Most compelling advert of 2013?
Over the last six months I have immersed myself in advertising from internships with AMV BBDO & BBH, attending Account Planning Group Noisy Thinking conferences at Google & one to ones with key Ogilvy Change individuals.
From my experiences, I feel there is an emerging focus of creative agencies using a hybrid approach, including the enterprising ‘’nudge’’ behavioural economic ideals.
Nudge is the idea that big is not always better, that clients throwing cash at a campaign will not always be the best option, and that advertising agencies should have more of a consensus to cost and performance efficient solutions. This is combined with a personal belief that advertising can make wider changes in society and help promote positive battles against major global issues such as global warming, sex trafficking and wealth disparity.
As proof of these two factors, I am going to go for Ogilvy Brazil’s ‘’Immortals’’ advert which was released last summer. The agency was briefed with increasing organ donors in the city of Recife. Ogilvy used the nudge approach, starting with how they could connect emotionally with potential donors and utilising the power of football. The sport is synonymous with Brazilian culture and Ogilvy partnered with the major football club Sporting Recife.
Knowing that the club was a religion for thousands of Recife citizens, Ogilvy came up with the clever concept of the organs being able to support the club and live on, even after a fan had died. With taglines such as ‘’I promise that your eyes will keep watching Sport Club Recife’’, ‘’I promise your lungs will breathe Sport Club Recife’’ and ‘’I promise your heart will beat Sport Club Recife’’, Ogilvy had connected with Recife citizens.
This was combined with excellent execution such as getting patients’ in need for donor organs to make this promise with a digital cinematic video of their agreement. Furthermore the movement was called Immortals, allowing Sport Club Recife fans to feel this emotion.
The #Immortals campaign was advertised within Sport Club Recife’s stadium and on major social platforms such as Twitter & YouTube, as well as making donor cards personalised to the colours of Sporting Recife.
Overall the campaign increased organ donations by 54% with 51,400 new donors, not just in Recife but also in other major cities of Brazil, with widespread word of mouth coverage through broadcasters such as Faulo de S.Paulo newspaper. Immortals also dominated the advertising industry awards with multiple wins at Cannes Lion.
Connected with society, cheap and hugely effective, a truly innovative and immortal ad by Ogilvy Brazil.
