What Marketers Are Saying About the Ad Campaigns of This Week (April 12th, 2024)

This week on AdBuzzDaily is the start of a mini-series.

Each Friday, we want to provide a platform where marketers, agency executives, and industry experts can share their insights and perspectives on the most successful ad campaigns of the week. In order to create a community-driven dialogue that celebrates creativity, innovation, and effectiveness in advertising, we want these professionals to have the opportunity to share their opinions. 

As part of the weekly series, we aim to inspire, inform, empower individuals within the advertising industry, while also providing insights and analysis through our analysis of the ads. The common thread throughout all of this week’s ads was that they had gone out of the box.

Nicole Hanratty, VP of Marketing at MWG Holdings, expressed her admiration for Target’s recent ad campaign featuring Kristen Wiig reprising her role as ‘Target Lady’ for Circle Week. Hanratty praised Lisa Roath, Target’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, for cleverly leveraging this iconic SNL skit. She also commended the decision to involve SNL writer James Anderson and director Tom Kuntz, noting their contributions in setting a familiar tone for the commercials.

“The opening ad’s pace matches Wiig’s energy, and with the backdrop set to the song ‘Baby I’m a Star,’ by Prince and the Revolution, the quick clips produce an urgent energy to hop up and head out to Target with Wiig,” said Hanratty. “Particularly smart is the exciting reveal of Wiig in the first commercial. The ad left me wondering how I could get one of those Target shoots that slides straight into the store installed into my home.”

Nicole Hanratty highlighted another noteworthy ad from this week, which involved a quick sign placed outside of Chief’s, a downtown bar in Nashville. Following country music star Morgan Wallen’s arrest for allegedly tossing a barstool off the rooftop of Chief’s, the bar found itself thrust into the national spotlight. However, the Chief’s team swiftly updated their marquee on Tuesday morning with a clever message: “Our pigs fly. Our chairs don’t.” This creative approach allowed Chief’s to effectively flip the narrative and capitalize on the substantial publicity the bar was receiving.

Skims, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear and clothing brand, has entered into the realm of college athletics by partnering with some of the top college basketball players. The expansion, timed to coincide with March Madness, saw Skims enter into agreements with notable players pertaining to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). College athletes are increasingly taking advantage of NIL opportunities, allowing them to utilize their personal image and brand while pursuing their athletic objectives.

“The March Madness campaign by Skims really caught my eye for a couple of reasons. I like that they attached themselves to the basketball community, reached a new demographic than we usually see from them and partnered with key people in the space to do so,” said Nicky Gathrite, Owner & Founder at Elevate Agency. “This is a big move not only just for players, but consumers who might not be familiar with Skims and their men’s line. It’s timely, culturally relevant, and overall a big win for the Skims team who constantly breaks the internet with their talent booking and campaign buzz.”

A cookie brand called Last Crumb is no stranger to breaking barriers with its marketing campaigns as of late as it did a similar campaign at Valentine’s Day, during which they let customers order custom delivery boxes with breakup messages before Valentine’s Day, as part of their experimental advertising campaign.

Last Crumb announced on TikTok its $12,000 cookie collection for April Fool’s Day. The brand doubled down on this later that day and showcased a full ad about the limited time offer, including 12 packaged cookies worth $1,000 each. Although it is obviously not real, it generated plenty of attention.

“How could this not capture attention and break through all the clutter with imagery and copy that touts ‘Unbelievably decadent.Outrageously lavish. Not eligible for a tax right off. Priced at a cool $12,000.’ This fantastical April Fool’s joke was the perfect way to engage new and loyal consumers of the brand by combining humor with an outrageous promotion,” said NJ Falk, co-founder of the creative agency, The Forward Female.

If you would like to share your thoughts on what ad campaigns stood out to you, email [email protected] to be included.