Inspiring “Back to the New Normal” Ad Campaigns by Brands for the Post-COVID-19 Era

Each sector has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic differently. And they all acted differently. Brands always have to act promptly when it comes to digital ad campaigns. What high-profile brands do leads the way and inspires other businesses to take action for returning to the “new normal”.

The businesses which survived this crisis during the first months of COVID-19 are now getting back to their work. However, they didn’t find it as they have left it before. The market has changed, the people have changed, the business has changed. All brands and companies need to adapt to this “new normal” and change their marketing strategies accordingly.

Maybe they have had some plans in their mind to complete in the long run, but this pandemic has increased the need for these new ideas and forced them to implement. All companies and brands are doing their best to show that their business is back to the usual and their audience should not be worried. They all try to gain trust through their COVID-19 advertising campaigns in 2020.

This new era has been called “new normal”. It is different than before, but it is still as it should be.

What are the best “back to the new normal” digital ad campaigns by brands in 2020?

We have to admit that some ad campaigns are better than the others. Here, I have gathered the most memorable “back to the new normal” digital ad campaigns by brands for the post-COVID-19 era:

• Burger King | Restaurant of Tomorrow
• McDonald’s | Contactless Order & Pay
• Heineken | #BacktotheBars
• Budweiser | Reunited With Buds
• Starbucks | Welcome Back
• Coca Cola | Open Like Never Before
• Durex | Let’s Not Go Back To Normal
• Adidas | Ready for Sport
• Apple | Working-From-Home Thing
• Amazon Prime | 2-Hour Grocery Delivery
• UPS | Introducing UPS® Lab Specimen Pickup Points
• Hyundai | Safety with everyone in mind

Burger King | Restaurant of Tomorrow

As one of the top fast-food chains, Burger King has come with an idea of the “restaurant of tomorrow”. The main concerns of fast-food customers are, of course, hygiene-related. They want to make sure the place they eat is clean, the food-makers are not sick, and they do not have direct contact with the cashier or waiters.

Burger King’s restaurant idea seems to be answering all these concerns people might have related to coronavirus pandemic. On their YouTube channel, they have shared two videos of how this restaurant will look like. A few years ago, we used to see that kind of restaurant in science-fiction movies. So these videos give the feeling the restaurant is coming from the future.

We are staying tuned to see one of these contactless restaurants with our own eyes. Here is the first release:

McDonald’s | Contactless Order & Pay

McDonald’s new contactless order & pay commercial is more “new normal” as a lot of food & beverage brands are going digital. Small restaurants are transferring their paper menu into QR code. However, McDonald’s is an international fast-food chain so they have all the right to create a mobile app to order food and pay online.

After ordering online, you can get your food from curbside pickup or drive-thru, which they explain in their ad campaign during the post-COVID-19 era.

Heineken | #BacktotheBars

Heineken is one of the brands which always inspires me with their digital ad campaigns and how fast they do it.

With their commercial below, they announce that the bars are re-opening and you can sip your Heineken at the bars now. However, they also remind us that we all should still be drinking safely. Because this is the new normal after COVID-19 outbreak. No more spoilers, here is the video:

Budweiser | Reunited With Buds

I always love puns in advertising. This is why I find this ad campaign very successful and memorable. One other reason is that this commercial has some features from their earlier commercials, which is a nice way to create a brand language and reflect the brand culture.

The horses and the dalmatian dogs are from Budweiser’s earlier commercial and this ad can be considered to be a follow-up. In order to announce that bars are re-opening and people can enjoy drinking Budweiser at the bars again, they say “reunited with buds” and show the horses and dogs are meeting again in the commercial.

Starbucks | Welcome Back

Here is another famous food & beverage brand, Starbucks Coffee, featuring their mobile application for contactless order and pay. As the commercial also says, you can easily find the nearest Starbucks to you and order & pay online thanks to the Starbucks app.

This is another inspiring “back to the new normal” ad campaign. Because the message behind the video is that you can trustfully shop from Starbucks Coffee during the post-COVID-19 era:

Coca Cola | Open Like Never Before

While everyone is speaking of “going back to the new normal”, Coca Cola Nigeria has another point of view. This commercial discusses change and being better rather than just going back to “the old normal”.

This ad campaign clearly shows the moments we have taken for granted. And it gives us the message to appreciate them more while everywhere is re-opening. The campaign #openlikeneverbefore also aims to ask for the participation of other people and raise public awareness.

Durex | Let’s Not Go Back To Normal

Another brand which doesn’t want to go back to the same normal. In their ad campaign, they bravely draw attention to the problems the world is facing – the problems related to condoms, of course. The public problems which cause people not to carry or use condoms in the old normal.

This is a smart way to combine the phenomena with digital ad campaigns.

Adidas | Ready for Sport

With the pandemic, everyone’s priorities have changed and what the money is spent on has changed. So as Adidas says in this commercial, sports might not be the answer right now. However, as pandemic has also taught us, the moment is the matter. So the summary is to seize the day, take every chance you have and do what you wanna do. And, of course, use Adidas products while running to your dreams.

Another wonderful example to benefit from the current issue and turn it into an advantage for your products or service through your digital ad campaigns.

Apple | Working-From-Home Thing

Apple is another brand who has follow-up ads to feature its products after the coronavirus outbreak.

Any white-collar worker could feel related to the actors in their earlier commercial. While joking about the white-collar problems, they were using the Apple products in action. The message behind this ad was to use Apple products at work.

It was funny and meaningful back then. However, it is not very relevant today as even the majority of white-collar workers are now working from home. So Apple acted quickly and created another ad campaign which clearly shows the WFH problems in a funny way with the same actors and the products. Because this is the “new normal” and brands have to adapt just like Apple does.

Amazon Prime | 2-Hour Grocery Delivery

Another thing that coronavirus pandemic has brought to the brands is the new way of working. Like restaurants using QR code instead of a regular paper menu, Amazon promises to deliver grocery in two hours.

At first, Amazon was not ready for the high demand for online shopping. Then they have adapted their working systems according to the needs of their customers. Here is their creative commercial for this inspiring ad campaign displaying their “new normal”.

UPS | Introducing UPS® Lab Specimen Pickup Points

Just like Amazon, UPS has acted according to the demand. And now they are equipped for medical shipment. Moreover, you can even arrange scheduled pickups at selected UPS pickup points. Here are the details:

Hyundai | Safety with everyone in mind

The automotive sector is surely one of the sectors affected most. Many of them had to stop production for a while.

In Hyundai’s digital ad campaign, they emphasise the importance of safety. They openly say that Hyundai makes safety technology widely available. So we can understand “the new normal” includes universal safety for some brands.

Hope you have enjoyed these digital ad campaigns by leading brands for “the new normal” we have gathered for you. These are the ads for the post-COVID-19 era. If you have liked this article, you might enjoy reading the list of the most memorable stay home campaigns too. COVID-19 outbreak has been a milestone in digital ad campaigns.