Karthik S | beastoftraal.com

Feel good, in two contrasting ways

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by Karthik S

Two ads from January 2021, for 2 different products, but their messages are polar opposites to each other! I loved the first one – for Unilever’s Degree Deodorant, by the agency BBDO USA. The ad film features NBA star Kevin Durant and…

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What kind of internet user are you?

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by Karthik S

Back in 2010, Jacquelyn Krones, a (then) Senior Product Manager at Microsoft (she now is Director of Responsible AI Practice, Microsoft) revealed the results of a multi-year, large-scale ethnographic study on how people searched for information on different devices. Beyond the many…

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A smart plate

February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 by Karthik S

Last year, a clever design idea by the Bangkok-based agency CJ WORX for their client, Thai Health Promotion Foundation. The client wanted to remind people in Thailand to consciously reduce the intake of salt, for health reasons. Simply offering them a smaller…

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How to rile a country, General Motors-style

February 11, 2021February 11, 2021 by Karthik S

A fun outcome of the Superbowl ads this year was the number of responses evoked by General Motors’ ad starring Will Ferrell. General Motors (through their agency McCann WorldGroup), launched their ‘No way, Norway’ teasers on February 2nd. The first teaser featured…

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Whatever it takes… in a heartbeat

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 by Karthik S

Two healthcare professional services marketing communications that pack an emotional wallop! Both MacMillan (UK) and HeartKids (Australia) are in the space of support services – MacMillan offers support for people with cancer, and HeartKids offers support for people impacted by childhood heart…

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Housewives, trees, and Mastercard

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Karthik S

In recent times, I came across 2 things that have stirred some conversations around their monetary value. The first is the work performed by ‘housewives’! Actor Kamal Haasan proposed this idea first as part of his election manifesto in February 2020. The…

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Mind your attention

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 by Karthik S

I really enjoyed watching this ad film (from 2015) for Škoda Fabia by the agency AIS London. Let me not spoil it for you – watch it first, and then read the rest of this post. This ad is what I’d call…

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