In 2022, some of the trends we saw the year before got strengthened. Anti-advertising — brands mocking themselves or spoofing ads — continued, with CRED especially owning this genre mostly during the IPL time. Woke-washing continued, but the big change this year was that brands that went down this route were called out. On the other hand, when brands displayed true purpose and used tech for good, it got recognition – like Cadbury’s ‘Shops for Shopless’ campaign during Diwali to help street hawkers.

This year saw the new trend of ritzy digital billboards, with several eye-catching displays that wowed. Not just outdoors but indoors too, digital marketing and advertising work came of age with brands using web, mobile and social platforms meaningfully – though the jury is out on the Puma–Anushka Sharma end-of-the-year publicity stunt on Instagram.

A big high for Indian agencies was Dentsu Creative Bengaluru roaring at Cannes for their work on the Unfiltered History Tour of the British Museum for Vice Media.

Vignettes:

Playing it differently

CRED showed us again how to play it differently, moving the needle on anti-advertising with its spoof on 90s style advertising in a campaign featuring Karishma Kapoor ripping off a vintage Nirma ad as she talked about the bounty proposition of the brand.

In a lather

End of the year saw HUL come up with a satirical ad for a product called VIM Black ostensibly aimed at men. HUL thought it was being subversive by giving the message that men too belong equally at the sink. But the rather flippant way in which the whole ad was delivered angered people. Later, the brand said it was a joke. But it was a joke that did not wash.

Billboards roar

Bata India’s end of the year hyper realistic billboard set up in Bengaluru that wowed people on the streets capped a year of several brands going the 3D outdoor route. Hyundai, Tanishq all created anamorphic excitement in compelling ways.

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