Episode 73 - Bounty Return Scheme Ad Reviewed by GSK
This week on Advertisers Watching Ads we’re watching the Bounty Return Scheme ad. Chosen by our partners Contagious, this sweet Celebrations ad reminds us all of how lonely some Bounties might feel as the proverbial “less loved” chocolate in the Celebrations box.
Does the ad resonate with all chocolate lovers or just Bounty fans? What’s next for the star crossed lovers in the clip? And what does our guest Rida Alvi (Regional Marketing Manager for Aquafresh and Sensodyne at GSK) think about the #LonelyBounty?
Watch our latest episode to find out more.
Transcript
The following transcript is automatically generated so may not be 100% accurate, but will give you a good idea of what was discussed.
Tom Ollerton 0:06
Hello and welcome to Advertisers Watching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton, I'm the founder of Automated Creative, and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands' ads and discuss what's good and bad about them. We are brought to you this week by Contagious, our partners who have helped choose the ad this week. So go to contagious.com after this and check those guys out. But before we get to this week's ad, let's meet this week's special guest.
Rida Alvi 0:32
Hi. Hi, everyone. Hi, Tom. My name is Rida. I am the Regional Marketing Manager for Aquafresh and Sensodyne at GSK.
Tom Ollerton 0:44
Thanks for coming back on the show for a second time, I think it's the second time.
Rida Alvi 0:48
Second time.
Tom Ollerton 0:49
Indeed it is. Right. Let's get to this week's ad. So what did you think of that ad the first time you saw it. As a consumer, how did you react to it?
So, Rida, what did you think of that ad the first time you saw it? As a consumer, how did you react to it?
Rida Alvi 2:29
First, I am a Bounty fan. Okay. I really like Bounty and I know I'm one of the fewer ones perhaps. And my mother is obsessed with Bounty. So when I saw the ad, I was kind of confused a little like, "Why is the bounty sad?" Like, like, what's going on? And the first part I found really sweet, and towards the end I was a little confused. I'll be honest. I think I'm one of the few people who didn't, to be honest, love the ad. I thought it started off well, but it kind of lost me halfway. And I may get a lot of hate for this because I know people have loved this particular ad online. I genuinely was a little confused when the Brussels sprouts showed up and I was like, "Are they thinking of having like Brussels sprouts flavor?" Or, you know, like combination. And I was like, "They're gonna ruin my Bounty." And so, yeah, I was a little confused until, you know, of course, the end card came up, et cetera. But yeah, I mean, it was, it was a nice ad, but it left me with a lot of questions. What about you?
Tom Ollerton 3:36
I'm a big fan of ads that break conventions. We work together. I've talked about this a lot. I think best practice is misleading, and I think that brands should always aim to have ads that are different, distinctive and memorable. And having a giant, a giant guy dressed up as a Bounty, having a sort of mini love affair with the Brussels sprouts is, is a lot of those things. Whether, whether that transpires that you would even take back the Bounty or buy the product in the supermarket is a different question, but I generally really liked it.
Rida Alvi 4:09
I think from a creative standpoint, it was sweet ad, it was cute. But like I said, it left me with questions, and I think that's the business side of my head kind of going, "Okay. So how will this work? What does this mean for this brand? Did it really help increase sales?" I think for me, the question was more around the idea that, okay, the Bounty doesn't get eaten but are you encouraging people to say, I don't use Bounty? Will it have a negative impact on your sales because people are just returning the Bounty? Or is this going to make people sympathize with the Bounty? Like, I wasn't sure what was the eventual direction they wanted to take the consumers with? Or did they want to keep it vague and leave it to us to decide what do I want to do with my Bounty? Do I want to keep it? Try it? Or do I want to just turn it in for something else?
Tom Ollerton 5:08
So what would have made it better for you?
Rida Alvi 5:10
I would actually like to see what happens in the end. Like, I feel like, yes, they go off and do that. But what happens after that? What happens to the Bounty and the Brussels sprouts?
Tom Ollerton 5:19
Rida, I'm not sure that's entirely suitable for work, but I...
Rida Alvi 5:23
I agree. But like I am now, super curious. Like I really, I think if I saw another ad followed, which was the story of the Bounty and the sprouts, you got me. I really enjoyed the style. I found it really warm and, and sweet. It was only towards the middle when the Brussels sprouts showed, I kind of went, "Are they creating a new flavor?" But like the ad did what it did, right? It got our attention.
Tom Ollerton 5:51
So I think quite often on the show, we see some brilliant creative ideas and executions, and I think this is personally, but often the call to action at the end can be vague.
Do you think that bit's clear enough?
Rida Alvi 6:05
No. So actually, that's a great point, because when I was trying to read up about this and I was just checking in on what are the reactions on Twitter, etc., everybody's talking about the percentage of consumers who like Bounty the least or you know about this lonely Bounty. But the mechanics of what do you do next? How do you do it? Is, to be honest, a little unclear. So it makes me wonder whether this was more about PR more than actually returning the Bounty and if it was and I think it's brilliant, right? From a PR perspective, this is a brilliant ad. It's gotten people talking about the chocolate that nobody really talks about. It's, you know, got strong opinions to the forefront about their love of the, of Bounty. But if there is a mechanic at the end of it, I am not 100% sure what that is and how it operates. If it's just meant to drive PR, brilliantly done. I mean, you cannot force them from a PR standpoint about what they've managed to achieve in terms of talkability, about the viralness of this campaign and getting people out of the woodwork to actually talk and confess about their love for Bounty. If it's meant to drive any action from this, I think that to me is unfair, I'm not 100% sure what action.
Tom Ollerton 7:30
How can the industry learn from this ad? What are the key takeaways here from a positive perspective?
Rida Alvi 7:37
The positives? It definitely cuts through. You, you do sit up and you take notice. Whether you notice it because you don't like bounty or whether because you do like Bounty, you notice it. And you know, there is something to be said about a lonely chocolate. It doesn't matter what the chocolate, a lonely chocolate is not, is not a good chocolate at all, in my opinion. To something you say a lot, right? It breaks the formula, which is really great. It gets people talking, which again, is absolutely, absolutely fabulous. I find it really interesting that they actually call out their own other chocolates as well in, in the ad. And that was that was, that was actually a nice little spin, I thought. To be honest, if not anything wrong, it's I think maybe just culturally didn't resonate with me because I don't live in that part of the world and I don't experience Christmas.
Tom Ollerton 8:33
Because it's, it's interesting to push your own words back on, you've, at the start, it's like, "I love Bounty, but I don't like this advert." But then you're like, "No, it's done a great job." It's got in the press, obviously, and it's it's got people fired up and social. So...
Rida Alvi 8:50
It is down to the fact about how it resonates with me. So from an advertising point of view, good job, great PR, great talkability. They've done it in a nice way for the season. But is this something that for me will make me necessarily go and you know, buy a Bounty, maybe not.
Tom Ollerton 9:13
But look, what I need you to do on the count of three is score the ad out of 5. Three, two, one, go. Three and a half, four.
Three and a half, four. Fantastic. Rida, thank you so much for coming on again. I sincerely hope this won't be the last time you'll be on Advertisers Watching Ads. Speak to you soon.
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