The world rang in the new year with World War III memes, a dying Australian ecosystem, a reeling royal family with Megxit, an impeachment trial, fear of a coronavirus epidemic, Kobe Bryant and his daughter’s death (a heartbreaking announcement made yesterday), and oh so much more. So, eh, not the best start. What do marketers do with this?

Marketers need to be smart when it comes to creating ads that emerge from the chaos. We all know that ads come in a few different categorial forms. The ones that perform really well during turbulent times usually are set in these few categories.

Humor

Humor’s pretty hard to execute well, but it’s a great tactic. It’s usually unoffensive and non-polarizing. The audience can relish in the seconds of distracted relief from the craziness of the world. Of course, the difficult part is creating an uncontroversial idea that will actually make people laugh, realistic enough for people to understand and relate to but nuanced enough to be funny.

Emotional

This is where advertisers pull on a universal human truth that breaks the boundaries and division created by politics. Love, family, and sacrifice are common themes that most people can relate to. It’s a great option, but I can’t understate the importance of relevance. Too many ads attempt to pull some emotion out of viewers but fail to tie it back to their brand. Great, you made us cry, laugh, smile – whatever it may be. However, I don’t remember who was advertising. Not good, friends. Don’t let a good storyline distract you from the goal: selling something (product, service, idea, etc.).

Statement-Making

This is a tricky one. There’s the risk of ostracizing some. But, there’s an opportunity to do something really bold. (Think Nike’s Kaepernick ad.) As with everything and as I’ve made several comments on, make sure the statement is relevant to the brand and seen through every part of the company. With pretty harsh call outs and cancel culture, there’s no room for inauthenticity.

……….

The Super Bowl is coming up which is going to be interesting. Granted, most of the concepts and commercials were created far before the outbreak of chaos called 2020. But, my eyes will be riveted to the tv to watch how each brand will fit into the current state of affairs.