August Campaigns of the Month

While the rest of the tech world can’t stop banging on about AI this and AI that, Apple went the other way entirely for the launch of the new Mac Mini. TBWA\Media Arts Lab, director Nicos Livesey and the stop-motion wizards at Blinkink and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios built an entirely handcrafted claymation world in which the little desktop box transforms into a robot, a rocket ship, a race car and, best of all, a bodybuilder, to show off the muscle of the new M6 chip. Polo & Pan’s ‘Pili Pili’ does a lot of the heavy lifting on tone, giving the whole thing a bouncy, playful energy that’s a world away from Apple’s more clinical product films. The irony of using painstaking, human, physical craft to sell a chip built for AI workloads is not lost on us. Genuinely lovely. 

https://lbbonline.com/work/170855

Betting ads live and die by odds boosts and free bet offers, so it was refreshing to see Betfred sidestep all of that completely for ‘We The Believers’. Created with DEPT, directed by Luke Brookner through Sticker Studios and shot alongside stills from photographer Theo McInnes, the campaign is a genuinely touching look at the blind faith, rituals and superstitions that come with being an England fan. Betfred’s own research backs it up nicely too: 47% of fans admit to wearing the same ‘lucky’ shirt for every match, and over a third say they’ve had more faith in this squad than any since 1966. Bold claim, but we like the confidence. It’s proof that even in the most saturated, offer-led category going, there’s still room for a proper piece of storytelling (if you’re willing to look past the promo codes). 

Leave it to Specsavers to find a genuinely fresh way into hearing health. ‘The Testlist’ targets the generation that grew up on acid house and Ibiza club nights, and rather than the usual over-50s messaging about missing the doorbell, it reframes hearing loss as the thing standing between them and the music they grew up with and still love today. Take Specsavers’ free online hearing screener and you’re rewarded with access to real club nights, including a guestlist spot at Groove Armada’s DJ set at Phonox in London this October. Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay has been out front on the campaign talking candidly about his own hearing loss, which gives the whole thing real credibility rather than just a clever media hook. Proper insight, properly executed. Tune. 

https://lbbonline.com/news/Dolmios-Puppet-Family-Returns-for-40th-Anniversary

Papa, Mama, Sophia, Carlo, Nina and Nico are back. After the best part of a decade away, Dolmio’s puppet family, arguably one of the most recognisable distinctive assets in UK food advertising, returned this August to mark the brand’s 40th anniversary. T&Pm and director Ben Smith haven’t messed with the formula, they’ve just leaned into it, using the puppets to make the point that there’s no single ‘right’ way to get dinner on the table, whatever your household looks like. Dolmio launched the spot during the FA Community Shield on TNT Sports and backed it with an OOH blitz, including a genuinely fun 3D ‘steaming bolognese’ billboard in Shepherd’s Bush, plus a talent tie-up with Giovanna Fletcher. Mars’ Chief Growth Officer called it a “monumental milestone”, and for once that’s not just marketing spin. Welcome back, Dolmio family. 

@littlecaesarspizza

If you like web slinging, being upside down, shredded pepperoni, toasted cheese, boy have we got something for you. See #SpiderManBrandNewDay Exclusively in Theaters July 31 @SPIDERMANMOVIE

♬ original sound – Little Caesars

Our favourite bit of brand experiential this month didn’t even need us to leave the country to enjoy it, thanks to some smart creator strategy. To launch its Spider-Man-themed ‘Webberoni’ pizza, Little Caesars, along with CYLNDR Studios, McKinney and Stept X, built an eerily accurate, full-size recreation of Peter Parker’s Brooklyn apartment from the new film, complete with over 30 easter eggs including a handwritten letter from MJ and a full-blown detective conspiracy wall. Rather than relying on footfall alone for a one-day pop-up, the smart move was inviting apartment-tour specialist Caleb Simpson, who’s built almost three million Instagram followers entirely on nosing around other people’s homes, to give it the full tour treatment. One physical space in Brooklyn, one afternoon, and a reach that stretched miles beyond anyone who actually queued for a slice. That’s the blueprint for experiential now, and worth remembering next time someone tells you a single activation can’t do the heavy lifting. 

That’s your lot for August. Plenty to admire, from Apple’s craft-focused claymation flex to Little Caesars proving a single afternoon in Brooklyn can travel the world if you invite the right person along. Which one gets your vote? Let us know in the comments wherever you’re reading this.

And if you’ve got a campaign of your own that deserves a place on next month’s list, you know where we are. Get in touch.