If you’ve ever walked into a room 5 hours after a middle school boy occupied it, you might have made your mind up about what Axe smells like. To address that perception (and armed with research that 73% of participants in a blind smell test preferred Axe to Chanel and Ralph Lauren), the deodorant & fragrance brand kicked off a challenge prompting fans to “ratio” them with comparisons to other worse-smelling products. So what? In addition to getting fans to engage organically with a new RTB, the medium of submissions as a ratio also boosts the brand’s accessible, conversational voice by positioning UGC as more important than the brand’s own content.
A long time contender in the avant garde branded meme arena, Bush’s Beans has recently made some more grounded (but still funny) choices on social. This includes a snappy merch collaboration with Brian Baumgartner (referencing a bean moment that happens to be one of TV’s best physical comedy scenes) and goofing on their own participation in trends that didn’t stand the test of time.
For decades, Jones Soda has built a storytelling medium into the product itself by putting fan-submitted photos on their labels. With this inherently open-ended visual platform (plus the fact that the brand has begun producing AR-enabled video labels), Jones easily acclimates to changing categories and trends (e.g. Black History Month, 90s nostalgia).
Though they’ve gotten some flack for starring a host of “nepo babies”, Silk has recruited the scion of “Got Milk” ads of yore to herald the arrival of the next generation of ‘milk’ drinkers. With territories ranging from athletics to modeling, Silk’s influencer partnerships run the gamut of potential audiences. Bolstered by their research that 65% of Gen Zers want a more plant-forward diet, the brand’s accompanying Nextmilk mustache filter is a bid to bring the public into the campaign and reframe the product as a function of identity.
***
About Battery
Battery’s mission is to create impactful advertising with a philosophy that merges classic marketing principles with Hollywood storytelling and a Silicon Valley work model. The agency has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies in L.A. three years in a row and celebrated by Ad Age as an Agency of the Year in 2018, 2016 and 2015. A lead creative agency of the Paris-based Havas Group, Battery has offices in Hollywood, Toronto and Shanghai and creates global advertising campaigns for forward-thinking clients.