‘Microsoft Sam’ on YouTube edited a super video of mostly US Covid-19 ads that all use exactly the same tropes in response to the pandemic, to portray this:
He explains his rationale:
Corporate Covid-19 response videos are eerily similar [cue somber piano music].When a company or brand releases a coronavirus response ad, they might tell you that we're living in 'uncertain times', but that 'we're here for you'. They may say their top priority is 'people' and 'families' by bringing their services to the 'comfort and safety of your home'. And don't forget: 'we're all in this together'!
What's the deal? In reality, many companies have found themselves short on cash, almost overnight. They needed to get a message out - and quick. They asked their teams to throw something together. Since they can't film a new ad because of social distancing, they compiled old stock B-roll footage and found the most inoffensive royalty-free piano track they could find. This, combined with a decade of marketing trends dictated by focus groups and design-by-committee, released a tsunami of derivative, cliché ads all within a week of one another. It's not a conspiracy - but perhaps a sign that it's time for something new.
He by no means pokes fun at the agencies that produced these ads and acknowledges that it’s heroic to put together so fast, especially given the lockdown, and he salutes the companies that actually bought some airtime. However, as we emerge from this nightmare, even if it is to an unappetising new or intermediary normal, he hopes that agencies and clients will remember this video and try to reach beyond the clichés and groupthink, he says.
I think that the tendency will be to create more doughy campaigns. Instead, the looming recession dictates creating advertising that actually sells products and services, and the courage to do so with original, bold ideas.I’m not optimistic. Purpose-driven marketing was already a buzzword in 2019 and brands and agencies are likely to cling to it even more heavily post-crisis. We’ll see more ‘sensitive’ advertising, more ‘we’re all in this together’. That would be a mistake.
Suddenly seeing a lot of pre-roll ads that are like "Sometimes life can get a little dark. Let the new Kia Sorento light the way to a better tomorrow."
— Joe Berkowitz (@JoeBerkowitz) March 25, 2020
