On The Trail: The most engaging July 2020 campaigns

As the world slowly returns to a ‘new normal’, we’re seeing fewer campaigns about lockdown entertainment and #stayingsafe. Instead, we’re seeing familiar faces and well-known brands giving us advice on social distancing and ways we can release some of the isolation frustration.

Here’s what the team at Wyatt have seen this month…

‘Let it Out’ Inspired by Iceland

Spotted by: Mark Fones

Although they say laughter is the best medicine, screaming can also release a lot of emotion. And at times during lockdown, screaming is often what we wanted to do. The thought of not being able to go out, see our family, see our friends was extremely difficult so all we wanted to do was scream.

In July, Iceland launched a ‘Let It Out on Thursday’ campaign, encouraging everyone to record their screams of frustration and spread them across the countries isolated spaces. During the film, a series of people were frustrated in lockdown and as soon as one of them screamed, they are immediately transported to deserted places in Iceland. Although transporting to the country isn’t something we can physically do, the campaign allowed the audience to record their scream and hear it display across the nation’s tourism board.

“It made me feel at ease knowing that I wasn’t the only person finding it tough.”

“The idea itself was really inspiring. Not only did it inspire me to release some emotion when I found lockdown difficult, but it also made me feel at ease knowing that I wasn’t the only person finding it tough”.

To explore the full campaign, click here.

Burger King Paid Twitch’ Streamers to Plug its Summer Deals’

Spotted by: Chris Hill

Recently, Burger King teamed up with Twitch to take advantage of their donations feature as a way of gaining publicity. Popular gamers then used the personalised messaging option to advertise the fast food menu and summer deals live on stream.

“Something that the burger giant uses to great effect in this concept. Lovely work”.

“The ad agency David is relatively small in comparison to some of the global advertising behemoths. Nonetheless, they are churning out some seriously good creative work as of late. Its latest work for Burger King takes advantage of a lesser-known quirk of game-streaming sites – the fact that if you make a donation to a player – who rely on them for funding – the donation is read out loud by a bot during gameplay. Something that the burger giant uses to great effect in this concept. Lovely work”.

Click here to find out more.

UK Government: ‘Enjoy Summer Safely Campaign’

Spotted by: Ricco Leung

To help the public enjoy their summer safely now that lockdown restrictions are relaxing, Boots, Greene King and McDonald’s have creatively reinforced some key behaviours to help the public maintain good hygiene and social distancing when out and about.

The light-hearted campaign features individuals maintaining social distancing measures whilst queuing for restaurants, hair salons, and cafés. You can also see plexi-glass and face shields in the film to show those who are yet to head out the new ways of living.

“It’s also quite amazing how fast these campaigns are coming together, especially in these challenging circumstances!”

“I like that we’re kickstarting the economy again, but obviously, it has to be done safely and I think the campaign does a great job of raising this awareness. As well as this, I like that the government is collaborating with brands to coordinate this campaign. The campaign lock-up/logo is now being shared around by other brands to reinforce the message, and the video that the government has produced is brilliant. It’s also quite amazing how fast these campaigns are coming together, especially in these challenging circumstances!”

If you want to watch the short film, click here.

Paddy Power: ‘The world’s most COVID-compliant football party’

Spotted by: Sarah Turpin

Paddy Power has recently launched a campaign to show football enthusiasts the best and safest way to celebrate. As the Premier League title was won last month by Liverpool, football fans were prepared for a weekend of celebration but to ensure the partying was done safely, Peter Crouch and fans were zipped into self-contained, two-meter high ‘human hamster balls’.

“They all have the same kind of piano music in the background and use the phrase ‘new normal'”.

“Their new ad puts a funny spin on social distancing – it’s nice to see a brand taking a playful approach, it’s very different to a lot of the ads surrounding COVID at the moment as they’re all quite serious and sombre (they all have the same kind of piano music in the background and use the phrase “new normal)”.

See it for yourself here.

Nissan: Roll out flat logo

Spotted by: Annie May Heno

Car giants ‘Nissan’ recently replaced its three-dimensional logo with a flat, two-dimensional alternative, copying a similar visual identity to BMW, MINI and Volkswagen.

Promoting the new logo on an electric Ariya SUV, Nissan’s simplified style and basic block lines have been stretched out to implement the government’s social distancing regulations and to help give the brand a crisp finish when lit up. Soon to be combined with 20 LEDs to represent the number of years since the last logo redesign, the new Nissan logo offers a much cleaner aesthetic.

“A very clever and creative idea!”

“It’s often quite daunting for brands to change their visual identity, especially after 20 years. But for Nissan, this was no mistake. The logo looks a lot stronger and bolder and no doubt stands out against different backgrounds. A very clever and creative idea!” Find out more here.

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