Top Ads of the Week: Durex, Samsung, Manforce, and More

It takes a lot for an ad to be memorable. Every week, brands work extra hard to grab viewers' attention, pulling out all stops to make a lasting impression. More often than not, a lot gets lost in translation and backlash follows, like the recent Apple iPad Pro 2024 ad fiasco.

This week, we saw Samsung pick up the debris of Apple’s literal destruction and craft a clever ad around it. We also saw Durex get cheeky with a visually striking ad for its lube brand. Manforce attempted to reclaim the word ‘Condom,’ and Whisper did its bit to allay fears about periods.

Here is a list of the most impressive ads from Week 3 of May:

**Durex**

Durex launched the #ExplorersWanted campaign for its lube brand, designed to spark a renewed sense of intimacy among couples by building anticipation around mysterious destinations on their partners' bodies. The visually striking ad by Anna Joseph captures the contours of the human body, making them seem like dunes, mountains, and cliffs to emphasize "exploring" their lovers' bodies. Beautiful shots of necks and chests are coupled with clever names like Chest Republic, Thigh Land, and KyoToe.

**Manforce**

Manforce has ambitious plans to claim the word “condom” like Coca-Cola did “thanda” in the early 2000s. The campaign by Grapes aims to dominate online searches around the word ‘condom’ by replacing it with 'Manforce.' The year-long campaign aims to establish Manforce Condoms as the top-of-mind choice for consumers whenever they consider purchasing condoms. The ad features social media influencer Dolly Singh.

**Nutrica**

Not all oils are made equally, as Nutrica reiterates in its campaign challenging the one-size-fits-all approach towards cooking oils in most Indian households. The brand illustrated this point with three unique slice-of-life scenarios leveraging humor. The campaign has been conceptualized and developed by GOZOOP Group.

**Samsung**

Samsung dialed up the snark factor with its new ad that trolled competitor Apple. After Apple received criticism for its controversial ‘crushing creativity’ ad for the iPad Pro 2024, Samsung leveraged the opportunity to hit back at its rival with a reply. Picking up where its rival left off, Samsung’s ad shows the aftermath of Apple’s destruction of creative tools. The simple video shows a woman walking through the debris of crushed tools, picking up a guitar, and strumming it. The ad, titled "Uncrush," is a rebuttal to Apple's original ad, showcasing Samsung's support for traditional tools of creativity.

**Vadilal**

Vadilal's summer campaign redefined what it meant to celebrate with a sprinkle of the zany. The campaign is a series of three films showcasing how no news, no matter how big, is worth celebrating without Vadilal ice cream. The ads embody the tagline “Har moment ko banaye Kamaal! WAAH Vadilal!” and have been created by Moonshot along with Tanmay Bhat and co.

**Whisper**

Whisper's new advert aims at improving menstrual literacy among young girls, who often have vague notions about periods centered on fears about the biological process. With girls as young as 8 years of age reaching menarche, there's a pressing need to educate them properly. The ad, followed by a jingle, “periods ka matlab healthy hai aap (periods mean you are healthy),” was created in collaboration with Leo Burnett.