Creative Ads That Startle: From Airplanes to Bedrooms

Creative advertising can evoke emotions, making consumers remember the product and feel the brand's message. The following six cases show how brands use startling creativity to win hearts.

Flight Taking Off? Switch to Takeoff Mode

Do you feel anxious every time a plane takes off? With many airlines now allowing phone use during takeoff, Japan's All Nippon Airways developed the "Takeoff Mode App" to keep passengers relaxed. The game is simple: control a ball on the screen with soothing music to distract your mind. The app also detects ambient sounds, triggering the game when it picks up the plane's takeoff noise.

IKEA Invites You to a "Bed Movie"

Going to the movies offers audiovisual thrills, but you can't lie in a comfortable bed like at home. IKEA made it possible: in Khimki, Russia, they transformed a local cinema's screening room into a cozy bedroom with lamps, a large bed, and cushions. For the price of a movie ticket, audiences can enjoy blockbusters lying in bed.

KDDI: Far Apart, Yet Close

Christmas can be bittersweet for long-distance couples. Japanese telecom KDDI used technology to help a couple in Tokyo and Osaka share a Christmas Eve dinner despite the distance. As they sat at their respective tables, the other appeared on screen as if sitting across. They could eat and chat, and sensors made their clinking glasses feel real. Even the waiter serving one appeared beside the other, providing service.

Burger King Is Right Next to You

Imagine viewing an apartment: you check the bedroom, living room, and bathroom, then head to the kitchen—only to find a Burger King restaurant. Surprised? Burger King, known for bold stunts, set up a takeout counter inside a Madrid apartment to promote delivery. They listed the apartment for rent, and within five days, about 800 people called to view it. Staff posing as agents showed the place, deliberately saving the kitchen for last. Hidden cameras captured guests' amused reactions, which were edited into a viral video. Soon everyone knew the spot.

Protecting Children: You Can Help

On a Seoul street, a public service ad about child abuse was displayed. When passersby approached, they saw their own shadow become part of the ad, allowing them to pose and block the abuser in the image. The ad aimed to remind people that stopping abuse isn't difficult and urged them to step up for children in danger.

Andes Beer: Say What's on Your Mind

A mother had been secretly dating her son's best friend for six years. Unsure how to tell her son, she recorded a video confessing her feelings. She hid the video on a beer bottle; when her son scanned the QR code, the secret was revealed. After watching, he cheerfully raised his beer to them, and the atmosphere was light like a friend gathering. The mother and her friend's love was blessed. This was Andes Beer's campaign: if you have something hard to say, download the app, record a video, turn it into a QR code, and stick it on a beer bottle to give to the person you need to tell.