Brands and The International Women's Day Brouhaha

Many brands tried to outdo themselves over the weekend.

It was clear that many creatives had been tasked with thinking out of the box to unleash ads that will put their brand in the women’s good books.

After all, it was #InternationalWomensDay

Some brands did not disappoint.

While some ads missed the mark and caused war on different social media platforms, some others were heartwarming.

For print, I liked the ad by Steve Babaeko’s X3M ideas. It was direct, simple and built on a true insight. The fact that it was animation made it easy on the eye.

You can find it here

For video ads, I particularly like the ad created by Niyi Akinmolayan's Anthill Studio for the Lagos state government.

It was simple, authentic and founded on something I love to see in stories-truth.

You can watch it here

Another ad that blew my mind is this one from Mercedes Benz.

All different bits of my experience summed up in one video-Brand storytelling+filmmaking+copywriting.

It is refreshing to see how they made this work without competing for attention.

Brand perception shone through with ease.

Camera angles, choice of words, nuance, costume and evidence showing that it was built on a true story-layered with precision and style.

With all the drama that happened online, it was refreshing to see simple ads that showed their female employees doing the #eachforequal sign.

Also, simple ads with the ‘Happy International Women’s Day’ greeting made creatives like me heave a sigh of relief.

Sometimes, truth wins and less is really more.

Am I saying it is bad to jump on trends?

No.

However, here are things to take into consideration.

• It is important to carefully review and test content created around sensitive topics so it does not come off as poorly done.
• It might be great to get engagement by jumping on trends but it is necessary to ensure that the organisation’s deeds align with what is being projected via communication material.
• Lip service always comes back to bite. A brand must do all it can to do what it says and say what it does properly. Many brands will lick their wounds from this episode for a while.
• Any brand that wants to get it right with such sensitive topics must find true stories to work with and execute in a way that promotes the brand perception and resonates with the target audience.

Here’s a final word on this matter:

Insight+Seamless Execution will always trump haphazard and insincere work.

As Creatives, we must tell real stories.

Image Credit: Firstbank Nigeria