The Best/Worst Ads With Trump As Linchpin.
Brands are already jumping all over his mugshot. Free article.
Ex-President Donald Trump has appeared in well over 100 brand ads worldwide, none of them with his approval. But ALL of them have used him as a negative linchpin.
Here are a few of the best examples, 13 ads:
Salvation Army (Brazil)
Translation: “It may not be perfect for you, but it’s perfect for us”. The artwork makes this execution a winner. Ad is from April, 2018. Agency: McCann, Brazil.
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Sept.Info, Switzerland
The online news magazine website’s tagline is: “The Best Of Slow French Journalism”. The Trump burger with mayonnaise hair is a compelling sight. Flag unneeded. From January, 2019. Agency: Cavalcade, Geneva.
Art Museum Konstruktiv (Switzerland)
As the press note states: “Constructivist art is an art movement with a strong emphasis on abstraction”. Ad from October, 2017. Agency: Ruf Lanz, Zurich.
Greenpeace (Denmark)
Several brands have tried to use Trump’s iconic hair as a riffing visual. This is the best, so far. Poster ad from November, 2017, placed on Greenpeace’s social websites. Agency: Hjaltelin Stahl, Denmark.
Carex Mini-Storage, Canada
Headline: “Small Spaces For Your Big Secrets”. In the zoom-in (right), you see a man who resembles Trump with boxes of blonde wigs and MAGA hats and hairbrushes. From December, 2017. Agency: Rethink, Montreal.
JBL Noise Cancelling Headphones, Hong Kong
I love layouts that show product benefits without showing the product. Ad from September, 2018. Agency: Cheil Worldwide.
Virgin (Australia)
Billboard for Virgin’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Whatever that thing is on top of Trump’s head does look like a blonde piece of sushi. Ad agency: CHE Proximity.
Der Spiegel Newspaper (Germany)
COPY TRANSLATION: The US government is fueling fear of migrants. The US president is descended from immigrants. Tagline: We Hold The Mirror Up To The World. Spiegel means Mirror, fyi. Ad agency: Serviceplan, Hamburg.
The “i” Newspaper (UK)
“Brickie”. Brits are the world’s wordsmiths. From 2019. Ad agency: Atomic, London.
Durex Lubricants & Harley-Davidson (Fake Spec Ads)
Left (via the country of Georgia): “Durex Lubes. Get in anywhere. Really. Anywhere”. Right: I found this fake billboard here in January, 2018. Eight months later, Trump was backing a boycott of Harley-Davidson after the manufacturer threatened to move production overseas. If I was Harley’s CMO, I’d blanket the country with this billboard.
CBN (Brazil)
“The radio that plays the news”. CBN is an all-news radio station. Trump has been “adjusted” to look like David Bowie on his 1973 album “Aladdin Sane,” except they butchered the lightning bolt and forgot the teardrop — an absolutely horrifying visual. From 2017. Agency: Agência UM, Recife.
Der TagesSpiegel Newspaper (Germany)
Lastly, still the best use of Trump in an ad. Print ad for the German paper (The Daily Mirror) ran in October, 2016. Just a photo of a pile of newspapers. But you have to able to think like a classic visual idea art director to create an ad like this. Perfect. Ad agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin.
Some wonderful work here. Never thought anything good could come of the man.