This week: experiential gets really fun, a personal care brand expands its reach and an important brand initiative continues for Pride. 

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5. Veet: Odyssey
Agency: BETC Paris

This may very well be the most sublime ad that we’ve seen—for a male grooming ad. To promote Veet’s new intimate grooming kit for men, agency BETC Paris created this gorgeous film depicting a pair of smooth, glowing gonads drifting across serene vistas, swimming with seals and dancing through the clouds. The tagline reads, “Set them free.”

4. Netflix: Stranger Duomo
Agency: Dude

Netflix recently turned back the clock in Piazza del Duomo, the main city square of Milan, to promote season four of “Stranger Things.” The streaming company's massive three-day stunt, created out of agency Dude, kicked off with a projection mapping event that brought the show's parallel universe, “Upside Down,” to a building. The next day, the entire plaza was transformed into a scene from the ‘80s—when the show is based—featuring a roller rink, vendors from the show and classic advertising signs from Polaroid, Coca-Cola and other brands.

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3. Ribena: When you’ve Ribena bit left out
Agency: BBH London

The U.K. was buzzing last week as it celebrated Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee festivities and brands also stepped in to cheer her on. One in particular, however, stood out with its hilarious riff on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle not joining the rest of the fam on the Buckingham Palace balcony—by giving them a balcony moment of their own. Ribena, the 80-year-old juice brand, and agency BBH London created a fake balcony by Tower Bridge and on it stood Harry and Meghan lookalikes who greeted pedestrians while drinking bottles of Ribena. The tagline read, “When you’ve been Ribena bit left out.” It’s part of a broader campaign from the brand to embrace life’s awkward moments. 

Read more: How brands celebrated the Platinum Jubilee

2. A Bunch of Savages: Defy
Agency: A Bunch of Savages x M ss ng P eces

Just in time to mark the close of AAPI Heritage Month, A Bunch of Savages, a new creative collective formed by a trio of AAPI creative vets—director Jon Jon Augustavo, former VP-Global Creative at Capitol Music Group Byron Atienza and former Free the Work Head of Content Tara Aquino—debuted this beautiful, defiant visual poem capturing the rich, complex and varied experiences of the AAPI community. Those featured in the film include skater Eunice Chang, producer Nina Yang Bongiovi, poet Salvin Chahal, rapper Paulo “P-Lo” Rodrigues, UCLA football players Atonio Mafi and Siale Taupaki and many more. “My goal was to make something that felt like it was telling individual stories but also felt collective,” Augustavo said. “We’re always seen as one big group, which is problematic, because we have our own experiences.”

Read more: A celebration of creative excellence for AAPI Month

1. Pantene: Hair Has No Gender
Agency: Valtech Radon

Pride Month began last week, and with it, the rush of brand celebrations—many still performative and hollow. But Pantene stands out for its ongoing “Hair Has No Gender” campaign. Launched three years ago, the effort creates awareness of the power that hair and emotional support can have in an LGBTQ+ individual’s confidence and well-being. For 2022, the brand has created resources for employers so that they can create welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ expression in the workplace.