Creative Corner: Tesco's talking cats, San Pellegrino's Sopranos reunion and Coke Zero's no Coke campaign
Happy Friday and Happy Easter too.
As we enter the long weekend and people have holidaying firmly on their minds, I thought I’d have a little tour around the world to check out creative campaigns from far and wide.
So, this week we have a Sopranos reunion for San Pellegrino in the States, a Coke Zero execution from India and a lovely catty execution for Tesco Mobile in Ireland...
San Pellegrino with a side of humour
In a reunion that Sopranos fans can only dream of (no spoilers for those who have never watched it - how?), San Pellegrino has brought co-stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa back together for a very watchable video series entitled “With Love, Italy,” to launch Ciao! - a line of flavoured sparkling waters in the US.
The beautifully shot cinematic campaign leans into the duo’s infamous gangster personas but with a twist. Despite their criminal pasts, the characters they play aren’t up to any shady business this time. Instead, they’re on a mission to introduce the fresh, effervescent flavors of San Pellegrino’s Ciao! to new fans. But as they attempt to share their sparkling water gift, they’re met with fear and suspicion—a humorous nod to their Sopranos roles.
Created in short punchy clips and as a longer feature for social, the campaign's genius lies in the chemistry between Imperioli and Schirripa, who bring plenty of humour in this parody of their well-known characters.
It’s brilliantly scripted and brilliantly produced and, despite it blatantly promoting San Pellegrino, keeps you watching to the very end - right to the very last blank screen (again, no spoilers).
Literally Coke Zero
A few weeks back, I featured a McDonald's breakfast campaign that used no logos and just used close-up glimpses of a mouth-watering Egg McMuffin to tell the story. Well, the Coke Zero creative folks in India have flipped this invisibility trend on its head. And for good reason.
In a campaign that leaves everything to the imagination and truly embraces the art of invisibility, it’s the product this time that is left completely out of the frame versus the logo.
Local (not big name) actors are pictured miming the motions of enjoying a Coke Zero—chugging, savoring, and relishing the zero-calorie refreshment—without ever showing a can or bottle. The result? A subtle yet strikingly powerful depiction of the product that effectively highlights its “zero impact” impact.
The campaign is in complete contrast to Coca-Cola’s usual campaign launches, which often rely on attention-grabbing names and visuals. By keeping the Coke Zero product completely out of sight, the brand captures the imagination - quite literally.
Sometimes, less really is more.
Tesco Mobile’s catty conversations
Regular readers will know that I’m more of a dog lover than a cat lover, but this latest feline-inspired campaign for Tesco Mobile Ireland got me chuckling.
The campaign, based around two 30 second films, features a group of cats discussing their owners’ baffling phone habits as they gather on a street corner. The comedic conversation centres on the fed up cats whose owners are constantly holding up ‘rectangles’ (phones) in their faces, then “looks at it and then holds it up again in a repetitive manner”. The friends agree that this is confusing behaviour, with one adding that they also keep flashing in her eyes.
However, the real star of the show is Ted, who appears late in each skit with a far more embarrassing ‘rectangle’ problem: “Hey Ted, how are you?” the chums exclaim. “Bad,” he replies, dressed in a colourful wizard costume that his owner has obviously lovingly dressed him up in.
Mobile phone commercials - aside from some classic Three mobile ones over the years - tend to be pretty vanilla but this campaign stands out to me. There is something inherently humbling about having a pet regard you as a fool whilst asking why you are paying more than you need to.
Well, that wraps up another Creative Corner!
As ever, if you’re launching something that deserves a spot in Creative Corner, or have seen a campaign you just love, please do share it with us. Email paul.lucas@fanclubpr.com
If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe for free to our weekly email alert and receive a regular curation of the best creative campaigns by creatives themselves.
Published on: