Looking back on the marketing of 2020, it's clear there were certain "phases" that creative themes seemed to go through.
First was the somewhat reluctant recognition that something truly big and terrible was going on, as clients slowly realized that the pandemic was not going to be a short-term, geographically isolated issue.
Then there was the "we're all in this together" phase, followed by the optimistic "soon the world will be reopening" phase. But when parts of the world reopened, things only got worse, and here we are still largely locked away in our homes.
So now we're in the era of complete uncertainty, when only a foolish brand would try to guess an end date to this pandemic.
That's an especially hard concept to build an ad around, but honestly I think Absolut manages it with its new, largely animated spot from BBH Singapore.
While it's not clear at first where the ad is headed, you soon realize that the animation represents the digital world of interaction many of us live in day to day. That's not necessarily conveyed as a bad thing, since the subjects of the ad are modern influencers who thrive in digital. But then the ad brings them to a point of escape...at an indefinite moment in the future.
Have you seen any recent ads walking this balance as well? Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
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