I consider myself more a realist than a royalist but that doesn’t mean the Platinum Jubilee has completely passed me by. I mean, as a freelancer I’m not getting any time off and the constant TV coverage is started to frustrate me even though I barely watch an hour of TV a day, but I can at least appreciate it’s “a big deal.”
As with most “big deals” there are always going to be brands and agencies doing their best to ride the coattails of the celebration and earn a few brownie points with the kind of people that live for this shit. So, through gritted teeth, here are a few of the Jubilee campaigns that caught my attention (or at least stood out in my inbox) this week.
Happy four day weekend everyone!
The Times
Much as I am loath to admit it, particularly given my personal disdain for The Times as a news source, there’s something undeniably quaint about the idea of Liz meeting up with dozens of different versions of her former self. And it’s certainly more inventive than the Evening Standard simply rebranding itself as the “Jubilee Standard.”
After searching through the archives, royal scenes were created featuring Her Majesty’s image throughout the years. In one scene, viewers see a 96-year-old Liz shaking hands with her newly crowned, younger self. In another, four share a royal carriage. The campaign also features a ‘family’ of Queens – aged 25 to 96 – waving from the royal balcony, and the royal jet.
It’s a pretty obvious concept, of course, but the execution is solid and the teams at The&Partnership and Pulse Creative have done an admirable job of celebrating the event without giving into obvious schmaltz.
McDonald’s
Giving the Jubilee a dose of VERY American style humour, McDonald’s “I'm lovin' it” jingle has momentarily morphed into “One's lovin' it” in homage to the Queen and has unveiled some “fancy limited edition packaging.”
The campaign also includes a competition through which winners can get their hands on glaze-finished bone china recreations of the fast feeder's fries sleeve, milkshake cup and burger clamshell. Honestly, I don’t hate it.
#AbolishtheMonarchy
OK now, this one is coming out of leftfield but hear me out. There is a large part of me that stands behind the logic a downtrodden nation of £10-an-hour retail workers shouldn’t be celebrating a woman who has sat on a golden throne for 70 years and just used public money to bail out her (alleged) paedophile son.
That cynical part of me can’t help but nod an approving eye at an anti-monarchy pressure group plastering billboards across the country urging "Make Elizabeth the last.” What’s even more impressive is that the £45,000 campaign is entirely crowd funded. I mean, you have to at least admire the gumption, surely?
Setup by the campaigning group Republic, the concept was first introduced the posters in late July last year. The group wrote on its funding page: “As we approach the end of the Queen’s reign the country needs an honest, grown-up debate about the monarchy.” A pretty childish way to make a grown up statement, but a powerful one.
Reed.co.uk
Worth a mention simply because I love dogs. The job hunting platform went barking mad with its Jubilee celebrations by replacing its usual fluffy Pomeranians with some regal corgis. Six corgis now feature in the careers site’s “Love Mondays again” campaign by Isobel, where some furry friends form the shape of the word “Monday”.
The campaign, running for six weeks across London, features a bus and taxi wrap takeover as well as a partnership with the recently opened Elizabeth Line, as one of the five partner brands helping to launch the line. Yes, it’s twee and yes, it’s only tangentially linked to the Jubilee really but LOOK AT THE FACES!
Justice4Grenfell
In a similar and significantly less childish break from the norm, we look towards Justice4Grenfell, the charity group se tup in the wake of the Grenfell disaster that claimed 72 lives just 5 years ago. The stark image of a Jubilee street party with 72 empty seats is truly chilling.
The group, founded by Judy Bolton and Yvette Williams, has been campaigning relentlessly for accountability and ultimately prosecutions not just for the fire itself, but for the following situation in which many survivors went either unhoused or shuttled between hotel rooms for years.
Williams told the BBC that “there is a heaviness, that so many of our community will not be here for these celebrations.” A sombre statement during a time of national celebration, perhaps, but a necessary one.
Ribena
A dependably tongue-in-cheek idea from Ribena. The soft drinks brand decided to hire some pretty shonky looking Meghan and Harry lookalikes to pose on a balcony on Tower Bridge.
The creative, by BBH, is mildly amusing and speaks to the notorious couple’s presumed disdain at being “left out” of the celebrations. But it’s a pretty one-note gag. Then again, did we ever really expect groundbreaking creative for an event this mired in stuffy tradition?
If there are any I’ve missed, feel free to mention them below… But don’t go out of your way or anything.
