Ad Roundup – #7 June 2021

Domin-oh-hoo-hoo!!! From yodel-y Domino’s brilliance to Geico nostalgia, DLMDD Director Sascha Darroch-Davies rounds up the most creative and effective uses of music and sound from ad-land in June.

Domino’s Pizza – Yodelling

What VCCP have created here, whether they intended to or not, is brilliantly repeatable mnemonic; arguably the magnum opus of audio branding! Case in point, Budweiser’s “Whassup” campaign from 1999, which later featured in dozens of TV shows, films and drunken bar exchanges for many years after. Imagine what that does for a brand’s salience.

This yodel has the potential to achieve ubiquity for Domino’s, the question is, are they smart enough to capitalise on this fame by featuring it in future campaigns?

I for one believe this yodel has the potential to achieve similar ubiquity for Domino’s, the question is, are they smart enough to capitalise on this fame by featuring it in future campaigns? Somehow, I doubt it, because, well that’s not what traditional creative agencies tend to do. However, if Sarah Barron is reading, do get in touch and we’ll happily furnish you with some eye watering stats on the power of this stuff!

Agency: VCCP, Director: Sam Hibbard

BBC Sport – Tokyo Olympics

It’s another summer of sport ladies, gentlemen and others, … or put another way, multiple turbo COVID accelerator events! How the shitting crikey are going to get this thing under control if we continue to encourage thousands of sweaty, drunk, shouting people into stadia across the globe I ask you?

And so to the Olympics and the BBC’s trailer to promote their coverage… never a modest affair this one is particularly busy. A feast for the eyes and ears on the one hand, in truth a bit too much to take in on first viewing…. a good thing though, as it will see heavy rotation and with a bunch of ‘Easter Eggs’ for us to enjoy amongst the visual festivities we’re probably not going to tire of it too soon.

The soundtrack is provided by a true visionary, Kenji Kawai, famed for his scores of anime outings such as Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor.

Kawai has deftly crammed myriad local genre and reference into 60 seconds here, transitioning seamlessly from Minyo J-Pop an back, accompanied by a wealth of traditional and modern instrumentation.

Agency: BBC Creative, Director: Factory Fifteen

Nike – The Land Of New Football

Following toxic and unfathomable racial abuse targeted at some of our England heroes after Sunday’s Euros 2020 final, this spot possibly has more relevance now than it did before the tournament.

Undoubtedly, a heavy reimagining of Blur’s Park Life is a nod to the brand’s brilliant 1997 film of the same name, a nice touch indeed, a metaphor maybe of how far the game has come in 24 years. On the other hand, an equally stark reminder of how much work there is still to do to achieve a truly level playing field.

Brilliantly produced, slick, packed with big names, it ticks all the Nike boxes, my only qualm is it barely features anyone over the age of 30…

Agency: W+K, Director: Felix Beady

British Vogue – Looking Back with Pride

With June comes global pride month and we saw a slew of brands going rainbow to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community. In reality, a lot of it appears to be tokenistic, on for a month before the glad rags are packed up for another year and the worst offenders go back to funding the politicians blocking the equality act. It rather reminds me of many of my school reports… could do better.

Often, that’s all music needs to do – support the narrative, not tell it.

Watching a host of pieces around Pride which tend to focus on the younger generations, this piece from British Vogue’s Pride series really stood out. We hear real stories from some incredible individuals, who bravely fought for acceptance in the 1960s and 70s.

When you’re listening to stories as important as these, a soundtrack is often inappropriate, but here Joseph Ruben (you remember… the ’song a day for 30 days’ guy??) offers a fitting accompaniment. Positive, yet not pleased with itself, triumphant without being overbearing, magical, yet not Disnefied, it almost goes unnoticed most of the time. Often, that’s all music needs to do – support the narrative, not tell it.

Agency: British Vogue, Director: Emily McDonald

Geico Insurance – Stay

Last and probably least, this from Geico Insurance … and yes, more 90s nostalgia for you peeps! What’s great about this spot is that the song choice and artist Lisa Loeb are front and centre, even recruiting Loeb to appear, fronting an idea that offers a truly refreshing take on a forever dull sector. Fun fact: Lisa Loeb was the first artist to reach the number US number 1 spot without first signing to a record label… in 1994!

So what if people under 40 won’t get it, people under 40 don’t buy cars or insurance any more. Another fun fact, Geico Insurance are based in Chevy Chase, (an actual town named Chevy Chase!!! Who knew???) Maryland, officially the best educated town on America.

Agency: The Martin Agency

Barrel successfully scraped, I’m gone…

If your ad-roundup needs aren’t quite satiated, read our May roundup here.