Moore Kingston Smith and David Reviews: weekly update from ad world

If we think of the coronavirus event as an earthquake, then we’ve just about reached the moment when the buildings have stopped shaking. For the advertising industry this means that they can start to properly assess what is and isn’t possible in a vastly altered landscape.

Everyone’s priority is public safety and it’ll be a long time before anything gets back to normal but already there are signs of the advertising industry’s ability and willingness to adapt to circumstances. As many have pointed out, this is a time for true creativity to shine as talented people are not thwarted by constraints… they are inspired by them.

Perhaps the first notable piece of work to emerge from the crisis was St Luke’s reminder that we should stay home to protect the doctors, nurses and other health workers who are attempting to save as many lives as possible. ‘Protect the NHS’ has been part of the trio of mantras repeated by the government at every briefing and a reversal of the organisation’s three letters enabled advertising agency St Luke’s to reinforce the government’s key demand of the population – to minimise the spread of the coronavirus by staying at home.

Similarly, the first broadcast work emerging since the mass quarantine was announced has sought to associate brands with the monumental effort being undertaken to save as many lives as possible. A commercial for Virgin Media made up of video diaries and other home-made clips filmed in the last two weeks caught a lot of people’s attention and had many on social media revealing that it had made them feel very emotional.

Other newly released commercials, including one for Deliveroo, have followed a similar template in a bid to boost morale and remind everyone that they are playing their part in maintaining the infrastructure which is enabling everyone to abide by the quarantine rules. Currently, there is a sombre tone to all of this communication and that feels entirely appropriate. Eventually we will start to see more subversive communication reflecting the gallows humour rife on social media but there would be a high price to pay if a brand jumped the gun with this kind of approach and provoked a backlash.

As everyone gathers each Thursday evening at 8 o’clock for the clapping ritual designed to let health workers know how much we all appreciate their efforts, many of us are also sparing a thought for the minimum-wage heroes staffing our supermarkets. They have been doing their best in incredibly trying circumstances and it has often been a thankless task.

Tesco were one of the first brands to commission a bone fide film after the government lockdown and agency BBH asked film production company UNIT9 to work out the logistics of filming a commercial while maintaining social distancing. UNIT9’s Andrew Davies revealed in a podcast last week how the importance of the message about abiding by the new shopping rules had motivated all of the participants.

Davies described how they turned the film around in just a few days from commission to completion and it won’t be the last film hurried through in this fashion. Film production companies are scrambling to adapt their offer to meet the current circumstances and many are already confident of their ability to get stuff made when asked.

The companies of the advertising industry thrive because of the ability to adapt to circumstances and provide ingenuity to overcome difficult problems. While none of them have ever faced any challenge of this magnitude, it can certainly be expected that they will figure out how they can continue to make the engaging content which has secured the UK’s reputation as a cauldron of creativity.