The top 5 creative campaigns you need to know about right now

One goal of a certain type of advertising is to make the mundane more palatable, and we certainly saw that this week—with fresh creative work for two nonprofits, the National Resources Defense Council and the National Association of Colleges and Employers. We also enjoyed two separate food campaigns from Mischief, both of them comedy productions, along with a five-minute film from one of the world’s top creative marketers, Lego. Read more about this week’s Top 5 campaigns below. Ad Age Media Summit Hear from industry leaders during October event in NYC Register here 5. National Resources Defense Council: Face Plant Agencies: Upshot, AMP Agency The importance of cover crops to regenerative agriculture isn’t the most scintillating topic in the world, but Nick Offerman’s disembodied head adds entertainment value to keep viewers engaged in this work for the National Resources Defense Council. The minute-long spot is designed to pressure Congress to support the COVER Act, which would incentivize farmers to build soil health and fight climate change by planting cover crops. The project is also notable for being the first work from Incredible Beast Omnimedia, a new production company founded by documentary vet Sandra Itkoff. More Offerman: This 45-minute whisky ad is utterly perfect (from 2015) 4. Chili’s Chicken Crispers: You Deserve Them More Than Kids Do Agency: Mischief Interviewing kids often leads to amusing content, but this campaign for Chili’s Chicken Crispers upends the format by barely letting the kids speak at all. Instead, it’s the intentionally bleak questions from the Chili’s interviewer that are the highlight—as her queries amusingly dig into just what a drag her own life is, and by extension, the lives of all adults. The strong writing and clean visuals (with great product close-ups) make the whole campaign fun and relatable—a fresh way to pitch an adult version of a classic kids’ menu item. Also read: How CMOs’ kids influence their marketing 3. National Association of Colleges and Employers: Unpaid Is Unfair Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo Zulu Alpha Kilo has done lots of projects over the years exploring the absurdities of the advertising business. This campaign, produced in partnership with the National Association of Colleges and Employers, goes a step further—addressing an issue, unpaid internships, that goes beyond the creative industries and into all walks of business. As usual, the agency tackles this weighty topic with a deft touch of humor, in a series of videos that show an unpaid intern trying to navigate life without paying for anything herself. The campaign was four years in the making (it began as a pre-COVID brief to ZAK’s class of paid interns) and well worth the wait. 2. Peet’s Coffee: Coffee for Coffee People Agency: Mischief Consistency, reliability, authenticity—all fine brand attributes, but a little boring for an ad campaign. Peet’s Coffee, though, found the color in that positioning by simultaneously lampooning the increasingly cartoony coffee industry in new spots from Mischief. It helps that Peet’s is something of an underdog battling industry behemoths, and the insights across the board in this campaign feel true. The “Hospital” spot is a particularly efficient use of 10 seconds, as Peet’s finds simple relatability even in the bleaker moments of everyday life. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here 1. Lego: Play Is Your Superpower Agencies: In-house, Droga5 Dublin There’s an element of purpose to Lego’s new global campaign—it’s based around research that suggests kids engage in very little unstructured, non-screen play these days. But the centerpiece short film wisely avoids lecturing in favor of five minutes of rollicking, superhero-themed fun. Setting the action at a “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” event—where the kids are shocked at their parents’ dull work lives—is an inspired way not only to broach the topic but to subtly implicate parents in the problem (who can help put things right by buying their kids more Legos). The Jane Lynch cameo at the end is nice but almost superfluous. While parents may have the purchasing power, this is a world where kids and their imaginations rule, regardless of what the grownups have to say about it. Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards Final deadline approaching for annual program Enter here

The top 5 creative campaigns you need to know about right now

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