• The Swipe
  • Posts
  • Tornado Warranties, COVID Crushes & Lipstick Confidence

Tornado Warranties, COVID Crushes & Lipstick Confidence

Tornado-tossed TVs, flirty viruses, and lipstick-wearing legends—this one’s got everything.

Welcome back to your daily marketing swipe file. The best ads, served fresh daily, and as tasty as your favorite slice of pepperoni pizza. 🍕 Let’s dig in.

In partnership with

Marketing ideas for marketers who hate boring

The best marketing ideas come from marketers who live it.

That’s what this newsletter delivers.

The Marketing Millennials is a look inside what’s working right now for other marketers. No theory. No fluff. Just real insights and ideas you can actually use—from marketers who’ve been there, done that, and are sharing the playbook.

Every newsletter is written by Daniel Murray, a marketer obsessed with what goes into great marketing. Expect fresh takes, hot topics, and the kind of stuff you’ll want to steal for your next campaign.

Because marketing shouldn’t feel like guesswork. And you shouldn’t have to dig for the good stuff.

*This is sponsored content. See our partnership options here.

'When Disasters Strike, We'll Pay' - Allo

  • What’s happening: This elaborate ad for Allo, a "Portable Electronics Retailer #1 in Ukraine," depicts a miniature, whimsical landscape being ravaged by a tornado. The tornado is filled with various household items and electronics, including a laptop, a Smart TV, a coffee maker, and even cows, all being thrown around. In the foreground, a yellow, diamond-shaped warning sign typical of road signs reads: "BEWARE! WHEN THE DISASTERS STRIKE, WE'LL PAY. GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. +$10.00."

  • Why it’s awesome: This ad is incredibly creative and visually captivating, using a fantastical disaster scenario to highlight a very practical product: an extended warranty. By showing beloved electronics literally caught in a whirlwind of chaos, Allo taps into the fear of loss and damage. The immediate offer of a solution ("WE'LL PAY") and the small, reassuring price point (+ $10.00) make the extended warranty seem like a small investment for significant peace of mind against life's unpredictable "disasters." It's an imaginative and effective way to sell protection.

'Love Exclusively Online' - Activ

  • What’s happening: This ad from Activ, likely a dating or social app, features a playful text message exchange: "Dana: Are you coming over tonight? 😉" followed by "Arthur: On my way! 😍." However, the emoji next to Dana's message is a winking face, while the emoji next to Arthur's message is a bright yellow, spiky, coronavirus-like icon with a heart face. At the bottom, the ad states: "During the quarantine, Activ reminds: love exclusively online."

  • Why it’s awesome: This ad is incredibly clever and timely, using humor to address the challenges of dating and socializing during a pandemic. By visually contrasting a hopeful romantic exchange with the stark reality of the virus (represented by the COVID emoji), it creates a memorable and relatable scenario. It playfully encourages safe dating practices and positions Activ as a solution for maintaining connections and "love" while adhering to quarantine guidelines, all with a lighthearted and engaging tone.

Flex your product muscles with Product for Engineers.

Product for Engineers is PostHog’s newsletter dedicated to helping engineers and founders improve their product skills. With over 50k subscribers, it is a trusted source bridging the gap between product and engineering, helping you ship products users love.

Issues cover curated advice on building great products, lessons (and mistakes) they’ve learned from building PostHog, and deep dives on the culture and strategies of top startups.

*This is sponsored content

'The Lipstick Effect' - 999 Piyanping

  • What’s happening: This vibrant and elaborate ad for 999 Piyanping, a medication for skin inflammation (often linked to traditional Chinese medicine), features a stylish male figure applying lipstick, surrounded by a rich, illustrative backdrop. The overall aesthetic is reminiscent of Chinese pop culture or a graphic novel. Various elements are integrated, including tubes of the product, lightning bolts, traditional patterns, and smaller figures, with Chinese text throughout. The visual theme appears to be about looking good and feeling confident, despite skin issues.

  • Why it’s awesome: This ad is a bold and unexpected departure for a pharmaceutical product, especially one for skin inflammation. By using a highly stylized, almost surreal aesthetic with a male figure applying lipstick, it subverts traditional beauty and health advertising tropes. It suggests that Piyanping allows you to feel confident and "put together," even when dealing with skin issues. The rich, intricate design makes it incredibly eye-catching and memorable, creating a strong brand identity that stands out in a crowded market.

Live Life to the Emptiest. Be a Chicken. Be Safe.' - BBDO Malaysia

  • What’s happening: This quirky and humorous ad from BBDO Malaysia features a stylized, muscled chicken character with a headband, watering a wilting potted plant. The prominent text at the top reads: "LIVE LIFE TO THE EMPTIEST." Below this, it says: "BE A CHICKEN. BE SAFE." The BBDO Malaysia logo is at the bottom. The ad playfully encourages cautious behavior, particularly relevant during times of public health concerns like a pandemic, by reinterpreting the derogatory term "chicken" (meaning cowardly) as a positive attribute for safety.

  • Why it’s awesome: This ad is brilliant for its unexpected and highly memorable approach to promoting safety. By flipping the negative connotation of "being a chicken" on its head and pairing it with the seemingly contradictory phrase "Live life to the emptiest," it creates an immediate sense of intrigue and humor. The quirky illustration and bold messaging make it stand out, effectively conveying the importance of staying home and minimizing social contact in a lighthearted yet impactful way.

Eliminate hiring guesswork: hire top marketing pros from Marketing Wizzards, ready to boost engagement and conversions.

*This is sponsored content

Your Plastic Diet' - WWF

  • What’s happening: This striking ad from WWF features a blue credit card being held by chopsticks over a bowl of dark liquid, resembling a condiment like soy sauce. Bold Spanish text on the left translates to: "In 1 WEEK you ate the equivalent of this credit card." Below this, it explains, "Microplastic is in our food, water, and air. Find out how much plastic you eat at: TUDIETAPLASTICA.ORG." The ad is a collaboration between Caracol Televisión and WWF.

  • Why it’s awesome: This ad is incredibly effective at conveying a shocking and unsettling truth about microplastic consumption in a highly visual and memorable way. The juxtaposition of a credit card – a symbol of modern consumption – with the act of eating immediately grabs attention. Quantifying the amount of plastic consumed (the equivalent of a credit card per week) makes an abstract problem tangible and personal. The call to action to "TUDIETAPLASTICA.ORG" empowers individuals to learn more, making this a powerful and urgent campaign for environmental awareness.

P.S. Want to collaborate?

Here are some ways.

  1. Share today’s news with someone who would dig it. It really helps us to grow.

  2. Let’s partner up. Looking for some ad inventory? Cool, we’ve got some.

  3. Deeper integrations. If it’s some longer form storytelling you are after, reply to this email and we can get the ball rolling.

That’s a wrap! We hope these bold, fun, and inspiring ads gave you your daily dose of creative energy. See you soon for some more best-in-class marketing goodies!

How was today's swipe file?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.