In one of the worst years in memory, these ads managed to put a good face on bad weather and deliver a message brimming with hope to the viewer.
Is there really something to celebrate in the catastrophic year 2020 that we are finally going to lose sight of? Many would answer this question with a resounding “no”, but some brands have managed to draw positive lessons from the coronavirus and its string of catastrophic misfortunes.
Crises are, after all, a magnificent opportunity to rediscover the strengths that lie hidden in the depths of our guts and place our priorities in the spotlight.
In one of the worst years in living memory, these ads managed to put a good face on the bad weather and deliver a message brimming with hope to the viewer:
1. “Made in hell” (Match)
“Made in Hell”, a delusional ad signed by Ryan Reynolds’ agency for Match, reinterprets the pandemic as a love story between Satan and the 2020 Mephistophelic.
In this diabolical romance, the viewer is inevitably the victim of the devil’s “amour fou” and the year 2020, but the final message of the spot is edged with hope: “Make 2021 your year.”
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2. “Money is not money” (Bankinter)
In the crudest of the pandemic in homelands, a bank (Bankinter) managed to give Spaniards goose bumps with what is probably the most emotional announcement born in the heat of the COVID-19 crisis: “Money is not money “.
A handful of bills and a beautiful song were enough for Bankinter to inject hope into an entire nation. As he well says that theme that puts the beautiful sound counterpoint to the spot, “this will pass for sure. This is not our destination. The important thing here is that no one stays on the road”.
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3. “Let’s be open” (Coca-Cola)
Last July, Coca-Cola returned from its self-imposed advertising hiatus with the ad “Let’s be open”, a work permeated with optimism in which George the Poet serves as the spokesperson for the famous soft drink brand.
In “Let’s be open”, signed by the agency 72andSunny Amsterdam, the British artist questions the concept of a new normal and the desire of some to immediately return to what was before.
“Who says we have to go back to normal? What if normality were something new?” Asks George the Poet, who seems to want to convey to the viewer the need to be more open than ever to new attitudes and new experiences such as consequence of what happened months ago.
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4. “The Show Must Go On” (Amazon)
2020 has been an extraordinarily lavish year in frustrations and disappointments. And Amazon has managed to perfectly portray the gloomy feeling that seizes many in one of the worst years in memory in its Christmas spot.
The spot, which dances to the beat of the famous song “The Show Must Go On” by Queen, stars a young dancer who has achieved a stellar role in the Christmas performance of her ballet school. But their hopes are suddenly dashed when the school rolls down its blind as a result of the coronavirus. And although the young woman is still involved in multiple rehearsals that she practices alone, finally the show is also canceled.
However, and after chaining one frustration after another, the young protagonist manages to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel with the help of her family and neighbors.
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5. “Bring on the future” (H&M)
H & M’s Christmas commercial, signed by the Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors, celebrates the end of the year with a colorful manifesto dedicated to the greater glory of the future.
In the 90-second ad, Jamaican artist Koffee recites a beautiful and vibrant poem inviting people to say goodbye to 2020 and its many woes to welcome a better future.
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6. “DEV” (Campofrío)
In “DEV Rest in Life2 Campofrío executes an impossible boat acrobatics: talking about death and doing it without losing your sense of humor. And it is that in the last of Campofrío and McCann, death paradoxically becomes the perfect excuse to enjoy of life to the last drop.
Quique San Francisco gets into the skin of the grim reaper (dressed in the cape and his characteristic scythe) and walks through everyday life to remind the viewer that his gloomy presence actually gives meaning to life and that, being aware of his existence, “there is no day, however insignificant, strange or difficult it may seem, that does not deserve to be lived.”
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7. “We will embrace again” (Zalando)
In the spot “We will hug each other again” Zalando reduces the multiple losses we have suffered in the last year to something very specific: the impossibility of touching and hugging each other due to the overlapping restrictions to the coronavirus.
The ad is a heartfelt tribute to hugs and concludes with a heartwarming message: “We will hug again.”
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8. “And I think to myself… that’s the 2020” (LEGO)
In this ad, LEGO a makes no mention of the pandemic and its dire consequences, but provides the viewer with a phenomenal escape from the current dire reality.
Initiated by the in-house agency LEGO Agency, the spot gives a twist to the legendary Louis Armstrong song “What a wonderful world” and replaces the chorus with the phrase “” That’s a pretty cool world “.
Directed by The Bobbsey Twins From Homicide and produced by Blink, the ad revolves around children’s overflowing imaginations and their ability to peruse sensational universes of possibility with a handful of LEGO bricks.
In the twinkling pupils of children, horses are blue, princesses wield swords and bend dragons, there are weightless astronaut weddings, and the streets are patrolled by Star Wars Stormtroopers. To face the grim reality, nothing better than a bit of imagination interspersed with magic and humor.
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9. “30 days of Christmas” (McDonald’s)
In a funny commercial that McDonald’s has recently released in Belgium, a girl gives her particular vision of one of the worst years in living memory.
The protagonist of the ad confides to Santa Claus the many disappointments she has suffered in the last year: his canceled birthday party, the strange school classes from home, the paranoia of her parents and the boring walks in the company of her family.
“The year 2020 sucks!” Says the girl. “Birthday parties? Canceled! Home schooling? Embarrassing. Visiting Grandma? Weird,” he laments.
Fortunately, good old Santa Claus, who is probably in league with McDonald’s, answers the little girl’s prayers and brings out his magic to save Christmas.
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10. “Look for the good” (Oppo)
In this Fred & Faris Los Angeles spot for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo, the protagonists, who are real people like life itself, give an account of the way in which the coronavirus pandemic has completely ruined their projects for 2020.
Anyway, and despite the many frustrations accumulated throughout the year, each and every one of the protagonists manages to turn the screw on the misfortunes of recent months. And, thinking about it, maybe 2020 was not so bad after all.
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