How brands are celebrating Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee

This week sees the U.K. celebrate 70 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and the country is getting ready to party. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations will include a parade at Buckingham Palace as well as a concert featuring the likes of Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Queen (the rock group that is, featuring Adam Lambert). Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly returning for the occasion (although they won't feature in the lineup on the Royal balcony.) As part of the celebrations, people around the U.K. have also been encouraged to hold Jubilee street parties and picnics during a four-day holiday weekend. The Daily Mail predicts that more than 12 million people will enjoy some kind of Jubilee party, and according to the Centre for Retail Research, over $513 million could be spent on the occasion. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here Although retailers have been selling Jubilee-themed memorabilia for a few weeks now, and brands such as Heinz have paid homage with limited edition packaging, until now we’ve seen little in the way of ad campaigns; it’s certainly no royal Super Bowl. (Indeed, one agency exec told Ad Age they thought advertisers were perhaps “cautious” in the run-up, given the 96-year-old Queen's advanced years and more recent fragile health.) Brands may also be hesitant to get involved with the Platinum Jubilee because the Royal Family "can be seen as associated with a particular demographic,” said Nikki Cunningham, managing director at Curious, referring to older and patriotic consumers. “But, from a brand perspective, it comes down to knowing your audience and understanding how your brand can own something. When we have something that is being celebrated by a significant proportion of the country, it’s a great opportunity for a brand to put its own spin on it.” This week has seen advertisers including McDonald's and Subway lean into the festivities with topical royalty-themed campaigns, while others have launched work to coincide with the opening of London’s new Elizabeth Line train service, named after Her Majesty. Meanwhile, more is taking place on social media, where the Jubilee also has its own emoji—an image of the Queen’s favorite pooch, the corgi, wearing a crown, was unveiled last week. And with the inflation and the "cost of living crisis" currently dominating headlines as well as the Ukraine war, some brands are also using the royal occasion to help the nation feel good about itself. "It’s been great to see brands using their advertising to entertain with topical campaigns (McDonald's ‘One’s Lovin’ It’ poster is particularly fun), as opposed to just selling commemorative product," commented Brian Sassoon, strategy partner at Ogilvy U.K. "This year more than any there is an appetite for levity and frivolity and the Jubilee is the perfect occasion for brands to have some fun.” Here’s a round-up of the brands doffing their caps to Her Majesty: Fries with that Ma'am? McDonald’s turned "I'm lovin' it" into "One's lovin' it" in homage to the Queen, and unveiled some very fancy limited edition packaging. Seventy winners can get their hands on hand-modeled and glaze-finished bone china recreations of the fast-feeder's fries sleeve, milkshake cup and burger clamshell as they're given away as prizes in a competition hosted on the McDonald’s app. The campaign, from Leo Burnett and Ready 10, also includes TV, billboards and a re-recording of the McDonald's jingle by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Salad Queen Kraft Heinz’s HP Sauce and Heinz Salad Cream have temporarily rebranded in limited edition bottles as “HM Sauce” and “Heinz Salad Queen," and the brand is hoping this will encourage people to make use of them in their bank holiday picnics and lunches. The Queen as....a carrot? Aldi’s "Kevin the Carrot" has been the star of its U.K. Christmas ads by McCann for some time now. Although the supermarket hasn’t created a new ad for the occasion (perhaps a missed opportunity?) the Royal Family did get a root veg-inspired makeover in its Jubilee-themed soft toy set. It includes carrot-shaped toys in the guise of the Queen, Prince Charles and even some corgis. Or as a cake? If you prefer your Queen edible, Marks & Spencer has turned its famous "Colin the caterpillar" cake into "Queen Connie the Caterpillar" for the Jubilee. There's also a Corgi version for the Queen's favorite pooch. Corgi cuteness Corgis also feature in a cute digital outdoor campaign from recruitment website Reed.co.uk and agency Isobel, running on the newly opened London crossrail train service the Elizabeth Line. In a royal spin on the brand’s existing “Love Mondays again” ads, which featured Pomeranians, six corgis spell out the word “Monday” accompanied by copy such as “Great job Ma’am" and “Find a job one adores at Reed.co.uk." Balcony moment Ribena leaned into the controversy of Prince Harry and Meghan’s non-appearance on the Royal balcony, by putting Duke and Duchess of Sussex lookalikes onto a fake balcony by Tower Bridge in London, where they greeted passers-by and drank bottles of the juice brand. The stunt is part of a new ad campaign from BBH that celebrates life’s awkward moments (like, in this case, being left off the guest list from a family party). Cheers... Coca-Cola Great Britain was another of the inaugural advertisers on the Elizabeth Line, with a Jubilee-themed outdoor campaign for Schweppes, encouraging people to celebrate the extra bank holidays with a quintessentially British gin and tonic. Royal deliveries With the recent lockdowns, even royalty may have resorted to takeout. That's the implication from Subway, which has been running a campaign created by Above and Beyond for its home delivery service featuring a sandwich labeled for “E Windsor” and the line “Free delivery to one’s castle." Royal reminder Charity Breast Cancer Now is using the Jubilee as a reason to remind women about the importance of breast screening. Billboards, print and social ads urge people to book or attend their “Ma’ammogram" appointments," in a campaign from agency BMB. Read all about it London’s free Evening Standard newspaper is publishing a one-off special edition celebrating the Queen’s reign, sponsored by Lloyds Bank in a campaign planned by ZenithOptimedia. It will be handed out by vendors on the streets of London over the bank holiday. Lloyds has special creative for the occasion, created via Adam&Eve/DDB; the Jubilee Standard was created via in-house content team Studio 27. The voice of youth The younger generation isn't traditionally seen as the staunchest of monarchists in the U.K. (although, according to one report from the Guardian, there's a growing trend for Jubilee content on TikTok.) But an outdoor campaign from the Ideas Foundation is aimed at "helping give young people a voice" during the royal celebration. Students were encouraged to submit their photographs for a creative campaign to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, and the 10 winning images are being displayed on Clear Channel’s digital out of home screens across the U.K. Queen Henge OK Stonehenge isn’t a brand exactly. But the iconic monument and much-visited ancient site attracted some attention with a social post about its Jubilee celebration, showing eight portraits of Her Majesty projected onto the monument. The post went viral but not everyone was impressed; comments on the post included: “Wow this is jaw droppingly awful. WTF were you thinking?” Meanwhile, Aldi trolled it by plugging its own offer on projectors. Our spellbinding homage to Her Majesty The #Queen! 👑We've projected eight portraits of Queen Elizabeth II onto Stonehenge in celebration of the #PlatinumJubilee. pic.twitter.com/vn5vkGHJGt— Stonehenge (@EH_Stonehenge) May 30, 2022

How brands are celebrating Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee

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