Ever get the feeling that brands’ taglines are pretty much interchangeable? It’s tough out there for a copywriter — but rarely do we, as humble consumers, encounter a line that really defines a brand or explains what makes it stand out.
A new campaign for Alibaba from Fred & Farid plays on that fact by stuffing 21 of the more memorable entries into a single minute-long ad for the now-passed 11.11 event, better known as “Singles Day” in China (read: Treat Yo Self).
The work itself opens with the claim, “A first in advertising,” and it’s not quite like the Droga5 Newcastle “how many brands can we fit into one spot” campaign.
So, did you get all these?
I will (Under Armour) change your destiny (SK-II), you can be anything (Barbie); always in beta (New Balance). It takes courage (Ray-Ban) to be forward thinking (smart), but hey my beauty, my say (Dove).
Capture different (Gopro), ready for more (Converse) because you are worth it (L’Oréal Paris).Life’s good (LG), delighting you always (CANON); Live young (Evian), you got no strings(beats), Just do it (NIKE).
Live in (Levi’s) mad intense (Stride), off the wall (VANS) ways. We break the rule (VIDAL SASSOON), keep walking (JOHNNIE WALKER), and never stop exploring (The North Face).
The purpose of that mash-up was to remind shoppers that they can get whatever they want in one trip at Tmall; it’s kind of like the Woodberry Commons but without the discounts. The ad certainly had some interesting footage, but all the taglines crammed together kind of remind us how ridiculous many of them sound when heard without context.
Press release tells us that “The beauty of this campaign lies in the fact all these major brands agreed to be among the pool of brands/partners, which truly embraces 11.11’s spirit: ‘All in one’ to celebrate unity, respect diversity, while empowering people.” This also sounds vaguely familiar.
The agency’s creative CEO and co-founder Fred Raillard explained his goal as such: “It’s a beautiful tribute to advertising; it’s an ode to the world’s most emotionally-charged advertising taglines.”
See, we get it.
The full campaign also included 4 TV spots (with 9 more taglines in total), radio ads, and outdoor executions across China … and it helped Alibaba break its previous $14 billion one-day sales record by racking up $17B last week. Investors were somehow still disappointed, but when are they ever happy with anything??
CREDITS
Agency: FRED & FARID Shanghai
Client: Tmall, Alibaba Group
Title of ad: All in One
Brand supervisors: Chris Tung, Tmall Marketing Team
Chief creative officers: Fred & Farid
Executive Creative director: Feng Huang
Copywriters: Barbie, beats, CANON, Converse, DJI, Dove, Estée Lauder, Evian, Gillette, Gopro, G-Shock, JOHNNIE WALKER, LA MER, Levi’s, LG, L’Oréal Paris, Midea, New Balance, NIKE, PANTENE, Ray-Ban, SAMSUNG, Shanghai Disney Resort, SK-II, smart, Stride, The North Face, Under Armour, VANS and VIDAL SASSOON.
Conceptor/Storyteller: Adrien Goris
Art directors: Adrien Goris, Issy Zheng
Agency supervisors: Feng Huang, Nichole Niu
Chinese Copywriter: Chris Wang
Assistant Copywriters: Daniel Galganski, Josh Tou
Head of Production (agency): Karim Naceur
Agency Producers: Jessie Huang, Sayde Bayrak
Production company: Stink Shanghai
Producers: Desmond Loh, Eric Yu, Gobby Yan
Directors: Norman Bates
DOPs: Bjorn Charpentier, Grimm Vandekerckhove
Editors: Olivier Gajan, Yanfeng Xu
SFX: Thomas Houthave
Music: Peter Van Dessel
Post-production: Fin Design
Post producer: Dongdong Wu