10 Ways Brands Are Creative Right Now

After plans for the year went off the rails and social distancing has halted production, fast-tracked messaging and creative workarounds are the new normal for brands developing and shooting adverts. Plenty have risen to the challenge with impressive spots and engagement tactics targeted at homebound viewers seeking entertainment and ways to help frontline heroes and essential workers.

While brands like Nike, Apple and Burger King are leaning into social distancing activities, Dominos is aiming to help people find jobs, and Toyota and Lego (via the British government) are embracing animation as an alternative to shoots.

Watch them all here: From ads made from recycled material and b-roll, to those created entirely on Zoom, we’ve rounded up the best from the lockdown so far.

Thursday was a tough day for staff at BBDO and DDB. BBDO has gone through a round of layoffs totaling around 10-13% of its staff across its U.S. offices, including BBDO New York CCO Greg Hahn and director of integrated production David Rolfe.

Hahn's tenure at BBDO New York lasted 15 years, with the last seven as CCO. Under his leadership, the agency launched a number of memorable campaigns including breathing new life into Snickers' “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign. BBDO New York produce the famous Brady Bunch edition of that campaign as well as the below Sports Illustrated ad.

After he was promoted from ecd to CCO of the flagship office in 2013, the network was named Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year in 2014 and U.S. Agency of the Year in 2015.

See it: Check out the best work from BBDO New York during Hahn's tenure.

Related: DDB also implemented an unknown number of furloughs, salary reductions, structured retirements and other measures, including around 30 employees across all departments. The reductions were, unfortunately, followed by what some are saying was poorly worded internal messaging.

What It’s Like Taking on a New Leadership Role in the Middle of a Pandemic

At a time when leadership is arguably more important than ever, recently installed executives are being asked to make decisions and provide guidance for people that they’ve barely gotten the chance to know—and even then, only via video chat. Plus, any goals they may have had when they signed on have gone out the window to make way for urgent matters amid the pandemic.

Read more: We talked with executives like Tracey Pattani, CEO of BSSP, and John Maxham, CCO of Laughlin Constable, about what professional life feels like when the "normal" is new in more ways than one.

Thanks to the needs of medical staff and panic-buying amid the pandemic, hand sanitizer continues to fly off shelves. But the shortage may worsen as the essential materials needed to make hand sanitizer—plastic bottles, alcohol, gel polymers and even towelettes used for antibacterial wipes—are increasingly hard to source or prohibitively expensive for manufacturers.

Adweek's Robert Klara talked to several companies who produce sanitizers about the skyrocketing prices of these materials, including one brand that was already planning to sell sanitizer in aluminum containers to reduce plastic waste.

Read more: For many brands, the chokehold that reaches all the way back up the line to the start of the supply chain itself.

To explore, address and champion diversity and inclusion in the ad industry, Adweek is launching D&I TBD, a biweekly audio magazine. In the first episode, Glenn Singleton, president and founder of Pacific Educational Group and Courageous Conversation, discusses his early experiences in becoming a leader in the space, the importance of authenticity to creating inclusivity, and the persistent issues of systemic racism that holds the industry back.

Listen here: Singleton, an Adweek Champions honoree in 2020, offers tangible “musts” in understanding the opportunities in diversity, inclusion, equality and equity, including a look into the Courageous Conversations books that he published in 2012 and 2014.

Have you been following #AdweekTogether? On our daily live show that’s broadcast on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and our website, we talk about the challenges the advertising and marketing world are facing today—and how we can overcome them, together. Watch the latest episode with Taboola's Adam Singolda here.

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Insights

No stock footage, all original content from Memac Ogilvy in Dubai.

Join Adweek, BEN and IBM Watson Advertising for the Elevate: AI Live Virtual Event, April 20th, to gain key insights on how to successfully integrate artificial intelligence into your business. Register for free today.

Highclere Castle Gin is rolling out a web series and an online party with the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.

Instagram Live series raises funds for Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants.

The series is hosted by CNN's Lisa Ling.

Its flagship product will be available in 777 more supermarkets this week.

NYIAX inks deal with DistroScale for 'upfronts every day.'

COVID-19 calls for a change of strategies.