As social distancing becomes the 'new norm' it's not just news and current affairs media that is representing the strange new world we find ourselves in. Rather predictably, advertising has been one of the first industries to get in on the act, with a string of companies essentially 'rebranding' to reflect the current climate.
Some of these ads and rebranding efforts are smart and neat and undoubtedly clever, but not all have been particularly well received - which begs the question; can a global pandemic ever be a suitable context for a corporation to plug itself? Should companies benefit from others' misery - or is it ok so long as their message is socially responsible?
Thinking about these things also throws up old wounds yet again as I'm forced to reflect on my own love/hate relationship with advertising.
Here's the Guiness ad that inspired the article...
And the article that discusses the advert...
And here is a collection of other ads that have also taken advantage of the situation or putting out a socially responsible message, depending on your point of view...
...not all of which were well received...
And some people, presumably with a lot of lockdown time on their hands, have gone about making their own...
Comments