With Platinum Jubilees and #PartyGate grabbing the headlines recently, we highlight eight marketing campaigns you might have missed in May.

Can you believe that we’re already at the halfway point of 2022?

From the UK coming second at Eurovision to Prince Louis stealing the show at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with so much going on, you might have missed some cracking ad campaigns that have been released in the past month. Fear not though, we’ve got you covered.

Grab yourself a marmalade sandwich, and enjoy the most impactful ad campaigns of May...

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Wild Natural Deodorant: Dirty Talk 

What happens when you put a seven-foot stuffed polar bear with someone who is h-word for bad ecological behaviour? You get BBH’s first campaign for cosmetic brand Wild.

BBH’s mission is to convince doubters of the effectiveness of natural deodorant. Most of us are used to the spraying stuff in a can. This, however, is a refillable ‘stick,’ with the naturally made and plastic-free refills purchased on a subscription basis. 

They attempt to win audiences over through a three-minute video hero film in which Thorvald, a stuffed polar-bear, finds out that his girlfriend Sarah has a kink for climate change (in a bad way). Throvald walks in on Sarah "enjoying" a video about the melting ice caps. Turns out that she gets off on things are bad for the planet, including leaving the tap running while cleaning her teeth and eating out-of-season strawberries.

Throvald indulges this for a while, but puts his paw down when Sarah asks him to spray her with single-use plastic aerosol deodorant.

Cue an educational video from the bear educating Sarah on why she should switch to Wild deodorant, an ecologically friendly alternative with scents such as Jasmin and Mandarin Blossom.

Co-Founder and CMO of Wild, Charlie Bowes-Lyon, said that it is ‘perhaps the “Wildest” thing we’ve done to date,’ and explains that Wild are ‘also supporting Polar Bears International and giving £1 for every sale that uses the code at the end of the video. It’s a really exciting partnership for us, especially given all the hard work they do to protect not only Polar Bears but also their habitat.” 

The campaign went live on the last day of the month (narrowly making it into our roundup) and is going to run across TV, YouTube paid advertising and social channels, running for a total of a year.

Gymshark: Gymshark Market

Forget one pound fish or The Apprentice contestants flogging overpriced food items to the unsuspecting public, in May it was Gymshark’s turn at the market stall experience. On Friday 1st May, Londoner’s were surprised to see a pop-up stall at the Lower Marshes market near Waterloo manned by Gymshark CEO Ben Francis. He was there selling his sportswear products for a bargain £5.

Gymshark CEO Ben Francis surprised shoppers at London's Lower Marshes market with a pop up Gymshark stall selling discount itemsp

Noel Mack, chief brand officer at Gymshark said, “We’ve always called ourselves a community brand, and lately lots of other brands seemed to have followed suit. But you can’t just say the word community and make it true, you have to be out here, with them.” 

It comes before Gymshark is set to open its first physical store in the capital later this summer. Situated on Regent Street, the new site will host events, “community hangouts” and workout studios. 

Netflix: Stranger Things Surfer Boy Pizza Pop up 

Here’s another one from BBH, and this time it’s an experiential campaign focussed around one of my favourite shows - Stranger Things. Unfortunately for me, it was only those local to Shoreditch who got to experience this campaign in all its glory when posters advertising fictional products and services from Hawkins mysteriously appeared.

An experiential Stranger Things campaign was launched by BBH in London to celebrate the release of the Netflix hit's fourth season

 

Over a period of days, hazmat-clad workers set up a tent to cover up the posters, urging passers-by to step back. Taking to Twitter, the official Netflix UK and Ireland account said that there was ‘nothing to see here.’ 

It soon became apparent why members of the public were being asked to step away – a portal to the Upside Down appeared. Growing bigger by the day, the mystery was finally solved when fans were invited to step through it on Friday 2nd May. Instead of coming face-to-face with Vecna, event-goers got to experience the taste, smell and feel of Stranger Things, complete with Demogorgon inspired pizza. As the great Ginny Lemon says, “fancy a slice?” If it's Demogorgon shaped - probably not!

 

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Volkswagen UK: Electrifying Movies 

To mark the renewal of their ITV Movie sponsorship for another two-year period, Volkswagen UK have teamed up with adam&eveDDB to create a series of films inspired by some of Hollywood’s most recognised moments. 

These moments are connected by a theme – they have all relied on electricity. In each skit, the power in the scene is cut out by Volkswagen owners who need to charge the new Volkswagen Pure Electric and Plug-In Hybrid range. For example, in one video, it is the power for an electric fence encasing a monster. In another, it is for surveillance equipment just before gathering crucial evidence.

The campaign involves 16 executions in total and began on Saturday 2May, running through to December 2023.

Read: Most Impactful Ad Campaigns of April

BrewDog: Lost Lager, Real Lager 

BrewDog is known for being disruptive and provocative in their field, and it’s no exception in their latest campaign for one of their signature products – Lost Lager.

Created by the brand’s strategic and creative partner, Media.Monks, the integrated campaign ‘Real Larger’ goes up against indifference about choices made when it comes to lager. The film, directed by Taz Tron Delix, features commentary based around how different lagers are glamorously marketed and how they don’t apply to the average person.

Discussing the campaign, BrewDog’s brand and marketing director Lauren Carrol said “With our ambitions you need a partner that not only understands our goals but also our voice. With Media.Monks we found a fearless collaborator, who can provide solid data and brand strategy to support high quality and daring creative work. This campaign is a testament of that.”

Media.Monks’ global executive strategy director Jimmy Blom adds, “This constant expectation to live up to the polished lives and lifestyles of more successful, more beautiful, more well curated people than yourself, is frankly just exhausting. Why should you have to buy into that?”

Tyrrells Crisps: Splendid News 

What goes better with a nice cold lager than a good packet of crisps? It’s not a rhetorical question – the answer is a pack of Tyrrells Lentil Crisps. Owned by snack giant KP Snacks, premium crisp brand Tyrrells has launched a 20-second ad called ‘Splendid News,’ that will appear on video-on-demand and social media.

Sticking to the signature old-fashioned Tyrrells style, the ad features black and white Pathé footage of the public holding and admiring giant colourful versions of the snack both in and out of the packet. 

The humorous spot is the work of creative agency St Luke’s and will run until August.

Vets4Pets: Thank You 

I can’t think of how to segue from crisps to vets, so I won’t bother. Instead, I’ll just tell you that Vets4Pets, part of the Pets at Home Group, and The&Partnership, have launched a national ‘thank you’ to the veterinary industry.

Like many others, the industry faced new and challenging obstacles during the coronavirus pandemic. A rise in pet ownership and ongoing recruitment issues has seen continuing pressure being placed on veterinary professionals across the country.


The campaign targets pet owners and seeks to champion those working in the veterinary industry by showcasing the dedication, passion and commitment that united them all. It centres around a film shot by Tom Green from Stink Films. It shows real operations, emotions and interactions at Vets4Pets Practices. 

The film makes up part of a larger campaign that runs across digital, social, OOH and PR, and went live on the 17May.

Ocado: Summer’s Biggest Line-Up 

Last but not least in our roundup for May is Ocado’s summer campaign “Summer’s Biggest Line-Up.” Ocado is the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailer and its integrated summer campaign will run between 19th May to the 31st August. 

The advert features an Ocado van pulling a carnival float decorated with dolphins, a giant sandcastle and other beach items. The float opens up, revealing different products perfect for the summer season including sun cream, drinks, BBQ items and of course, the classic rocket ice lolly.

The campaign was created by St Luke’s alongside Ocado’s in-house creative team with a voiceover from Spice Girl Mel C.

If you’re looking to boost your marketing efforts for the second half of 2022, GO! can connect you with an agency who can help. Tell us the requirements and we’ll start the search. Get in touch to get started…


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