Best Ads of the Week: Donald Glover’s Bose boast & the ABCs of breast cancer

This week, Wanda Sykes investigates Rob Lowe’s Atkins chocolate bars, Donald Glover rocks Bose headphones and Arc’teryx celebrates intrepid explorers in its first global campaign.

Hyundai: ¿Viste? by Lopez Negrete Communications

Embedded deeply in the minds of many Hispanics and Latinos is the desire to make their parents proud, and Hyundai’s second bilingual ad campaign, ‘¿Viste?,’ captures this sentiment. ¿Viste?, which translates as ‘Did you see it?’, features both English and Spanish 30-second spots. Both aim to connect upwardly mobile Latinos with the featured car, the new 2024 Hyundai Palisade SUV, by showcasing a universal and sensitive dynamic within the culture: the importance of validation from their parents.

In the spots, three generations of family members seek approval from each other as they navigate life, from the little boy trying to make his own father proud of his new vehicle purchase to the man who drives his elderly father around in his new Palisade. They were filmed in Los Angeles, California and brought to life under the creative direction of Fernando Osuna and Alex Garcia.

Alexander Monro Hospital/Breast Cancer Foundation: The Breast Cancer Alphabet by TBWA\Neboko

This National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (which is observed every October to promote breast cancer screening and prevention) sees a handy new guide for self-breast examinations: ‘The Breast Cancer Alphabet.’

The animated series from the Netherlands-based Alexander Monro Hospital and Breast Cancer Foundation displays the letters of the alphabet as 26 visible characteristics of breast cancer, including ‘I for inverted nipple’ and ’D for dent.’ The work aims to raise awareness about breast cancer among young adults, which, according to Alexander Monro Hospital’s internal data, occurs in up to 25% of people under the age of 50. Meanwhile, one in five women never checks their breasts.

Atkins: Candy Drawer by The Acme Idea Company

In a new Atkins commercial, comedy actor Wanda Sykes has a few questions for Rob Lowe about his obsession with the low-carb packaged food brand. The commercial, titled ‘Candy Drawer,’ marks the first piece of work from Atkins’s new campaign, ‘Who Knew?’ which unveils surprising facts about the brand.

In the spot, Sykes and Lowe’s son, John Owen Lowe, poke fun at the actor, who has been the brand’s spokesperson since 2018. By his own admission, Lowe is mindful of carbs and sugar and emphasizes protein and healthy fats in his everyday life; he readily credits Atkins products for satisfying his cravings while keeping his healthy lifestyle on track.

Bose: Sound is Power by Gilga

Bose, a speaker and headphone manufacturer, has released ‘Sound is Power,’ a new ad campaign in collaboration with Donald Glover, the multi-talented artist known for his work in music, comedy and acting.

The partnership comes as Glover prepares his return to music, as we learn in the ad. The camera follows Glover as he leads construction on a multimedia studio on his farm, giving fans an inside look into this chapter of his career. From beginning to end, Glover dons Bose’s new QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The headphones featured, which just launched late last month, boast ‘Bose Immersive Audio,’ which the brand says drops the listener to the center of the artist’s music.

Arc’teryx: No Wasted Days

Arc’teryx, a 34-year-old outdoor equipment brand, has unveiled its first global brand campaign, ‘No Wasted Days,’ inviting people around the world to embrace the extraordinary and redefine what it means to truly live.

Produced entirely in-house, ‘No Wasted Days‘ aims to show onlookers that “there’s always a better way” to spend one’s life – in the great outdoors – by chronicling the journeys of 11 intrepid explorers in eight feature films. Central to the campaign is an anthem film that stitches together an inspiring montage of the outdoorsmen featured in the films. It was directed by Jordan Findlay of Boldly, a Vancouver-based film production company and creative studio.

Visible by Verizon: The Truth About Yadas by Madwell

Visible, Verizon’s all-digital wireless carrier, has enlisted Jason Alexander (known for playing George Costanza in Seinfeld) to take aim at Metro by T-Mobile’s recent campaign, ‘Nada Yada Yada.’

Alexander both acts and directs the response campaign titled ‘The Truth About Yadas.’ In the ads, two Metro marketing executives – one played by Alexander’s son, Gave Greenspan – try to sell the actor on participating in an ad campaign for Metro, which claims their wireless plans and pricing structures are fully transparent. After a few questions, Alexander realizes that their plans do indeed include hidden details – and that’s why he’s decided to join Visible’s campaign, where the “yada, yada, yada” doesn’t exist. The tagline might resonate with fans of the iconic sitcom, particularly the time Costanza discussed “the yada yada” with Elaine.

DetecTogether: Tell It Like it Is! by VSA Partners

DetecTogether, a non-profit dedicated to promoting early cancer detection and prevention, released a national education campaign targeting firefighters. The work is informed by data from the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, which suggests that occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service and firefighters are 14% more likely to die from cancer than the general population.

Despite these grim statistics, DetecTogether’s campaign makes light of the situation. In center view is Jason Patton, a firefighter and paramedic whose Fire Department Chronicles series has nearly 2 million followers on social media, accompanied by other Fire Department of New York (FDNY) first responders. The videos were filmed at the Fire Department of New York’s training academy on Randall’s Island.

Tinder: October 3 by Mischief @ No Fixed Address

On October 3, an unofficial holiday for fans of the cult classic film Mean Girls, dating app Tinder released a ‘fetch’ PSA for World Romance Scam Prevention Day, which falls on the same day.

The PSA is fronted by none other than Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett, who reprises his role as Aaron Samuels as he educates viewers on how to identify and avoid romance scams. The PSA is targeted at younger audiences, who typically believe romance scams only happen to older online users.

Princes: Fish for Greatness by Lucky Generals

Princes, one of Europe’s largest food and drink suppliers, recently launched a surprisingly enchanting ad campaign for its canned tuna: ‘Fish for Greatness.’

The 30-second TV commercial opens on a breathtaking expanse of the ocean as Debussy’s Claire de Lune plays in the background. The dazzling scene, however, does not last long. Then, like Lady of the Lake, a human hand emerges from the ocean’s surface, but instead of holding Excalibur it grasps a tin of Princes tuna. A very conversational voice-over from poet and comedian Tim Key then comes in, in which Key deems Princes Tuna “as natural as the sea” and “from the deepest oceans” but also “sometimes eaten out of a tin” and popped “on top of a spud.”

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