Best Ads of the Week: A Women’s World Cup whirlwind and a cat band’s breakout single

This week saw Full House star Jodie Sweetin return to Sizzler after a 35-year hiatus, Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham cheer on the Fifa Women’s World Cup, ‘NSync’s JC Chasez form a cat boy band and Michael B Jordan team up with Propel to make physical activity accessible to all.

Jodie Sweetin returns to Sizzler for throwback ad

Starring Full House actor Jodie Sweetin, ‘Still as Great as Ever’ opens with a clip of a spot she did for Sizzler as a child in 1987. Then, it cuts to the present-day actor selling viewers on Sizzler’s made-to-order steaks and unlimited salad bar. Between her selling points, she can’t help but sell herself and her acting chops. The campaign was led by Mischief @ No Fixed Address.

‘NSync’s JC Chasez & cat boy band remix the Meow-Mix jingle

It ain’t no lie: 90s heartthrob JC Chasez of ‘NSync fame recorded a remix of the 1974 jingle with a band of cats called the Tabby 5. The work continues the ongoing Meow Mix Remix campaign, which reimagines the brand’s iconic tune in a wide range of musical genres. The campaign was co-developed by agencies PSOne and BBH US.

Calm spotlights unseen signals with Lioness Fran Kirby

Released days before the Fifa Women’s World Cup tournament begins, powerful work from suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) draws on parallels faced by young women who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and whose calls for help can all too often be misunderstood or go unrecognized.

Johnnie Walker & Hannah Waddingham rally people to watch more women’s sport

Also inspired by the impending WWC is a new ad from scotch whiskey brand Johnnie Walker. In the spot, Emmy Award winner Hannah Waddingham challenges sports fans to level the playing field by watching more women’s sports. The campaign brings to light that women make up 40% of all athletes yet receive under 10% of total sports news coverage. The campaign was ideated by Hunter PR and produced by creative agency Hello Sunshine.

You’ll never guess Orange France’s World Cup plot twist

A video from Orange France went viral over the weekend, with fans calling it the best women’s football ad and others hailing it for its use of visual effects. The campaign, co-developed by the telecoms giant and Publicis Groupe’s Marcel, challenges stars French national team stars Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann (well, sort of). What begins as a sizzle reel of stand-out moments by the players is later turned on its head after a message reads, “Only Les Bleus can give us these emotions. But that’s not them you’ve just seen,” thus revealing that it was entirely made using VFX.

Propel & Michael B Jordan break down societal barriers to fitness

On Wednesday, PepsiCo’s Propel Fitness Water launched the Propel Your City Project, an effort to improve nationwide access to fitness this summer and fronted by resident celebrity ambassador Michael B. Jordan. The ad, directed by prolific music video director Nabil Elderkin, sees the Emmy Award-winning actor hiking an LA hillside bespeckled with mustard flowers. Members of the nonprofit WalkGoodLA join him while narration from Jordan and music from Houston-based experimental trio Khraugnbin play in the background.

Magners will help save the bees if you listen to its Spotify ads

Listening to Spotify ads will raise money to support the UK’s struggling bee population thanks to a new partnership between Magners Irish Cider and Good-Loop. As a third of the world’s food production depends on bees, the brand is raising awareness of the need to support bee habitats through a fundraising campaign, ‘Gardens – Best Served with Magners.’ Every time someone listens to Magners’ new spot on Spotify, a donation gets generated to The Bee Friendly Trust, a charity supporting bee habitats and other pollinators in the UK. The campaign, which will run through August, aims to raise some £22,000.

Adidas and Arsenal launch faux radio station celebrating homegrown talent

In a new Adidas film by Weirdo, English Premier League team Arsenal FC sets up a fictional radio station to pay homage to its roots: ‘Islington FM.’ Drawing on the new kit’s black wave graphic, the film challenges talent like Wolf Alice’s Theo Ellis and Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp to put their spin on the track Number One Candidate by the UK hip-hop artist AntsLive.

All kinds of girls Barbie-fy with the Tangle Teezer hairbrush

Riding on the hot pink coattails of the upcoming Barbie movie release, British hairbrush brand Tangle Teezer released a social campaign starring a trio of influencers to embody the Barbie brand ethos of empowerment, playfulness and inclusivity. In the ad, each influencer has a different hair texture but can effortlessly detangle and coiffe with the brush, giving them hair smooth enough to belong on Barbie’s head.

This campaign urges people not to fly as Europe battles record heat wave

As Europe gets hit by some of the warmest temperatures on record this week, industry groups Badvertising, the New Weather Institute, Possible and Ad Free Cities jointly launch the concept of ‘Fry-Day’ (July 21, the day when the peak number of scheduled flights leaving Heathrow clashes with the last day of the English school term) through a campaign called ‘Planes on the Brain.’ The work proposes an end to airline adverts, including increasing demand for flights.

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