November is full of dark nights, grey mornings and the disbelief that it’s pitch black at 5pm.
The darker, winter months call for digging out last year’s coats, drinking a lot of hot chocolate and cancelling plans so you can stay indoors with the heating cranked up to full.
So, to add a little spark to this dreary November, we’ve once again trawled the internet to round-up all the latest creative campaigns that have caught our attention. We’ve created this easy-to-read feature ranking the ads, rebrands, creative campaigns and PR stunts to give you that extra burst of inspiration.
So, sit back, relax, wrap up warm and find out what’s been happening in the world of marketing this month.
Lego ‘This is not a Brick’ campaign
Spotted by: James Davison
The first advert from Lego since the launch of their internal creative department, has arrived and it’s out of this world!
Their new Christmas advert brings to life a child’s imagination when playing with Lego.
The advert shows us it’s not just a brick, when using their imagination, it can be anything they want it to be. Whether they’re racing cars, flying planes or in a high-speed car chase, this ad perfectly depicts the joys of imagination.
This creative campaign not only aims to excite children but nostalgic adults too. It reminds us of our childhood; building, creating and imagining with Lego.
Greggs mirroring stunt
Spotted by: Tom Whitehouse
#Greggs have reversed their logo for free promo in Fenwick's window's reflection ????
Iconic. pic.twitter.com/iOHX0qS52N
— .steven (@steveythunder) November 2, 2018
A little bit of ingenuity and cheek from Greggs this month!
You may have seen it on Twitter, but the internet has gone crazy for Greggs reversing their shop sign to capitalize on Fenwick’s Christmas window display.
As the crowd’s gathered ‘round Fenwick’s for their yearly unveiling, onlookers also saw the Greggs shop sign reflection in their display; shining in all its glory.
Fenwick’s unveiling also coincided with Greggs’ Christmas menu launch, hence the reflection in the Fenwick’s Christmas display.
Well played Greggs!
Christmas Coca-Cola bottles
Spotted by: Annelies Kijak
Coke has upped-the-ante on their packaging just in time for the festivities.
The internet has commended the creative minds at Coke for creating a bow out of the plastic wrap around their bottles. All you do is simply peel the middle of the wrapper to unveil a tag, and then pull until it resembles a big red bow!
This makes for a great photo for Instagram, or for simply gifting a bottle to friends and family to spread the Christmas spirit.
Coca-Cola cinnamon tube station
Spotted by: Kelly Scanlon
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cinnamon is here!
What’s that? A brand new, limited edition flavour? Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cinnamon is here! Hitting select stores near you very soon, for a limited time only.
Posted by Coca-Cola on Monday, October 1, 2018
Not only has Coke revamped its packaging in time for Christmas, it’s also released a new, limited edition Coke Zero flavour: cinnamon.
To promote this new addition to the Coke family and to get Londoners excited for the upcoming season, Oxford Circus tube station will be transformed into a cinnamon-scented wonderland.
Coke is definitely pushing the boundaries for this campaign – and thinking of more exciting multi-platform products to wow its customers.
Subway ‘Double the feel good’ ad for World Sandwich Day
Spotted by: Nathan Edmonds
Subway is doubling ‘the feel good’ this November. They’re not only doing this with a 30-second ad featuring singing tomatoes and a free 6-inch sub, but they’re also donating to the Fare Share food bank charity for every sub that is made in stores.
This is promoted by a 30-second animated ad of singing tomatoes featuring the Blue Swede’s song “Hooked on a feeling.” This ad has been rolled out alongside their social media GIFs, and it’s safe to say, the response has been overwhelming.
What’s not to like about this initiative? A free sub for you, and a donation to help feed people in need.
KFC “Ain’t no small fry” campaign
Spotted by: Tillie Warder
Dear @upgrade_music
You told us no one liked our fries.
So new ones are coming soon.
Yours sincerely,
KFC pic.twitter.com/DxPRh50apV
— KFC UK & Ireland (@KFC_UKI) November 2, 2018
KFC, aka the king of crisis management, has done it once again.
It’s no secret KFC customers aren’t massive fans of their current fries, as apparent from the masses of tweets KFC receive, like these ones:
I've got to say, KFC are riding solely on their chicken because Christ, those are crap fries.
— Burnessie (@charliejburness) August 11, 2014
Dear KFC
No one likes your fries.
Yours sincerely,
The entire world.
— Upgrade ⬆️? (@upgrade_music) February 5, 2018
how can KFC be so good at chicken and so bad at fries?
— Adam Marsh (@AdumOnline) December 16, 2016
Instead of ignoring the problem, KFC has decided to listen to its critics and launch new fries.
To promote this new launch, KFC has very cleverly used ‘hate tweets’ about its current fries in order to let customers know bigger and better chips are on their way.
Their creative campaigns are always original, ingenious and make quite the splash – and this one is no different.
Barnardo’s ‘Believe in me’ campaign
Spotted by: Phil Kean
This November, Barnardo’s has started to re-run its ‘Believe in me’ campaign across TV and social media.
In 2017-18 the charity has helped 301,000 children, young people, parents and carers – which is definitely something shout about.
This empowering creative campaign shows children practising their hobbies and fighting back at some of the negative things they’ve been called or thought about themselves.
Alongside the ad, you can also see Keeley’s, Megan’s or Joe’s story to see just what children can accomplish when you believe in them.
Google Doodles at 20
Spotted by: Simon Lister
For the last 20 years the Doodle Team (yes, that is a real team) at Google have transformed their iconic logo to respond to landmark events and important anniversaries. This article looks back at some of Google’s best and most memorable transformations of their logo. We personally liked the 44th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop (pictured above) and Google’s first ever virtual reality and 360-degree video doodle.
Keep up the great work, Google!
That completes our round-up of creative campaigns that have caught our attention this month. We’ve seen a great assortment of uplifting, ingenious and Christmas-y campaigns that have definitely warmed us up!
Which one was your favourite this month? Tell us by tweeting us, messaging us on Facebook, or getting in touch directly.
