Campaign Review: musical ads from Brighte, CUB and Jimmy Brings

Brand: Brighte

Campaign: ‘Brighte Here, Brighte Now‘

Agency: Paper Moose

The verdict: Split on its memorability

https://youtu.be/7PqVGk8bJJI

Annie Little, strategy director at The Royals, says:

As a Fatboy Slim fan, a rendition of Right Here, Right Now would always turn my head. The household visuals – and the brand name Brighte – might be forgettable without the track. But with it, this is a warm, fun ad.

As seems to be the theme with this week’s ads, audio is back. Songs and mnemonics to get the message into people’s heads, even when they’re not paying attention. It works.

Messaging-wise, I’m liking ‘Get solar sooner’. With an undercurrent of frustration at climate inaction from the powers that be, this message proactively helps people to get on with doing their bit.

Rating: 7/10

Tom Wenborn, executive creative director at Thinkerbell, says:

They got some bits ‘Brighte’ and some bits ‘b-wrong’.

This is the first work for Brighte, so you can’t fault them for wanting to squeeze everything into their first 30 seconds. It just leaves us with a very busy film.

There’s something a little jarring about using the floating fireball to turn on all the lights. I think it’s because to really sell the transition they’ve had to make everything feel night time-ish, which doesn’t do a very good job of coding the ad as one for solar. I mean it’s nice to see a different sort of solar ad… not just trees, blue skies and solar panels, but it does make it a little confusing and feel more like every other NBN/power company out there.

When I first watched the film I thought it might be in fast-forward. The floating fireball moves through each scene before you’re able to get sunburnt or even register what’s happening.

The track is nice for a launch ad and it sings the brand name on repeat for 30 seconds (not that I actually picked up on that until I read the supers while listening and realised they’d changed the vocals ever so slightly). Perhaps some of the money that went to Fatboy Slim could have been better used to create a more sun-like floating fireball. When paired with the darker rooms, the floating fireball is just a bit underwhelming and doesn’t really affect its surroundings as much as it could.

For me there was just too much going on, but none of it was different enough for me to notice.

Rating: 4/10 floating fireballs

Brand: CUB’s Woodstock Bourbon

Campaign: ‘Some Things Just Go Together‘

Agency: TBWA Melbourne

The verdict: Could have gone further

Little says:

Another song parody with a little less cut-through. While the storyline is fun and the tune gets you humming along, I’m not sure this is memorable beyond repeating ‘Woody & Cola’… quite a lot.

Personifying the drink into a comedy duo brings some life to the drink. Simple fun, not much to think about. Tonally, it is bang in the heartland of Aussie booze comedy. Perhaps a different treatment could have pushed it into a more unexpected space or given it some edge.

Rating: 6/10

Wenborn says:

‘Some things just go together’… Cheese and bacon, lemon and lime, agencies and changing the lyrics to well known songs.

There are a lot of examples of brands changing the words to the lyrics of a song. It can be a good idea as it makes the brand instantly recognisable, and ideally memorable. However, for that to work it needs to be good. You ideally want people singing along to it in their heads, not like this.

Along with the forced lyrical remastery, the casting is pretty expected and the performance kind of feels like the talent doesn’t actually want to be in the ad.

If I was pushed to find the silver lining in this oversized aluminium Bourbon & Cola can, I’d say well done on getting the work made. We all know how hard it’s been to get things made while juggling COVID restrictions.

Rating: 4/10 sugar-related hangovers

Brand: Jimmy Brings

Campaign: ‘Get Jimmy‘

Agency: Jeromo Creative

The verdict: Cool talent but not quite on the money

Little says:

Jimmy brings us a pleasant set of home occasions brought to life with some nice musical talent. They’re going for a clear demographic, and it feels pretty relatable – the track itself is just a bit chorally underwhelming. Our third song of the set shows us that whilst butchering a cover has its risks, the opposite can also be perilous – an unknown tune that flies under the radar.

Something about this ad is giving me “we’re all in this together” lockdown flashbacks. Maybe it’s the zoom-like layout of singing heads, the layered voices or the reel of at-home moments. It feels trapped in the summer of 2020, rather than fizzing with the energy that (I hope) this summer will bring.

Rating: 7/10

Wenborn says:

I’m always nervous critiquing work that is potentially cool, mainly because I’ll miss what makes it cool, thus making me uncool. But also, what if I have to work with that cool person down the track and they remember the time I was reviewing an ad they were in for Mumbrella? In this instance, I think it’s the cool kids that have missed the mark, and I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the guys from Lime Cordiale aren’t avid Mumbrella readers.

This spot features some of the coolest talent in Aussie music and somehow the team at Jimmy Brings managed to get them to sing, “If you made a plan to dine, but forgot to bring the wine”. I don’t want to blame the artists, but surely someone at some point said, “Hey we write songs for a living, maybe we could come up with our own lyrics and not just sing what’s on this brief?”

My second quibble isn’t about the ad itself, but more so the strategy behind it. And I’m probably (definitely) overthinking it, but hear me out. Supporting local musicians who have done it tough through lockdowns is an awesome initiative, but it feels a little contradictory for Jimmy Brings to support them by encouraging punters to stay at home and order booze, rather than get it from the local venues that these artists perform at?

Rating: 5/10 branded choruses

As told to Anna Macdonald. If you’re a senior creative or strategist who would like to take part in a future Campaign Review, please email amacdonald@mumbrella.com.au.

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Anna Macdonald

Anna Macdonald was a Mumbrella journalist, covering news, creative, ad standards and campaigns. She left Mumbrella in April 2022.

topics Annie Little Brighte Campaign Review CUB Jeromo Creative Jimmy Brings Paper Moose TBWA Melbourne The Royals Thinkerbell Tom Wenborn Woodstock Bourbon

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