SERIOUSLY FUNNY: CAN HUMOUR HELP BRANDS THROUGH AN ECONOMIC CRISIS?

9. 8. 2022 Loren Cook and Bronwyn Sweeney are Creative Directors at MullenLowe and certified funny people (according to them). They share their thoughts on why, in the darkest of times, brands should keep looking on the bright side of life.

CREATIVE ADS MAKE YOU FORGET BORING ONES

27. 7. 2022 The power of creative advertising: creative ads impair recall and attitudes toward other ads /

FIVE KEY PRIORITIES FOR DELIVERING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

23. 7. 2022 WARC today releases ‘Anatomy of Effectiveness: 2022 Edition’, a white paper giving brand marketers, advertising agencies and media owners a fresh perspective on the five key building blocks of effectiveness.

TV DELIVERS ONE OF THE HIGHEST AND MOST CONSISTENT LEVELS OF ATTENTION TO ADVERTISING

15. 7. 2022 Research by Finecast and Amplified Intelligence shows that the platform has the largest impact on how much UK consumers pay attention to your ad

THE BEST CAMPAIGNS OF THE LAST DECADE

30. 6. 2022 Here's a roundup of the spots that won the Cannes Lions' Titanium Grand Prix for boundary-breaking projects with groundbreaking creative. 2012: Nike + FuelBand by R/GA New York for Nike To engage customers more, Nike introduced the FuelBand a decade ago, a wristband that translated the effects of any activity into a NikeFuel indicator. The latter helps people compare results equally, for example, no matter how differently their bodies burn calories. This encouraged people to be competitive and motivated, as well as accessing services on the Nike+ platform, which was free to users of the wristband.

IN A WORLD OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION, DON’T FORGET THE POWER OF ANTICIPATION

17. 6. 2022 As humans, we have a natural urge for instant gratification – the temptation to forego a long-term, future benefit, to obtain an immediate and often less rewarding one. It’s a concept that brands have leveraged with aplomb using technological and product innovation, coupled with bold marketing activity. As such, we find ourselves living in the epitome of a ‘Need it Now, Have it Now’ world. From Getir delivering groceries in just minutes, to on-demand manicures in the home with a click, the list is endless. And broadcasters also understand that we struggle to wait or limit our exposure - which is why between them, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, and the BBC now host hundreds upon hundreds of box sets ready to stream. But instant novelty doesn’t always work for everyone Indeed, inspired by TV and cinema, an increasing number of brands find themselves commissioning film-quality episodic branded content as part of their marketing activity. This mode of content has now become the norm, particularly when you look at the alcohol category, such as Stella, Fosters and Estrella.

MESSAGE TO AGENCIES: EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION MAKES SENSE

3. 6. 2022 Most advertisers agree that an excellent communication activity can return up to 20 times more value for money than an average one.

WHY QR CODES ARE THE FUTURE OF CREATIVE ADVERTISING

2. 6. 2022 While they aren't a new phenomenon, Coinbase's SuperBowl ad applied a novel approach to something many are exploring: QR codes. The no-context QR code ad, which was so successful that it generated more traffic than the company's app could handle, was likely a once-in-a-lifetime tactic to engage viewers in one of the most challenging advertising environments: the living room.

CREATIVITY IN ADS MATTERS MORE THAN EVER

24. 5. 2022 Every marketer and brand these days has a little black box of tricks that they can use in advertising technology: animated ads, ad trackers, rich media with video and audio, high-impact playable ads. The list goes on. But while the technology gets more sophisticated, the experience for consumers has arguably gotten much worse.

WHY SERIOUS TIMES CALL FOR FUNNY ADVERTISING

24. 5. 2022 The world is a serious place right now, says Lucky Generals’ head of special ops, Paul Mallon, but that’s no reason why brands should be afraid to be funny

CREATIVITY IN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS: AN INDISPENSABLE INGREDIENT IN THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS AND IMMORTALITY

8. 5. 2022 Try asking yourself how many advertising campaigns you can easily recall. Then think again and ask yourself why these particular examples come to your mind. You will probably find that the unifying element in a lot of them is that they are original and evoke a particular emotion in you. Joy, emotion, horror, outrage - it doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that they stick in your mind so much that you remember them even years after you no longer see them on screen or elsewhere. Creative advertising campaigns are simply the most reliable tool available to marketers, which is why it’s a shame that today’s examples are outnumbered by those that don’t have much originality. Does this mean that creativity is dead? Not in the slightest - in fact, it’s quite the opposite. UNDER THE DOMINATION OF THE LEFT HEMISPHERE According to the American marketing theorist Orlando Wood, advertising in general is experiencing a crisis in the 21st century that is characterised by a departure from the values and trends of the last century. He explains this shift using the neuropsychological theory of the left and right brain. In very simplified terms, the two brain hemispheres perform different tasks. While the left one tends to be more schematic and categorizing, the right one is more alert and basically perceives reality in context. Of course, the two hemispheres cooperate to some extent, but some perceptions and impulses stimulate the activity of only one part of the brain. And, according to Orlando Wood, since about 2006 we have been living in the era of so-called left-brain advertising.

NEW FAMILY VIEWING DYNAMICS GIVE RISE TO A MODERN-DAY HEIRLOOM

29. 4. 2022 In a world rapidly filling with NFTs, crypto and metaverse musings, high-value possessions are not always tangible. Instead, digital attachments are just as sentimental as physical ones.

IN DEFENCE OF BRAND STORYTELLING

11. 4. 2022 Storytelling increasingly feels like a dirty word in marketing circles, connoting a flippant, regressive or trivial approach to the business of selling things. But marketers abandon it at their peril.

TV ADVERTISING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: STILL AN EFFECTIVE MEDIUM THAT IS OPEN TO NEW INFLUENCES

9. 4. 2022 In 1990s, TV advertising had to deal with the arrival of new video formats. It is no coincidence that new ads began to appear at the same time, building primarily on the growing popularity of digital technology. Unsurprisingly, they were dominated by the internet that was increasingly popular among users. Although the position of the internet was growing dynamically the impact of TV as a medium was not decreasing. Today, we are living in a streaming era which is again significantly changing the rules. However, it would be too simplified to say that linear TV and advertising have nothing to offer. First, it is not true. Second, TV has adjusted to the rapidly changing environment. So what is the position of classic TV advertising in the changing environment?

HOW TO GET LUCKY

5. 4. 2022 What bearing does luck have on advertising, asks Faris Yakob, who finds in a recent book - ‘Go Luck Yourself’ by Andy Nairn - a form of resilience that looks for what is possible with a rigorous examination of the situation.

BRING ON THE TECHNICOLOUR!

23. 3. 2022 There’s a scene in Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-worthy Belfast where the film’s young hero Buddy is taken to the cinema to see the 1968 musical fantasy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Branagh’s movie is beautifully, brutally monochrome but the CCBB clip appears in its original glorious Technicolour, flooding the screen with warmth and transporting the Belfast audience - and the audience watching Belfast - to a happier, sunnier place.

THE CTV/OTT ADVERTISING INDUSTRY: WHAT LIES AHEAD IN 2022

15. 3. 2022 The explosive growth of Connected TV or CTV adspend is attracting new players and Unruly’s Lee Smith looks at how this will impact the issues of content, services and technology for the platform.

CTV ADVERTISERS ARE BETTING QR CODES AREN’T JUST A FAD

14. 3. 2022 Beyond the attention at the Super Bowl, TV marketers see QR codes as the golden ticket for measurement and conversions