5 ads that boldly talk about life and death

This article tells how five brands use Qingming Festival as an opportunity to convey their remembrance and commemorate the deceased and show their respect and cherishment for life.

Every year, the Qingming Festival takes advantage of the situation and focuses on keywords such as "remembrance", "outing", and "solar terms", seemingly intentionally avoiding the topic of death.

Everyone will experience birth, aging, illness and death, and will inevitably experience the departure of loved ones. How should we deal with this great sadness? How should we commemorate it? Qingming Festival is actually a good opportunity for communication.

The following five brand cases may give you a new perspective.

01 Ele.me "Ele.me Seasonal Official - Qingming Festival"

Before the Qingming Festival this year, Ele.me released a special "reunion" short film.

In her book "After Mom Left," writer Michelle wrote that she could never remember the date of her mother's death, but she knew all of her mother's little habits during her lifetime: she had to drink light beer with salty peanuts, eat pizza with spicy pickles... because that was how her mother used to express her love.

Food is the carrier of their emotional communication, allowing her to relive the time she spent with her mother at any time. Ele.me also captured this subtle connection between people, using food as a carrier to re-enact the Qingming tomb-sweeping scene.

The father finally drank the alcohol he had abstained from for a long time, and the son realized at this moment that he rarely drank and talked with him; the husband still remembered his wife's habit of "not eating onions" and continued this habit after she passed away; the granddaughter brought the forbidden milk tea and desserts to her grandmother, so that she could also taste her favorite food.

Reuniting in a familiar atmosphere is a tacit understanding between the two parties. The "little changes" made for each other hide the longing for each other. Everyone expresses love in their own way.

The whole film does not deliberately exaggerate the heavy atmosphere, but makes this day almost the same as any other day, conveying an open-minded attitude: death is also a part of life, reducing the taboo of death.

02 Sanlian Life Weekly "Let's Say Goodbye Properly"

Yu Hua wrote in his novel "The Seventh Day": The departure of a loved one is not a rainstorm, but a long dampness in this life. How should we let go of the death of a loved one? This short film explains.

This is a short film titled "Let's Say Goodbye Properly" shot by Sanlian Life Weekly during the Qingming Festival this year, in which Pu Shu was invited to serve as the narrator.

The first sentence of the article interprets the concept of "death" in a poetic way: "The feeling of one less person in the world is like water disappearing into water."

It seems to be "disappearance", but in fact it is another kind of "integration". There is no difference between life and death, the two are just transforming into each other.

The short film slowly unfolds from the perspective of the deceased, and has a conversation with everyone in front of the screen, as if it can really see through the regrets and pain experienced by the user.

Although we can never meet again, the bond between people still exists: leaving behind comic books, favorite singers, a ray of sunshine in the subway, a turning fan... As long as you still remember, our story will not end.

This short film represents all the departures without saying goodbye, and is a solemn farewell. Some companionship does not need to last until old age, as we have already seen each other for the last time. You do not need to be sad, as I have already transformed into all things and galloped freely between heaven and earth.

03 Cerveza Victoria "Reunion on Day of the Dead"

Will the deceased relatives know when you go to the grave to offer sacrifices? Cerveza Victoria, a Mexican beer brand, once shot a Day of the Dead ad like this.

The girl in white woke up in the endless chrysanthemum field, and gradually heard the sad call of the man. The girl walked through the woods, came to the river, and rowed a boat full of chrysanthemums... until a strong light appeared in the sky.

On the other side, the family who were preparing food for the dinner were also sucked into another space to reunite with the girl. And all this was thanks to the taste of beer.

The placement of the advertisement may seem a bit nonsensical, but it is actually in line with local customs. Mexicans believe that death is not the end, and the Day of the Dead is the time for them to reunite with the souls of their loved ones, so the emergence of "Day of the Dead Beer" is justified.

04 Meituan Youxuan "Eating Well is a Major Event in Life"

If you were given a chance to restart your life, what would you choose? In Meituan Youxuan’s Ghost Festival advertisement, you will see an unexpected yet expected answer.

In this father's version of the "restarting life" story, he gave up the wealth and glory of his next life in exchange for the opportunity to have another meal with his daughter in this life.

"Eating" is a very common thing, but when combined with the time distance between "life and death", it will undoubtedly increase the weight of this thing.

The emotional core of the story is very heavy, but the brand did not deliberately create drama, but instead told the story in a life-like narrative. It was not until the father passed away that the daughter found a refrigerator full of frozen beef balls, and that scene touched the audience's tears.

Father left time, but left love behind.

05 Xiaodu "Take a leave from heaven and spend one more day with you"

When one person leaves, how should the other person live his/her next life? Every time I watch this commercial, I always have new feelings in my heart. Love wants you to look back, but also wants you to look forward.

Lao Du took a day off from heaven and sneaked back to the world to see his wife. He found that his wife's life was no different during his absence. The secret recipe of osmanthus cake was changed and the dance was held as usual.

Just as Lao Du was about to leave in disappointment, the familiar dance music sounded and his wife danced in the air. At that moment, she seemed to be saying: I have never forgotten you, but I just kept you deep in my heart.

The sentence "We detected that we have listened to this song 246 times together in the past year" not only ignites the tears of the whole film, but also cleverly interprets the relationship between AI intelligence and human life.

Xiaodu cannot replace the company of family members, but it can serve as another extension of "company".

Compared with the previous generation, this generation of young people seems to have a more open attitude towards death.

Go to the mountains to guard graves, hold funerals for yourself, make wills before death, discuss donation issues... Someone even opened a "death coffee shop" in Shanghai. The latte art is the word "甸", and even the decorations in the store are funeral clothes, urns, and coffins.

The times are moving forward, concepts are changing, and brand marketing should also keep pace with the times. Facing death squarely can make us respect life more and cherish the present.

Author:Aye

Source: WeChat public account "Shock Copywriter (ID: SHOCKCW)"