October Campaigns of the Month.

Where has October gone? I’m pretty sure we were just writing September’s Campaigns of the Month last week! Not to worry, as we have another wide array of creative campaigns lined up for you right here. From concerned Swedes to resolute Vikings, October had it all. So sit back, relax and enjoy this month’s edition.

Beats by Dre again flexes its muscles by pulling two of the most influential sports athletes together in this motivational trailer that wouldn’t look out of place as a Nike advert.

While the video focuses on the two stars, LeBron James and Erling Haaland, the narration comes from their loved ones – LeBron’s wife Savannah and Erling’s Dad Alfie. The pair have headphones on the whole time, and it’s as if they’re on a call with their respective family members. A power move from Beats to focus on what is a secondary feature of its product. I guess that’s something they can do when they’re owned by a company worth $2.7 trillion…

Sweden has had enough of being mistaken for Switzerland, and they want to tell the world about it. In this hilarious ad by Visit Sweden, a government official makes a public and openly honest statement to Switzerland, highlighting the differences between the two European nations.

While the ad makes a light-hearted joke about how the countries are entirely dissimilar, a new survey conducted by Visit Sweden revealed that 120,000 people per year Google whether the two countries are the same. 50% of respondents from the United States couldn’t distinguish between Swedish and Swiss cultures, with one out of every 10 participants confessing to booking travel arrangements in the incorrect country when visiting Sweden or Switzerland. In addition, 28% of Brits who participated mistakenly associated IKEA and ABBA with Switzerland instead of Sweden – a cardinal sin to any Swede. However, we’re sure this ad will help Sweden put itself back on the tourist map.

October marked the very first campaign for Amazon’s grocery brand ByAmazon, looking to change perceptions and habits of the population to get people shopping at their online store.

This simple yet effective campaign takes inspiration from Amazon’s logo, depicting curved-shaped fruit, veg and other food that resembles a smile. Last summer, Amazon halted its grocery store expansion in the UK due to sluggish sales, influenced by the deteriorating economic climate. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2023, the company resumed its store expansion efforts to compete with well-established players in the grocery market. Why do we feel this will be the first of many upcoming campaigns? Black Friday baked beans, anyone?

Why create new when you have a library of ads stretching back decades? This is exactly what Snickers decided to do this month as it delved into the archive, choosing to recreate a 1997 ad in collaboration with the NFL and Kansas City Chiefs.

While the actors and players are the noticeable changes, the rest of the ad is almost identical and still holds its comedic value in 2023. The subtle change comes in the way of the Chiefs’ branding and typeface, having updated its sans serif font from the 90s to a more modern one today. However, a full rebrand may not be too far away for the current Super Bowl Champs due to the ongoing controversy surrounding American sports teams using Native American stereotypes as mascots and brand identities.

I think we’ve saved the best ‘till last this week. Last Saturday we witnessed the much-anticipated fight between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and UFC legend Francis Ngannou. As the demand for ‘cross-over fights’ and ‘influencer fights’ become more popular, the advertising efforts from promoters and media companies must in turn be more creative as they jostle for viewing numbers and persuade punters to pay for the extortionate pay-per-view fees.

TNT proved this point by pulling out all the stops for the Fury vs Ngannou fight that took place in Riyadh on October 28th. The pair display superhuman powers of strength as they try to ruin each other’s day in a highly cinematic way, akin to a Marvel film. The end product is fantastic, even if the pay-per-view pricing is not.

That’s it for another month. But don’t be upset because this is where the fun begins, as I’m sure we’ll start to see all the top brands drop their Christmas entries for 2023 very soon. And remember, if you require a creative campaign that can rub shoulders with the best, get in touch today.