Best ads of the week: Hunger finds Fuse, Snickers in a Rohit Shetty film

As we say goodbye to another week, let's look back at all the great ads we enjoyed. With Paris Olympics 2024 flagging off, brands are in a race to bring out the best ad campaigns. However, not every ad could rise above mediocrity. Toyota made it to the list with their thoughtful, evocative ad for Paralympics. The list also features rival chocolate bar brands—Cadbury Fuse and Snickers—each upping the quirk quotient. We also had celeb-led ads with Oppo and Snickers. Reckitt’s Robin Bleach made a comeback after decades with a memorable spot.  

Here's the list of ads that made the cut in Week 3 of July.  

Cadbury’s Fuse

Cadbury’s chocolate candy bar Fuse stuck to its central proposition as a hunger queller much like rival Snickers. As part of its latest campaign “Bhookhe Pet Na Ho Payega,” the brand released “Fuse Doli” where a wedding palanquin bearer makes a quick detour to a shopping mall, with the bride and baraatis in tow—to find him a Fuse to satiate his hunger. “Fuse has always been about exploring different insights around hunger. This film taps into a very cool insight - Bhooke Pet Na Ho Paayega. The story endearingly exaggerates this by showing a young guy dragging a Doli procession into a supermarket to satisfy his hunger,” said Kainaz Karmakar & Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Chief Creative Officers, Ogilvy India. The ad is by Ogilvy and is directed by Early Man Films.

Robin

Reckitt’s fabric whitener brand Robin has made a comeback after decades with a campaign #PehnoPhirseWhite by tgthr. The ad is based on the insight that people fear white clothes due to their near-impossible upkeep. It’s common knowledge that milky white clothes often lose their sheen and brightness despite our best laundry efforts. The ad allays fear of the white garments by upholding Robin’s promise of efficiency.  “In everyday life, whites are not the first, second, third, or fourth choice in a person’s wardrobe. It’s something that’s just out of reach because of the trouble in keeping whites, white. With #PehnoPhirseWhite, we want the act of wearing white everyday not to be something out of the ordinary, just like any other colour. The combination of our catchy tune and the confidence that the product bestows is what will make this launch shine,” added Aalap Desai, CCO & Co-Founder, tgthr.  

Toyota

 Toyota’s digital campaign film for the Paris Olympics features the 11 Team Toyota Asia Athletes who pay tribute the people who believe in them. The evocative film takes the viewers through the gruelling training the athletes go through and offers an intimate perspective on their preparations. The overarching message of the power of community that supports the sportsmen, helping them overcome boundaries. The ad has been conceptualised by Dentsu Creative Singapore.

 Oppo AI

Oppo went beyond hiring a well-known and well-loved celebrity face for its Reno12 Series with AI capabilities; it brought to live a bespoke CGI model avatar crafted by the OPPO AI Avatar to star alongside Ranbir Kapoor. “The Avatar was carefully crafted to look and be futuristic while also be friendly, keeping in mind brand colours and visual cues to ensure that the OPPO AI Avatar is unquestionable OPPO,” said the brand in its press release. The film shows how OPPO AI approaches Kapoor and helps the latter fix a bad photograph with—you guessed it—AI technology. Behind the ad film was our aim to blend OPPO's AI-technology seamlessly with Ranbir Kapoor's presence. Positioning the OPPO Reno12’s AI as users’ best friend, we created a life-sized CGI Avatar to showcase its intelligence and user friendliness. Through their friendly banter, Ranbir Kapoor and OPPO AI bring alive how OPPO’s AI technology can tackle challenges during outdoor travel photography,” said Sumit Chaurasia, Founding Partner and Creative Head - Delhi, Famous Innovations.

Snickers

Rohit Shetty leaned hard into his reputation for flipping cars in the air by doing exactly that in the new Snickers ad. Shetty, who has been roped in as the brand ambassador for the chocolate bar brand, is the alter ego for an everyday driving school instructor who sends cars flying when he is famished, in keeping with Snicker’s theme of people not being themselves when they are hungry. Iraj Fraz, Creative Head, DDB Tribal said “Snickers "You're Not You When You're Hungry" is one of the most enduring campaigns in the world, with its endless adaptability, local flavors, and rofling use of humor. And Snickers India in partnership with DDB Mudra is simply continuing the tradition with a fresh interpretation. We have Rohit Shetty starring in his most hilarious, and perhaps his easiest-ever role – since he plays himself. Through the last few months, the clients, the agency, and the production team have all had a riot of a time building this campaign and we’re sure the audience is going to enjoy it equally.”