Welcome to our weekly rundown of the Top 5 most innovative brand ideas you need to know about now.
5. Carling: 'Made Local,' Havas London
Beer gets inclusive in this documentary from Carling, which profiles LGBTQ+ soccer team Black Country Fusion. As part of the effort, created by Havas London, Carling provided the team with new kits for the 2018/19 season.
4. Mercedes-Benz: 'Bertha Benz,' Antoni Garage
Last week we celebrated International Women's Day, which a many brands of course came out to support. Among the most compelling work was this film from Mercedes that tells a story we hadn't known about—that of Bertha Benz, wife of Mercedes founder Carl Benz. The beautiful film from Antoni Garage and directed by Sebastian Strasser depicts the nearly 100 kilometer journey Bertha made with her children in an early model car to her parents' home. Despite the skepticism from townspeople, who seemed to see her as some kind of a witch, she made her way successfully and went on to become the brand's first-ever test driver.
3. Elan Languages: 'Unbias Button,' JWT Amsterdam
Another cool International Women's Day idea: This tool from translation service Elan Languages and JWT Amsterdam updated the company's database to include new terminology that allows users to replace words that typically skew male with gender-neutral terms. Visit the Elan site and use the "Unbias Button" to turn words such as "fireman" to "firefighter" and "cameraman" into "camera operator."
2. Lexus: Takumi: 'A 60,000-Hour Story on the Survival of Human Craft,' The&Partnership
Lexus made what it claims to be the longest documentary ever produced, a 60,000-hour film that explores Japanese master craftsmanship. Created out of The&Partnership and directed by Clay Jeter of "Chef's Table," it profiles top-tier artisans to underscore the value of human craft in a world where tech and AI seem to be taking over. Among those featured are Katsuaki Suganuma, who has worked at Lexus for 32 years, and serves on the last leg of the automaker's production line. The documentary debuts on Amazon Prime on March 19. It will sit on a bespoke player that allows you to fast forward, up to warp speed, to any point in the film.
1. Formula 1: 'The Fastest Remix of All Time,' Wieden & Kennedy London
An awesome example of sonic branding: Formula 1 racing worked with The Chemical Brothers and Wieden & Kennedy London on its new audio logo, which it claims is the "fastest remix of all time." The logo turns the full-length song and video of the band's new "We've Got to Try" into a three-second remix. The sound is accelerated to 15,000 beats per minute to reflect the 15,000 revs per minute reached by F1 cars.
That's it for the Top 5. Make sure to check out more of the best in brand creativity at Adage.com/Creativity.
