Best Ads of the Week: Tinder’s tribute to old masters and Under Armour’s AI ad

This week, Tinder used classic masterpieces to promote more artful dating profiles, Barilla stressed the importance of mealtimes together and Under Armour used ChatGPT to write a pre-game pep talk.

KitKat: Password! by Wunderman Thompson

A new commercial from Nestlé’s KitKat encourages people not to let tech issues disrupt their day, from weird security questions to trying to remember passwords. The new ad plays on the brand’s famed ‘Have a Break’ tagline, which was coined in 1958 by the advertising agency J Walter Thompson.

Skyn: No Skyn, No Love by UltraSuperNew

In an action-packed short film that looks and feels like The Matrix, condom brand Skyn takes a cinematic approach to stress the importance of wearing protection. Led by indie agency UltraSuperNew Tokyo, ‘No Skyn, No Love’ opens with a young couple as they sit and watch TV. Before things heat up, the protagonist takes inventory of his Skyn condoms, only to notice that the box is empty. Taking matters into his own hands, he sets out through hostile streets, rife with edgy gangs and urban street dogs, to buy more condoms. The humorous film demonstrates his extraordinary efforts to practice safe sex, even when facing adversity. In an amusing twist of fate, once the young man arrives at the store, he discovers it is closed.

The Licious Kitchen: A Clown, a King & a Colonel walk into a… by Licious Creative Studio, India

The Licious Kitchen, a fast food chain in India, released a film on July 30 (marking Friendship Day) depicting what appears to be villainous versions of McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC mascots. The ad opens with a creepy clown carrying a red balloon into a restaurant. A King and Colonel then walk in – his would-be rivals in the real world. However, in a satirical twist of fate, the three sit down to enjoy a jovial meal together.

Tinder’s in-house art campaign

In a new campaign from Tinder, the dating app shows how singles can master the art of creating the ultimate profile, as illustrated by newly mocked-up profiles of famous faces. The profiles depict some of the world’s most famous portraits, from Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to Vermeer’s Girl With the Pearl Earring, each with tailored bios highlighting their interests. The campaign encourages single people to invest time in creating their profiles.

Barilla: The Recipe of Togetherness by LePub

In a world filled with numerous distractions, a new campaign from pasta maker Barilla stresses the importance of mealtimes together. In typical Italian style, people reconnect over a great plate of food in the ad. As the spot builds, the camera pans around a house. The campaign, led by creative agency LePub, takes aesthetic inspiration from classic 80s movies and shows.

Under Armour: The Ultimate Team Talk by The Space Between

In a new campaign called ‘The ultimate team talk,’ Under Armour has leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) in an effort to take the pre-game hype-up speech to a whole new level. In the 90-second ad, British actor Ashley Walters delivers a fiery locker room speech crafted entirely by ChatGPT.

The campaign, created with Under Armour’s AI partner Hedgehog Lab (HHL) and London-based creative agency The Space Between, launched days before the beginning of the 2023/2024 European Premier League football season.

Tinder: It Starts with a Swipe by Mischief

Tinder, the app that popularized ‘swiping’ as we know it, recently launched three new dreamy, highly saturated 15-second ads. The new spots, dubbed ‘Summer Fling,’ ‘Breakfast Boy’ and ‘You Took Him Home,’ tap into the endless possibilities the dating app can deliver – everything from an unexpectedly nice sleepover to a summer-fling-turned-lasting-romance. Each leverages the same aesthetic while exploring the range of experiences young people can find on Tinder. The campaign was developed with Mischief @ No Fixed Address.

VistaPrint: Dragon Jerky by Maximum Effort

An absurdist new ad for VistaPrint sees Mary Kelly play Gwen Griffiths, a fictional owner of a small family business: Dragon Foods, a Wales-based company that has produced a beastly treat called Dragon Jerky for 11,000 years. The campaign was produced by Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds’ prolific creative agency.

Uber’s in-house Go Anywhere campaign

As part of its ‘Go Anywhere’ campaign, travel app Uber has this week released a series of out-of-home activations that feature images of cars made from paper. Each car has been crafted from event tickets, such as the theater, football matches and even date nights.

Mercer + Prince: Carefully Crafted by Global Brand Equities

A$AP Rocky’s whisky brand Mercer + Prince has made its commercial debut with a retro-futuristic ad titled ‘Carefully Crafted.’ The spot feels reminiscent of the retro-futurism in the first Austin Powers film, from its 1960s lounge music to the sleek modernist design of its set. Throughout the ad, Rocky saunters through a remote location, where workers in white lab coats meticulously inspect every step of the whisky assembly line. It closes as Rocky tests the final product, indulging in its unique formula and bottle design. The campaign was ideated and developed in-house by Global Brand Equities, the brand’s parent company.

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