus precautions.
#CareWillOvercome from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company is an encouragement short video that showcases stirring images of people from around the world. It includes doctors, medical workers, and citizens who are bravely doing their bit to help to leave no stone unturned in fighting this global crisis.
But let's accept that the present state for the advertising and marketing industry is gloomy. Jobs are at risk, the majority of brands have put their ad budgets on hold, and most of them are either clueless or have just gone silent. Barrons said that across the media landscape, advertising is disappearing.
“The reason is simple: Even the most prominent ad buyers lack reasons, and often the means, to buy ads. Global travel is on hold; auto factories are shut, movie theaters closed and their are no film trailers. Apart from grocery stores, pharmacies and large box-store chains, most retailers are shuttered.”
IAB surveyed nearly 400 ad buyers about the state of the industry, and the results are grim. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed say the current ad downturn will be worse than the financial crisis in 2008. Digital spend for the March-to-June period will be down by 33%, according to the survey.
The Indian advertising industry may suffer a ₹5,000 crore blow in the next three to four months if the Covid-19 outbreak is not contained, according to estimates by media buyers. Mint had published this story by the end of last month and today our PM is going to address the country again. Obviously the lockdown will be extended since India has crossed the 10,000 number of active Coronavirus cases.
In such times, brands by and large have focussed on supporting social distance and standing with people in these tough times.
Jack Daniel’s new ad celebrates social distancing with user-generated footage of real human interactions that was filmed, safely from home. It features a new rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” which was also recorded from home by the singers featured in the video. “Miss You” just tears you apart.
Shooting on mobiles with real people be the new norm?
Obviously a traditional ad agency would vehemently disagree. But I believe the industry will be forced to remove the unnecessary flab that it has accumulated over the years. We have been hit and hit at the right place at the right time. No there isn’t any going back. Let’s just get real.
But I also believe that the fight to kill bad advertising will be more real. Don’t worry some BS will be still there to make my blood boil. For instance, the stupid selfie contest during a pandemic and the bullshit dance of brand tagging will play its role. It’s amazing how they get covered by publications and we have our thought leaders puking their commentary on LinkedIn.
Ad agencies now have stiff competition with content creators
Today’s creative head will have to adapt to the new norm of the consumer interests and his competition is not with other agencies but the creative minds sitting on platforms like TikTok who are creative geniuses and raking in views. I am not saying TV will not play its role but digital won’t be the stepchild. And gone are the days of creating Facebook posts or emotional ads.
The new-age creative heads are already working in the new age publications who are churning for mediums like Instagram, TikTok, etc. For instance take the example of Filter Copy, Scoopwhoop, Brut, etc. The kind of content these publications are producing during lockdown is refreshing.
And then you have the individual creators who are just burning the internet with their non-stop interactions with fans and creativity.
Bollywood is now waking up to TikTok. Badshah released a new single recently and it has been a tremendous hit on TikTok. Just not a hit, I am blown away with the effort the unknown individual creators are putting just for getting viral(#gendaphool has 625 million views). Recently Badshah shared a TikTok video on Instagram, praising the dancing sensation Baba Jackson aka Yuvraj Singh. The video has 2.2M views on his personal TikTok account.
So agencies this is going to be the new norm that you were aware but you can’t ignore it anymore. Winning just awards won’t be enough.