Best Ads of the Week: Clean Creatives’ Earth Day Pledge & Volkswagen’s cash for naps offer

This week, actors played NPCs in a Movistar ad to expose online threats to minors, Paris Hilton met the AI version of herself in a Tan-Luxe spot and Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Willie Nelson sparked up for Bic on 4/20.

Movistar: This Is Not a Game by VML Mexico

Movistar, a major wireless provider serving Spain and several Hispanic-American countries, has launched an unconventional awareness campaign in Mexico highlighting the risks kids face when interacting with unknown online profiles in video games.

Titled ‘This Is Not a Game,’ the campaign employs an interesting creative approach to get its point across, with human actors imitating the somewhat uncanny and unnatural mannerisms of non-playable characters, or ‘NPCs’ as gamers know them.

The work advocates for a safer gaming environment for children. According to the Executive Secretariat of the National System for Comprehensive Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, over 75% of the online video game profiles that interact with minors belong to strangers. This poses predatory risks like grooming, human trafficking, forced labor and kidnapping.

Tan-Luxe: That’s Hot!

Tan-Luxe has nabbed its first-ever celebrity collaboration and it’s the original influencer herself, Paris Hilton. In the ad, viewers see the socialite and business owner meet an AI and future versions of herself while debating what the iconic Tan-Luxe tagline should be. Playing on her infamous ‘That’s Hot’ saying, Hilton spends the next 60 seconds coming up with something just as memorable.

The writing and art direction are absolutely spot-on; it’s a fun mix of ‘The Simple Life’ meets ‘Clueless.’ AI Paris is even sporting the same outfit worn on her hit reality show – complete with a pink flip phone, of course. Ted Lasso’s Chuck Hayward and Conan’s Glenn Boozan have shared that the tone of the ad is ‘Barbie meets Bond,’ which they have managed to capture throughout. Each line projects this idea perfectly.

Tom’s of Maine: Smell Good, Good by VML

Tom’s of Maine, Colgate-Palmolive’s natural personal care brand, recently launched a new campaign aimed at proving that natural deodorants can be as effective as they are environmentally friendly. After a three-year hiatus from the advertising spotlight, the brand serves up a dose of hilarity to highlight the potency of its new deodorant formula with the tagline ‘Smell Good, Good.’

The centerpiece of the campaign is a rib-tickling ad titled ‘Spin,’ where a spin class instructor takes his love for natural scents to a whole new level. When he commands the class to lower their arms, one unfortunate (or fortunate?) soul named Daphne is singled out for her captivating aroma. Her secret? You guessed it – Tom’s of Maine natural deodorant.

It’s a comedic twist that’s equal parts hilarious and, dare we say, a tad creepy. There’s also ‘Camping,’ a 15-second snippet that captures the essence of camaraderie in the great outdoors, albeit with a whiff of humor. Picture three sweaty guys crammed into a tent, sweltering in the summer heat. As one of them raises his arm to wipe away his perspiration, a fellow camper utters those immortal words: “That smells good.” And you can bet your bottom dollar it’s not just the fresh mountain air they’re talking about.

Snickers: Hungry Skies by BBDO New York

Ah, the familiar woes of economy class travel, whether it’s enduring a neighbor’s movie blaring through their phone speakers, waiting for the symphony of a crying baby to end, or contending with a fellow passenger’s stretching routine that seems determined to encroach upon your personal space.

Tackling the out-of-pocket behavior of some flight passengers, Snickers, Mars Inc’s beloved chocolate bar, has unleashed its latest campaign, ‘Hungry Skies.’ The 45-second ad takes viewers on a turbulent in-flight journey like no other. Prepare to witness unruly passengers participating in in-flight yoga, turning their seats into an in-flight spa/nail salon and even an elderly woman pressing the flight attendant call button as if it were a panic button on a sinking ship.

Volkswagen: Trucker Napp by AlmapBBDO

Recent statistics reveal that sleep deprivation is a major cause of car accidents in Brazil. To pave the way for safer roadways in the country, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (Trucks and Buses) is launching an innovative new initiative. Created in partnership with Brazil’s biggest rewards program, Livelo, ‘Trucker Napp: Earn While You Sleep,’ program monitors truck drivers’ hours of rest along shipping routes nationwide and converts them into monetary benefits.

This program, which is currently being piloted, utilizes smartwatches to track drivers’ sleep patterns. These watches are linked to a points system where users earn Livelo points for their sleep hours. These points can be converted into cash rewards deposited directly into their bank accounts. Essentially, the more and better quality sleep drivers get, the more benefits they receive.

Clean Creatives: Earth Day 2024

Clean Creatives, an award-winning anti-fossil fuel campaign group in advertising and PR, marks a milestone this Earth Day: 1,000 creative agencies around the world have pledged to reject ad campaigns from Big Oil. Over the past three years, Clean Creatives has highlighted the fossil fuel industry’s strides to shape public opinion through misinformation and greenwashing via major advertising and PR firms. The world’s six largest advertising and PR companies – Omnicom Group, WPP, Interpublic Group (IPG), Publicis Groupe, Dentsu and Havas – are reportedly connected to the fossil fuel industry.

Clean Creatives offers a pledge for agencies and individuals to reject collaboration with fossil fuel polluters. Surpassing 1,000 agency signatories – a doubling since last April – it reflects the campaign’s growing momentum and underscores rising concerns within creative industries about responsible practices amid climate change. Notable additions to the roster of agencies now include Mother New York and Lucky Generals, alongside industry giants Allison and Gale. The full list of agency signers is available at cleancreatives.org/agency-signers.

Bic Lighters: Slow Burn Sessions by M Booth

With the haze of the 4/20 weekend looming in the air, cannabis enthusiasts everywhere are likely stocking up for their smoke-filled weekend tomorrow. Before they ascend into the clouds, Bic, the creator of the EZ Reach Lighter, is here to set the mood just right with its new campaign, ‘The Slow Burn Sessions,’ featuring two stars who love to get baked, Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson, alongside someone who loves to bake, Martha Stewart.

Launching precisely at 4:20 pm ET on YouTube (because, of course), the Slow Burn Sessions promise a marathon of chill vibes lasting exactly 4 hours and 20 minutes. It’s like a smoke sesh that never ends – or at least until the munchies kick in. Each of the three sessions includes footage of Snoop, Stewart and Nelson showing their favorite ways to light up (spoiler alert: Snoop lights his favorite bowl of candles, Stewart heats up her fondue pot and Willie sparks his favorite herb-scented candle).

Traditional Medicinals: Mom Knows Best by Guru

Traditional Medicinals, a beloved organic herbal tea brand, has unveiled ‘Mom Knows Best,’ an unscripted commercial for the brand’s Organic Mother’s Milk Tea. Unlike traditional advertisements, ‘Mom Knows Best’ features no actors and no scripts but rather genuine testimonials of mothers who used Mother’s Milk Tea to help them breastfeed.

Mother’s Milk Tea is not only one of Traditional Medicinals’ most well-known products but also asserts itself as the number one lactation tea in the United States. Formulated in 1978, the caffeine-free tea boasts the herbs anise and fennel, which, as traditional European remedies would suggest, can assist in breastfeeding.

Lindex: Underwear for Life by Smuggler

Swedish fashion retailer Lindex is putting women front and center of its new ad campaign but in a very raw and unfiltered way. Viewers see a woman’s life from her teenage years right up to going through menopause, with the product at the heart of the short film.

This ad is strikingly familiar because it doesn’t sugarcoat life’s ups and downs. As we travel through the life of a woman, there are many moments we can relate to. The story is relayed poignantly with poise and a dash of humor, which makes it all the more relatable. This relatability is crucial in fostering a strong emotional connection with the brand and its message.

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