Welcome to this month’s advertising catchup with Ketchup, a once-a-month roundup of creative that got me excited. If you like this type of thing, subscribe: https://ketchup.substack.com/
Heya! 🍾
Happy New Year! This email is coming a few days later than the usual drop because no emails should be sent or opened on Jan 1. :)
Last month Peloton, the American exercise equipment brand, did their darndest to manage the series of crises coming their way. In order of events:
- The setup: Mr. Big, played by Chris Noth in Sex and the City and HBO Max’s sequel And Just Like That, met his demise when he had a heart attack after his 1,000th Peloton bike ride.
- The catalyst: Within hours the fictional character’s death sent Wallstreet into a tizzy as the very real company’s stock dropped 11%.
- Plot point one: The internet took the brand to the cleaners on social media creating the most accurate memes.
- The midpoint: When trying to control the PR tailspin, Peloton spokesperson said, “[the company] was aware that a Bike would be used…[but] due to confidentiality reasons, HBO did not disclose the larger context surrounding the scene to Peloton in advance.”
- The despair: Peloton oddly had a real doctor make a statement about the fictional character’s “extravagant” lifestyle. (Mr. Big loved cigars and steak.)
- The redemption: Peloton turned this campaign around in 48 hours. Ryan Reynold’s ad agency, Maximum Effort, ran an ad titled Unspoiler Alert showing a very much alive Mr. Big who had romantically run away with his Peloton instructor.
- Pre-lap: The commercial generated 1 million views in its first two hours.
- The end: As fast as the commercial was made, Chris Noth was accused of sexual assault and Peloton removed their commercial with the statement “Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously.”
This is a public relations loop-de-loop most brands could never have handled. Peloton will go down for making the most iconic ad of the year.
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⚡️⬇️ What you came here for. ⬇️⚡️
Fork (Campaigns)
- When Harry met Santa by POL — Norway’s state-owned postal service celebrates the 50th anniversary of same-sex relationships through a heartwarming love story with Kris Kringle.
- Betrue by PORTO ROCHA — Reimagined Nike’s “Be True” initiative to be ever-evolving.
- Cardi B x Playboy — Icon musical Artist Cardi B becomes Playboy’s first Resident Creative Director and the founding member of their new creator-led platform, Centerfold.
- Ode to Smell by Wieden+Kennedy — Old Spice x Netflix collab on not not making ads. Netflix, who doesn’t run commercials during programming, taps Old Spice to drive “The Witcher” fandom.
- The Day Ones by SoundCloud — Releases an original film produced by ArtClass to promote their “First on SoundCloud” 2021 artist accelerator program.
Knife (Drops)
- Dojacode by Mojo Supermarket — Doja Cat releases the first-ever digital codable music video in partnership with Girls Who Code.
- Vax Card-igan by Mischief — Blue Moon drops party cardis for the holiday season that safely holds your vaccination card so your hands are always free for beer.
- Beernament by DDB — Miller Lite’s drinkable ornament is filled with 8 oz of pilsner.
- Gingerbread Dive Bar Kits by Miller High Life — Be sure to win the family game night with this boozy build.
- Daily Bugle by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners — Liberty Mutual partners with Sony Pictures to bring to life a Spider-Man-themed newsstand in NYC ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s cinema release.
- The Melted Gondola by The Aspen Skiing Company — In partnership with Protect Our Winters (POW), wants Colorado visitors to recognize climate change.
- Album Receipts by Melody You — A passion project gets picked up by Universal Music Group’s next-gen label, 10:22pm, to be an official merchandise brand.
- TikTok Kitchen by TikTok — Order viral meals for delivery through ghost kitchens.
- Originals Into the Metaverse by Adidas — Launches new fits with Bored Ape Yacht Club, PUNKS Comic, and gmoney.
- We Make Movies Better by AMC Theatres — Recreated a working movie theatre for their New Year’s Day Rose Parade float.
Spoon (Resources)
- Awards List — Hatem El Akad, Copywriter at Mischief, lists best practices for entering advertising awards for students.
- @adhemas — Adhemas Batista, EVP, Head of Design at Deutsch LA, abducts you with colors.
- 2022 Pantone Color of the Year — PANTONE® 17–3938 Very Peri is an entirely new color that’s “courageous presence encourages personal inventiveness and creativity.”
- Variable Fonts by Future Fonts — 2022 is all about customization.
- Colleen Decourcy Retires — The W+K legend retires from advertising.
- Spotify 2021 Wrapped — Rasmus Wangelin, Global Head of Brand Design at Spotify, explains the design behind this year’s look and feel.
- Busy Simulator — Brian Moore, Creative Director at Anomaly, helps you never be in a meeting you shouldn’t be in again.
- Virtualhumans.org — Tracks news on virtual humans.
- Cooking with AR — Lauren Cason, Co-Founder of RefractAR, shows the future in kitchen tech.
- Useful School — Ritesh Gupta, Senior Director of New Product Ventures at GannettPay, launches a pay what you can online product design school for POC → Donate to support!
2021 Tops:
& that’s the sauce!
🍾🍾🍾
– KK
