Page 49 - AdNews Magazine Jul-Aug 2020

CLIVE PALMER’S HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE ADS
LT: This hurts my eyes and my morals.
CA: Is this a trap? Is Clive reading this? Hi, Clive. Politics aside, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the efficacy of
this drug in treating COVID-19. But who needs science when you’ve got three full-page ads.
If nothing else, it’s on brand
and that’s something, right? Moving on...
NB: Misinformation (both wilfully malignant and benign) was ever-present. Here, it is disguised as a phone book. Also, be wary of a long copy ad with a grammatical error in the first sentence.
UBER #STAYHOME CAMPAIGN
Agency:
Wieden + Kennedy
LT: An emotive ad and a clever move from Uber. This documentary style approach with content that
is instantly relatable and brand agnostic compelled me to actually want to watch until the end.
CA: I first saw this during the depths of lockdown and I cried. But then, I cried when Katy
Perry surprised the MasterChef contestants, so the bar was pretty low. It’s a nice sentiment and I do
enjoy a user-generated montage. Unfortunately, every other brand had the same idea and this ad got lost in a sea of sameness.
NB: Did we have to be thanked for not taking an Uber? Maybe. Did it have to look and feel like 99 per cent of other COVID-19 ads? No, but I can empathise. Uber talks about 10 million free rides for healthcare workers. Maybe the ad should’ve been about this?
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