Axe Men’s Grooming Products– Axe is known for overpowering body sprays cherished by 14 year-old boys and promoted by chiseled, sweaty, hunky men. This year, Axe tossed the cliché “man’s man” persona and launched its Find Your Magic campaign that features a more realistic portrayal of what men today are. Axe released a 60-second video that features men doing things atypical of a traditional ‘masculine’ man, i.e. dancing in high heels, nerding out to books in a library, opening the door for a woman (gasp), etc. It’s smart for Axe to adopt a more inclusive idea of what it means to be a man, as society has become increasingly more accepting of all different types of people. Lucky? Very.
Nationwide Insurance– During the 2015 Superbowl, a Nationwide commercial centered around child death aired to millions. The commercial featured a child about seven years old talking about life milestones he’ll never get to experience…because he’s dead. Nationwide released a statement saying the commercial was more of a PSA than anything; that most child deaths are caused by preventable household injuries. Regardless, the commercial upset many viewers and was very uncomfortable to watch. I’m going to mark this one as lame (actually morbid and disturbing may be a better way to classify it).
Android– Personally, I’m not huge fan of animated shorts, but Android’s “Rock, Paper, Scissors” commercial that aired during the 2016 Academy Awards left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. The commercial depicts animated characters (rock, paper, and scissors) being bullied by others of their own kind. The three come together to form an alliance and protect one another from the bullies, all while the theme from St. Elmo’s Fire plays in the background. The commercial is cute, but also emotional. It serves a dual purpose in that it acts as an anti-bullying PSA and also a representation of Android’s positioning statement, “Be together. Not the same.” This one gets a Lucky vote from me.
