5. Durex: Moist
Agency: Havas London
Moist. Does that word make you uncomfortable? Well, sexual products brand Durex is trying to desensitize you to its ickiness in a new spot from Havas London featuring a series of women simply saying that word. It’s all to make a point that sex can be a lot more fun—and comfortable—with a bit of lubrication. Vicki Maguire, chief creative officer at Havas London said of the idea that “moist” is “the one word above all others guaranteed to provoke a visceral reaction. Thing is, it’s taboo just like female pleasure is taboo. Our ambition is to make ‘moist’ just another word—because once we’re comfortable with that, we can start getting comfortable talking about ladies’ satisfaction in the bedroom."
At number four, we’ve seen a ton of ridiculous brand promotional ideas over the course of the pandemic, like Dos Equis’ six-foot-long cooler and Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese. But this one might take the cake. Or rather, the pie. In perhaps the most unexpected brand tie-up, Pizza Hut partnered with Gravity Products, perhaps the most familiar name in weighted blankets, to create the 15-pound Original Pan Weighted Blanket, which is round like a pizza and looks like one, too. It was created out of GSD&M, and a limited run of about 530 blankets went on sale on the Gravity site for $150 a pop earlier this week, and sold out within hours.
This campaign from Miller Lite reminds us of the upside of being stuck at home for the holidays—not having to attend those cringey office parties. Agencies DDB Chicago and San Francisco tapped an unexpected talent to steer the idea, artist Alex Prager, known for her sultry, cinematic compositions that might the sinister or extraordinary in otherwise mundane events. The spot captures a three-dimensional office party still-life, featuring the Dilbert set in all the grotesque revelry that comes with an end-of-year bash. Prager didn’t tap actors but created statues for the ad, which are now appearing in an installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Twitter’s new spot reunites us with one of the breakout stars of 2017: BBC Dad. More formally known as Robert Kelly, we all remember the poli-sci professor for his embarrassing moment on BBC, when his toddler daughter, baby son and wife accidentally crashed his interview, inspiring laughs around the world. While such intrusions are now commonplace in our Zoom, it’s delightful to see him once again, recreating his moment, but this time, crashed by pretty much the “entire internet.” The idea promotes Twitter’s new Conversations feature, which according to the brand is designed to “keep out the noisemakers.”
In the flood of holiday ads, there’s been a lot of sentimental, saccharine fare, but Essity-owned paper towel brand Plenty focuses on another side of all the celebrating: the mess. A turkey gets stuffed—and then falls out of the pan, a baby throws up, dogs pee and grandma pulls tinsel out of the cat’s butt. It’s just another Christmas, but at least there are plenty of Plenty paper towels there to help clean it all up. It’s welcome comic relief after such a heavy year.
That's it for the Top 5. Make sure to check out more of the best in brand creativity at Adage.com/Creativity.
