Now that we´re in mid-January, we can take a few minutes to look back and analyze 2018 from an advertising point of view. Last year had left us a great legacy in terms of advertising trends. If we understand advertising, as a tool by which companies and organizations get in touch with their audiences, we have to look beyond new applications or formats to analyze current advertising trends. We have to analyze which messages brands have emitted to connect with the public have gained recognition and have been well received.
On March 8 of last year a ‘purple tide’ filled the streets and demonstrated, to citizens, institutions and brands alike, that feminism is a concern that has become relevant. In such a way that advertisers and agencies have carried out actions to change the image in which the industry traditionally portrayed women. Pirelli has been one of the pioneers of this change, leaving behind the traditional sexist (and realized) characterization of the woman evident in their schedules, through a project which, in the words of the photographer Albert Watson and recounted in an article by MarketingDirecto.com, considered women, promoting «a positive vision of women today» centered on their stories and not on their bodies.
Another example was the campaign #VocesEnIgualdad carried out by the Tango Agency, together with the National Confederation of Women in Equality and the Association of Men for Gender Equality (AHIGE), whose aim was to initiate a public discourse on the matter to point out and denounce one of the most discreet ways that gender stereotypes have been evident and perpetuated.
But the role of women (fortunately) is not the only one that is called into question. Manufacturers of toys, supermarkets, cleaning products … more and more advertisers are the ones who are dismantling stereotypes. With the campaign ‘#JugandoIguales’, Hasbro broke with gender stereotypes in children’s toys, adding to other brands that have opted for diversity in advertising, such as Las Tres Brujas, Uber or Lynx.
While some advertisers relate their actions to current events and their brand’s value proposition, others connect with consumers to initiate new conversations. Such was the case with IKEA and Ruavieja who, through Christmas themes, demonstrated the influence of social networks and the digital hyperconnectivity of consumers to emphasize the magic of reconnecting with the family. Under the slogans ‘#DesconectaParaConectar’ and ‘Tenemos que vernos’ respectively, they intended to open the eyes of society so that they may become aware that, in this digitalized society, the most relationships are human, emotional and familial in nature.
Following this tendency of brands to put the consumer in the center, we find another of 2018’s great trends: giving voice to consumers. The last company to put it into practice was Yoigo when in last November it presented ‘Pienso, luego actúo,’ defined as “a web platform with its own content whose objective is to give voice and visibility to people who take the initiative to open new paths would lead us to a better, more accessible, just and humane world.”
All these trends are parts of greater brand strategies that aim to convey a powerful message, with social significance, that relates to the public through content and experiences based on emotion.
Marta Gallardo
Consultora de Proa Comunicación