Spikes Asia 2017: Is the global creative idea dead?

In a packed session at Spikes Asia 2017, a team from McCann Worldgroup presented several cases to highlight the power of local insights and how they could translate into powerful creative ideas.

 

In Australia, the per capita spend on cosmetic surgery was the highest in the world. Australian women were outspending their American counterparts in cosmetic surgery procedures. It was in this backdrop that beauty giant L'Oreal saw a great product demo opportunity.

 

It showed a woman who did a laser treatment on one half of her face and applied L'Oreal products on the other half. The laser surgery was painful, the other treatment was not. Through social media the progress of both sides was shown to consumers, giving new meaning to a live product demo.

 

The brand saw a huge offtake in sales post the campaign, by as much as 44 per cent. "The idea was centrally focused, yet globally relevant," said Pat Baron, National CCO McCann Worldgroup Australia.

 

His co-presenter Heok Seong Ng, CCO, McCann Worldgroup Malaysia got attention to local brands. If a global brand did locally relevant content, how could local brands act in the local context? Don't underestimate the local brand, was the message that came out loud and clear. 

 

Thailand used the country's unique sense of humour to focus on cops detaining people over trivial matters. It used a dramatic encounter between a cop and two riders in a highway to drive the attention towards eating healthy. The Verena official site saw five million views in five days and a truly local idea had connected even with a global audience. 

 

The third example was from Afghanistan where a culturally relevant idea of tying a talisman to babies and help them ward of evil, was cleverly used to help the government's immunisation drive. 

"The immunity charm elevates culture into incentive," said Seong Ng.

 

So what was the verdict? Is the global creative idea dead? "The global creative idea is not entirely dead, but it has to have a deeper meaning within local cultures," said Baron wrapping up the session.