Jubilee ads fit for a Queen
There’s been a right Royal buzz in the air over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday! Did you go to a street party or watch the coverage? Whatever you did, we’re sure you’ll have struggled to miss all the Jubilee marketing campaigns. Agencies and brands have been working for months to turn the feel-good factor into campaigns fit for our Queen.
And with the subject matter being our HRH, the ASA were quick to reiterate advertising guidelines. Brands could ensure they created jubilee marketing campaigns that were compliant with regulations. Permission had to be given to feature the Royal Emblem. Messages of congratulations had to be generic, unless brands had received the Royal Warrant. In effect, companies were creating compelling marketing in a regulated environment. We were presented with the ’freedom of a tight brief’ as the great David Ogilvy once said. So, let’s take a look at which Jubilee 2022 marketing campaigns stood out to us.
One’s Lovin’ It
First up is the beautiful McDonald’s campaign which connects all audiences in a playful manner with a cultural moment. The brand simply – and temporarily – changed its infamous tagline to ‘One’s Lovin’ It‘ as part of celebrations. They also created a specially-recorded version of the earworm with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This ‘regal’ version replaced the original TV advert over the bank holiday, was played on the radio, and promoted in large outdoor poster sites.
Supporting this multi-media campaign, McDonald’s was an official partner of the Jubilee Pageant on Sunday. To mark the occasion, the brand gave its iconic packaging a royal update. They turned it into a limited-edition China set which displayed the Platinum Jubilee Pageant detailing. These collectable Big Mac, fries and milkshake China packaging could be won by 70 lucky customers.
Celebrating the ‘royally good’
While McDonald’s lead with humour, Tesco lead its Jubilee campaign with a more important message. They chose to highlight the great work that ‘everyday heroes’ do. Tesco took to their social channels asking customers to nominate community heroes who had been ‘royally good’. In May, the first of 70 winners were presented with a £700 Tesco Jubilee Card by delivery corgi, Iggy Pup.
Through the ages
To promote their exclusive coverage of the Platinum Jubilee, The Times and The Sunday Times used nostalgia to take audiences back in time. The campaign played out in press, digital, social and radio to take readers through the years of her reign in a sensitive way. They created a sense of evolution with the contrast between black and white, and colour imagery. The campaign featured the 96-year-old Queen shaking hands with her newly-crowned, younger self. It also showed a ‘family’ of Queens (aged 25 to 96) waving from the royal jet.
Coronation Chicken and Chickeneaters!
The ever tongue-in-cheek KFC, marked the Platinum Jubilee by launching their Coronation Chicken Tower Burger. This was available at 11 stores with royal connections, for a limited time only.
KFC joined with Deliveroo to give customers living in the Royal Boroughs of Windsor and Kensington the chance to win a Coronation Chicken Tower Burger delivered to their house. The burger would arrive by a ‘Coronation Convoy’ – a Range Rover together with Deliveroo riders and royal red stripes! The limited-edition burger would be laid on a pillow and guarded by a KFC ‘Chickeneater’!
It’s a great example of how to create a campaign where the product is at the heart of it. They used just the right amount of humour to stand out. This stunt was perfect for their target market and tapped into their primary distribution channel with the clever partnership with Deliveroo.
At ThinkOTB we love seeing so many brands in the UK having fun and creating emotional connections with customers. Are you thinking ahead to other national events like Halloween and Bonfire Night? Talk to ThinkOTB about creative ways you could market your brand.
