April’s Top of the Pops

April has whizzed by and the countdown to summer is now on.

And with countdowns on my mind, it can only mean one thing it's time to countdown the top 5 brand campaigns that I have spied this month.

Derry Girls

Just Seventeen, Spice Girls, The GAP hoodie, CDroms, cargo pants, crop tops and Kangol hats.

The 90s, what a time to be a teen.

This campaign propels me straight back into the 90s. I could almost imagine gossiping about which Backstreet Boy would fall in love with me (Nick Carter, I'm still waiting) and how many times I could roll up my school skirt. To mark the launch of the Derry Girls third and final series (sob), Channel 4 have re-made the iconic 90s magazine, Smash hits. 28 pages of gold.

The campaign has also been extended to TikTok and a digital experience has been launched on Spotify in which users can create their own 'mixtapes' by selecting 90s tracks and loading them onto a virtual customisable cassette tape.

This campaign ties beautifully in with the 90s nostalgia that is having a resurgence.

Ace & Tate

Meet the customer where they are at emotionally and physically is one of my favourite sayings. I have it printed out on the wall in front of my desk.

Being able to meet the customer emotionally means that you need to understand how they are feeling, the context, the situation, what is their pain point and why and then join the jots for them that you are best placed to solve it.

This doesn't have to be serious, in fact, humour is one of the most powerful sticking points, and it's why I absolutely love the latest campaign from Ace & Tate.

You see this face- the one-eyed squint, and you know exactly what it is for. Sunglasses.

Interestingly, they have chosen not to put the product in the shot. It's a daring move as Ace & Tate are not a mass-market brand. But, I think this is bold and brilliant. It conveys luxury and authority; these are so good that they don't have to be on show.

A small build would have been to add a QR code at the bottom of the artwork so that it could bypass the need for a physical search and take people straight to the product.

What do you think? Is it a strong enough campaign without having to have the product in shot?

Elvie

Made you look.

Made you think.

In my eyes the best type of creativity.

Elvie (the female wellbeing tech company) have launched a new installation that tackles the taboo of incontinence, via a 10ft tall peeing billboard.

The campaign is aiming to change the narrative when it comes to the perception of incontinence and who it affects. Spoiler 1 in 5 Women in the UK are affected at some point and for many there are products that can help.

The campaign also raises the profile of the problem with censorship on social media. I am sure that over recent months you will have seen female health brands talk about how their ads have been banned, and in even in some cases accounts have been shut down. TikTok banned a video by Elevie two weeks ago featuring an athlete leaking urine whilst weightlifting, citing graphic content.

What do you think? Is this unfit for public consumption or a conversation that needs to be had loudly and in public?

Wherefrom

With sustainability being seen as the new trump card, according to the European commission it is estimated that 42% of companies Greenwashed last year.

Personally, I'm not surprised, I had thought it might be higher.

Wherefrom a crowdsourced sustainability platform that gives brands an easily comparable sustainability score, have released a pop anthem to coincide with Earth Day. As of a couple of days ago, the song was already live on 10 radio stations.

The song features over 100 'green' slogans as the lyrics, all of which are copyrightable under UK & international law. If any big company uses one, they plan to sue them.

It's clever, makes a statement and further shines a light on the problem at a mainstream level, helping people to begin to recognise some of the well trodden traps and phrases.

And in the final piece

This is also from Wherefrom, this is not a campaign, but an introductory video to the brand and the platform.

It's funny, tongue in cheek and really reflects out the ethos and tone of the brand.

Brands are the sum of many, many parts, so you need to use every single touchpoint as an opportunity to reinforce the tone, personality and core messages. This should be reflected be on the about page of a website, through to the onboarding experience of a new employee.

What have you seen and loved this month?