Written by Despite not having the “new year, new me” shine like January, February this year was full of colourful happenings like CNY, Valentine’s Day and International Women’s Day. That gave brands tons to work with, with many rolling out timely and highly creative campaigns to get consumers to understand certain messages or to spend their dolla.
From tear jerking TVCs to tongue-in-cheek product launches, here’s what stood out above the fray and truly won our hearts this fabulous Feb.
1. The Visitor List – Gov.sg
While you were going on your CNY visiting rounds and staring at the TV determinedly to avoid questions from relatives, you might have seen this commercial.
Revolving around how CNY festivities are different from past years due to the 5-pax limit, we were able to relate to Kai Kai and Jia Jia (not the pandas), with scenarios like relatives who can’t remember our names, and having to plan a chart to accommodate relatives who don’t see eye-to-eye.
“The Visitor List” TVC by Gov.sg takes a light-hearted, then unexpectedly poignant tone without being heavy-handed – perhaps thanks to well-known director Royston Tan’s deft touch.
One statement tugged at our heartstrings and reminded us that it was the warmth, not the size of family gatherings that mattered: “有家人的陪伴和祝福，是最大的幸福“ (The company of family is the biggest bliss).
2. The New Job – NCPC
With the recent OCBC phishing scams and Netflix’s Tinder Swindler in the spotlight, the rise of scams have made us wary of online love interests and even “official” institutions like banks and government boards.
To spread awareness, the National Crime Prevention Council of Singapore has launched a TVC as part of their anti-scam “Spot the Signs” campaign.
Done by Ogilvy and NCPC.
The TVC features a man believing he has scored a dream job (“so easy” “almost ten times my old salary”), only to realise his bank account had been drained in the end. Previously, NCPC has also done TVCs focused on the heartbreak of love scams.
The everyday love story of Brandon and Ella.
We liked how the commercials focused on emotion, which is perhaps a bigger factor in folks falling prey to scams as logic takes a back seat. Another aspect we appreciated were the relatively young leads – it goes to show that scams are not the domain of unsavvy “boomers”, rather, everyone could be susceptible in the right situation.
3. #UnboringMorning – KFC
You’re probably familiar with KFC’s iconic fried chicken, but how acquainted are you with their breakfast menu?
KFC’s recent “#UnboringMorning” campaign aims to change that, with relaunches of their signature Original Recipe breakfasts. This includes mouthwatering waffle and chicken platters, and Original Recipe picks like porridge, riser & eggs and Twister.
Image credit: KFC Singapore
Besides the obvious treat for our tummies, we loved how KFC launched their campaign in the most unboring way possible.
This TVC got us hyped up with the ‘sports commentary’ and relatable Zoom call squares.
Think energetic video commercials, contests where you get to commute to work in a sidecar, 50% off deals weekly, and one helluva launch where dancers in KFC uniform served up dishes to a specially curated Spotify playlist (we spotted upbeat tunes like “Senorita” and “24K Magic”).
Image credit: KFC Singapore
With such a holistic campaign, we’ve no choice but to stan.
4. Curry chicken trendjacking
Singaporeans are more likely to complain about living here than gush, but there’s one thing that gets us all patriotic: food. Our local dishes are well beloved, so when The New York Times’ uploaded a very underwhelming Singapore Chicken Curry recipe, we were all up in arms.
The offending watery ‘chicken curry’ on their IG story. Image credit: @nytcooking
It even became a viral meme, with brands making fun of the NYT’s efforts and putting their own creative marketing spin on it. Take for instance, HDB, who used it as a reference to encourage people to pour food waste into a lidded container as trash instead of pouring bits down the sink.
Image credit: HDB Facebook
Other brands like Unilever and Nippon Paint also poked fun at the situation, with the former putting forth their own recipe while the paint giant shared some “curry”-hued paint colour tones.
Image credit: Nippon Paint Singapore, Unilever Food Solutions Singapore
We love the fact that our local brands so readily jumped on the bandwagon to ‘defend’ the humble curry dish, and the many ways in which each gave the meme its own unique spin was a major plus in our books.
5. What’s Your Flavour – Durex Singapore
Durex, as a condom brand, is no stranger to sexy innuendo and flirty fun in its campaigns. So when this year’s Valentine’s Day rolled around, their new strawberry and chocolate condoms were launched with tons of cheeky sass.
For instance, they did a tie-up with Shopee for a Valentine’s Day staycation giveaway at Hotel Fort Canning, complete with an assorted box of spicy essentials 😉
Image credit: Shopee
They also partnered with Sweet Cheeks Gelato to give out free scoops of dark chocolate and balsamic strawberry ice cream prior to V’day. Folks could request for either flavour and post their choice on social media as a ‘vote’, thus ramping up the competitive fun and engagement.
They also did these flirty digital postcards on social to align with the theme
Image credit: Durex Singapore
Durex has been known for its fun collabs in the past, too, with zodiac readings tied to condom types and a Durex X CMB one where singles on Coffee Meets Bagel shared their views on sex. For that wit and forever on-trend creativity, we’d say this brand is hard to beat.
TSL Pick:
For a healthy dose of “ownself say ownself”, we’ve also included our very own branded content that centres around Valentine’s Day. Done in conjunction with Poh Heng Jewellery, this editorial piece was a tongue-in-cheek look at how couples today “announce” – or “soft launch” their relationship to their followers on social media.
Image credit: The Smart Local Facebook
From reposts of IG stories to mysterious photos of your partner’s back, we felt truly called out by each and every one of the points. The segue to Poh Heng’s diamond rings was also natural and made sense – after all, couples who clicked in might be interested in getting promise rings and eventually that all-important engagement rings.
For those who think the brand seems slightly dated, this IG-millennial focused angle also scores major points in boosting Poh Heng’s cred.
Best marketing ad campaigns in February 2022
Spanning everything from TV commercials to editorial content to social posts, good marketing comes in all forms. But what our winners have in common is not only timeliness with regards to special occasions, but also a keen understanding of their audience’s emotions and everyday scenarios. For us, these Fab Five made the cut – what are your favourite February campaigns?
Cover image adapted from: gov.sg, KFC Singapore
