4 Unconventional advertising methods

Advertisements have travelled from the traditional to the modern times and they have come in all shapes and sizes. We have encountered endless number of advertisements in the past, but we tend to remember only a few. What makes an advertisement stand out? What tactics are adapted for its success? Does it take a super powerful campaign to break through? These questions often take a toll on our minds, but don’t you worry, we will break it down for you.

Unconventional advertisements are tight holding and require diligence.

1. Native advertising in newspapers

Newspapers have always had ads, and this might make you wonder how a newspaper ad can be categorised as unconventional. Well, not all newspaper advertisements catch your eye. The ones that do are often published in the form of art and comics in newspapers. Although the foundation is native, the method adopted by them is very modern. The themes of these ads are not offbeat, but are rather influenced heavily by the trends and current issues of the time. Affairs of the contemporary society that are sensitive and controversial and perfectly captivated and molded into funny art and comic strips.

One of the best examples would be the Amul comics. The Amul has published iconic comic strips for almost 50 years! The character of the comic is playful, yet strong. A girl with blue hair in a polka dot dress is the mascot of Amul, and is very successfully the face that everyone remembers when they think of the brand. Using their own mascot in their comics has helped the Amul comic series gain recognition and indistinctiveness, and this is a great strategy adopted by them. Another remarkable example is of the Times of India Cartoons. Matters of the society regarding politics and general issues are portrayed in a humorous manner, with a hint of mockery.

A good amount of ads are found in newspapers. Readers often flip through the ad columns without even reading it, and this enhances the power of a catchy advertisement published in a newspaper.

2. Memefying the brands

Memes are born and bound to be relatable and funny. The use of memes in ad campaigns is a new and fresh strategy acquired by the brands. The character of the memes arouse excitement, hence, what better than an amalgamation of a campaign with a trendy meme. Memes are usually short lived, and thus become a great target for an ad campaign that is of a short duration. This gives a simple bland product a kick and new take altogether.
Although memes get viral globally, the best tactic would be to pick a meme which is locally/ nationally famous. An excerpt from the viral video, better known as “hello friends, chai pi lo…” became extremely popular in India. Mother Dairy saw and made use of the perfect opportunity and came up with an advertisement. Social posts have the power and ability to reach more than hundred thousand people, and adding the meme tone to the same adds extra reach to the existing ad campaign. August Communications, an ad agency, played extremely well and used their originality to come up with their social post.

Flirting with the ongoing trends and making creatives out of it has always been helpful for the success of ad campaigns. The advent of memes into advertisements is nothing but unconventional, and this has turned into a huge victory.

3. Promoting social issues

Lately social media has been the main platform where societal issues have been discussed, such as abortion, political standings, abuse and racism. The power of the internet has helped give foundation to views and opinions that are marginalized and unpopular. Social media creates collectives which generates rush and further breaks into the mainstream. By time, the internet has also become a great space where people can share stories, create awareness and also seek justice.

Using simple words and coming up with interesting hashtags creates a band of people who have the same opinions and are strong willed towards an issue. Powerful campaigns become powerful movements on the internet. The #metoo along with the Times Up movement, came out extremely strong and groundbreaking. Campaign where individuals came out with stories that had been closeted for so long, and a sense of assurance to back them up lead to the continuity of the campaign. The Black Dot campaign united everyone where they all shared their shame and discontent for individuals who have the least regard for humanity.

Simple yet strong words and visuals are used to create an uprising on the online world. Hashtags club together the stories and opinions shared on the World Wide Web.

4. Internet Challenges

Internet Challenges are the new sensation and a powerful way of marketing. It is a concept of west and a big hit also. Now a days the whole world is using this marketing strategy. There is no time limit or content limit. Hashtags are the new thing on the internet which assures a global reach. It was sensationalized by the Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014 for the cause of spreading awareness for the disease named amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to raise money.

The concept of creating challenges proved to be extremely fruitful when promoting movies, songs or even brands. The trending #KikiChallenge promotes an international hit and has successfully become the talk of the town. In India, the #PadChallenge did extremely well for promoting the film ‘Pad Man’ and simultaneously spreading awareness on female sanitation. Another trendy hashtag was the #BeatPeBootyChallenge which promoted the film ‘A Flying Jatt’, which had the majority of Bollywood fanatics recording themselves on the song and posting it on social media.

Strong ideas, mixed with an easy task and a hint of relatability, is what makes internet ‘challenges’ a hit. Social media and World Wide Web has given an independent platform to the people expressing themselves in the craziest and the unique possible ways.