Hi everyone! Today I wanted to dedicate a blog post to some of the post-lockdown advertisements. I know I'm a little late but I still wanted to talk a bit about them as many found them comforting during these unprecedented times and with the possibility of another lockdown looming, I found it appropriate.
As we know, 2020 has been a tough year. It's been tough for children, parents, students and even businesses! Basically, it has been tough for everyone except our pets, who have thrived off the extra attention and company every day! A lot of businesses and organisations were impacted during Covid-19 lockdown, with no reopening date in sight and the lack of funds, it sadly caused a lot of businesses to shut permanently. We had no idea when normality would return, so a few of the brands below took to their advertising to give us a glimpse of hope and positivity!
Greggs:
Greggs launched their new campaign in July. They began with pictures of their infamous sausage roll, captioned "same sausage, same roll" ensuring customers that Greggs had remained the same trustworthy business it had always been. They didn't go anywhere and remained completely unchanged, with another photo of a pasty captioned "No different to before". They then launched the "Wake up and smell the normal" photos. These were reassuring to consumers that although times were tough and uncertain, Greggs remained reliable as ever. "Get ready to start your day the same way you always did" gave customers the idea that although many things had happened since they last visited a Greggs store, nothing had changed. It was like meeting an old friend, you have spent some time apart but the connection remains the same.
Cadbury:
Cadbury took a different approach to Greggs, they said times had changed and that they should remain so. This was not Cadbury giving the hard truth, it was them looking at the benefits of Covid and lockdown. Cadbury tells viewers life nowadays is like a movie script, you couldn't write it (which is true) but they say that there are positives to the dark situation at hand which is inspiring to viewers. The ad goes on to show examples of the kindness Covid has brought into our life, from volunteers phoning elderly adults who may be lonely on their own, catching up with old friends and family and neighbours offering to help each other out with essential runs to the shop for example. Cadbury states "when lockdown is over, this doesn't all need to be over" suggesting people should remain kind and helpful to others around them no matter what the circumstances, pandemic or not. "There's a glass & a half in everyone". Cadbury's ad is quite emotive as it denotes that we were too caught up in busy life to appreciate these moments before lockdown, it has given us a firm reminder of what is truly important; the people you love and your health. The two main components to a happy life.
https://youtu.be/kU9bENZ_0Uc
Coca-Cola:
Coca-Cola took an advertisement hiatus in March 2020 following the pandemic announcements, they came back similarly to Cadbury's with an emotive approach to the situation. Coca-Cola states in their ad "what if we don't go back to normal.. what if the biggest change is you and me". This suggests the idea we were too busy and passive before lockdown, we took everything for granted and were quite a "go, go, go" society, taking no time to slow down and appreciate our jobs, holidays and quality time with those around us. The ad says "what if I listen", suggesting we've learnt to listen to those around us, "what if I'm missing when eyes glisten" denoting we've missed key things from the lives of those around us through being too caught up in our own. The use of the child in this scene adds to the emotive impact and suggests perhaps we've missed the children growing up around us, every parents nightmare. Coca-Cola adds a humour element to their ad through "what if I social distance from bad energy", as we're aware the main guidance we have been given throughout Covid-19 has been to keep our distance from others, the ad tells us that we should keep our distance from negative energy and instead focus on the positive, increasing the quality of our lives and relationships as a result of lockdown and coronavirus.
https://youtu.be/aKa0hqu28jc
Clodagh xx
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