Creative brands during lockdown

By Gemma Wildgoose

We’ve already looked at how some of the biggest brands handled the pandemic through traditional TV/streaming ads here. But you don’t need to spend a fortune to create something priceless. Here are a few examples of how brands of all sizes have risen to the challenge of lockdown in wonderfully creative ways:

Borussia Monchengladback: Real fans

German football club Borussia Monchengladback asked fans to share pictures of themselves, which the club then printed onto life-sized cutouts and placed in the seats until they could be replaced by the real thing again.

Earl of East Candles: Scents of normality

Earl of East brought out a range of candles called ‘Scents of Normality’ (by far and away the best pun in this list). The idea is for them to recreate the aroma of some of our favourite places, that we couldn’t go to at the time.

Emily Crisps: Out of home. Out of sight.

Plenty of outdoor media space had been booked way before lockdown. Here’s a good example of a company acknowledging their ‘oops’ moment in a way that you can’t help but warm to.

Netflix: Spoilers

There are few things more annoying than spoilers about the finale of your favourite TV show. There are also fewer challenges as big as getting everyone to stay home. These concept ads combined these two facts to powerful advantage. (It’s worth noting that this wasn’t live work for Netflix, but the idea’s still worth celebrating.)

Getty Museum: Recreations

The Getty museum asked people on social media to recreate famous artworks – from classic to contemporary. The results are brilliantly amusing, and appeal to an audience who already appreciate creativity.

The Wild Detectives: Book a trip

The Wild Detectives is a book shop in Dallas that needed a campaign to launch their move to online retail. The result was to present themselves as fake travel agents – the idea being that a good book from their shop can take you anywhere.

Thai Airlines: Miles exchange

Thai Airlines encouraged people to stay at home by tracking people’s location via their app and awarding them one airmile for every four hours spent at home.

Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler: Loved tales, retold

The writer and illustrator behind the ridiculously popular kid’s books The Gruffalo and Stick Man shared a series of new stories, featuring their most famous characters social distancing, isolating, and home schooling.

Sky Arts: Portrait artist of the week

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year is an annual televised competition. For lockdown, they adapted the format so viewers could get involved. Each show had a celebrity sitter, captured and interviewed by a previous winner, and there was the chance to complete your own portrait of the sitter through a separate live Facebook session. Winners from the public submissions were also rung up on the show. It was so popular, the programme was even extended to a longer run.

Various organisations: Virtual tours

Aquariums, zoos, art galleries, museums, and national parks around the world have brought the majesty of their live experience to your laptop with virtual 360º tours. And AR has come into its own too – a notable example being Google’s dinosaurs. Search for a dino, and there’s an option to view it in 3D, right there in your home. If you don’t fancy a triceratops tearing up your living room, take a look round the peaceful (and empty) Sistine Chapel.