This rare year deserves rare announcements

Oddvertising is back. Weird, strange, indecipherable, funny and shocking ads. In tune with the year.

There was a time when agencies used to use impact as a sales element for their advertisers. The rare ads (oddvertising) are those that do not focus on showing the advantages of the product itself, in fact it may not even appear, but on leaving the viewer intrigued. Almost in a state of shock. To do this, you can tell a story that has nothing to do with the product. The important thing here is to leave the customer's target impressed, however it may be. And what better than 2020 to bring back this trend towards the bizarre.

This Philippine campaign of RC Cola demonstrates that the raruno is back:

This piece is the second in a campaign that began last month, in which the Philippine soft drink maker debuted an ad centered on a boy coming home from school to confront his mother because he believed he was adopted. She proves to him that she is his mother in a way you wouldn't expect.

You are not the only one who is left with the face of WTF! We've all been there, because that's precisely what RC Cola and its advertising agency, Gigilthey intend to. The director of the agency, Jake Yrastorzajustifies the bizarre campaign, which bears the word "campaign". enough as a slogan, something like "whatever" or "whatever" in English, because the goal is to target Generation Z consumers.

They live in the moment. They don't need a list of reasons before they do something. They can do or buy something because... well, you know, whatever. There's no need to give more reasons. We took ownership of that attitude and made the brand stand for it, making RC a reflection of our consumer.

Jake Yrastorz, director of the agency Gigil

But the oddvertisingThe trend toward the weird ad had its moment of glory a little over 10 years ago, when brands created hilarious, weird pieces. The term was coined in the middle of the last decade to describe the increasingly bizarre ads that brands were producing, especially for soft drinks, candy and fast food, to get people's attention more immediately in the face of emerging digital distractions like YouTube and social media.

A few examples of these indescribable squeaky advertisements:

Burger King decided to create nightmares, and sell burgers, with a new version of its mascot, The King, with a plastic head, frozen smile and very creepy.

Skittles candies bet on making us believe that we were in front of a real image piece of "Adventure Time".

McDonald's was not going to be less than its eternal competitor, so from Sweden they have decided to "rediscover" their golden arches, with a nineties aesthetic.

An example that weird is back is confirmed by the 15-minute mini-movie-announcement-soap opera called "A Recipe for Seduction" from KFC.

Craig Allen was the art director on TBWA Chiat Day New York a decade ago and responsible for many of the best spots of that era for Skittles, Starburst and others. His is also the Old Spice campaign "Man Your Man Could Smell Like" while they were in Wieden+Kennedy.

Allen believes that "over the last year, we have all sought comfort in the more familiar things, and brands have held back in the face of global uncertainty. We need...something different; the brands that succeed in this new normal will be the ones that aren't afraid to take risks and take them with confidence. It's time to entertain again."


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