As governments and media around the world urge the public to stay indoor during the pandemic, a number of brands have also stepped up to create ad campaigns to encourage people to stay home. Here are some memorable ad campaigns during the coronavirus pandemic in recent months.
1. Heineken – Connections
Published: May 2020
Overview:
We want to keep socialising, but in a responsible way. How do we stay connected to our loved ones and friends during the pandemic? We video-call them. Heineken highlights the real side of internet communication, from poor internet connections, tired eyes from looking at the screen for too long, to trying to find a way to stand your phone.
Key Messages:
Distance doesn’t matter. Keep socialising with your friends, but be responsible.
Credits:
Why I like it:
It is a great stay home campaign that shows all the relatable minor inconveniences we have to handle daily while trying to stay connected online with our friends. Social distancing and staying at home might be sucks, but it doesn’t mean you are isolated from the outside world.
2 .IKEA – Stay Home
Published: March 2020
Overview:
Home is the place that always there with many moments and feelings for us, and Ikea wants us to remember this. Home is where we can be ourselves and share real feelings, and where we have our ups and downs at. It might be a dreadful experience to be isolated in our homes, but this ad wants us to see our homes in a new perspective, to reconnect with our homes.
Key Messages:
Your home will be here for you, no matter what.
Credits:
Why I like it:
It is a heartwarming ad that encourages people to be patience and make the most out of time at home during this hard time. It does not contains any direct sales message, but a simple message: Home is our shelter, and it is going to protect us well. Now it might be a good time to pause, reflect and collect our thoughts before our next moves.
3. Dove – Courage is Beautiful
Published: April, 2020
Overview:
Unilever brand chief shared, ‘these conversations about beauty, however relevant they might have seemed a few months ago, now seem superficial’.
Dove’s campaign, ‘Courage is Beautiful’, is dedicated to all the frontline heros, and to those who support them. The campaign’s ad features faces of the frontlines healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing the red marks and cuts on their faces caused by wearing the protective gears daily. The end of the U.S. version of the ad also states that Dove is donating to Direct Relief to care for front-line healthcare workers in the U.S.
Key Messages:
Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever shared on his twitter:
The women and men in this ad are on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic. They’re truly heroic, demonstrating self-sacrifice and putting their patients and community first for the greater good. Proud that @Dove is showing that courage and care are beautiful.
Credits:
Why I Like it:
Dove is well-recognised for their authentic ‘Real Beauty’ ads, and their latest campaign deliver a message of gratitude for frontline healthcare workers tirelessly working around the clock to help treat the COVID-19 patients. It is a simple yet powerful ad to show support and appreciation to the brave frontline workers.
