Clever Creative: The Mother of All Pranks

Posted Wednesday May 10^th, 2017 by Caitlin Artigliere in Creativity + Art.

Mother’s Day is this weekend, which means this week there’s an onslaught of ads that will pull on the heartstrings and make you call your mom the minute they fade to black. Today’s “Clever Creative” from Interflora does just that, but they’ve added their own special twist. Rarely do we remember to thank our mothers for all that they’ve given and done for us, and so the company offered people the chance to do that. They also had a little surprise for them at the end. Check out their Mother’s Day ad that they’ve dubbed “The Great Mom Experiment”:

Okay, so maybe we didn’t tell you the whole truth about this ad. But if we did, we would have ruined the mother of all pranks.

Why our GEMites liked this Clever Creative:

This ad is brilliant. The “experiment” is just enough to get you crying, or at least tearing up. And then (record scratching) Interflora sends in a fake mom, which makes for some pretty awkward and funny moments. We love that they playfully took a shot at sappy holiday and experiment ads, most of which are manipulative. The ad agency creates and executes the story in such a way that whether the people are real, or just actors, it’s still going to make you feel how they wanted to make you feel. And who knows, maybe it’ll even get you to buy whatever they’re selling, because you realized you are just like the people in the ad that maybe haven’t appreciated the people around them. Interflora believes in honesty and true emotions, and their ad that spoofs those other campaigns just supports their message that: “You don’t need a silly experiment to let your mother know you love her.”

Our GEMites also love the reaction of the participant who gets surprised by “her mother.” The company used models and actors so they knew what was going to happen, but they did an amazing job at portraying the emotions someone would feel if they were duped like this. If anyone was tricked like this, they’d be upset, and that’s exactly what came across on the actress’s face. We also admire the daughter’s refusal to hug the fake mom, the awkward mannerisms of said “mom,” as well as the uncomfortable tension that builds during the performance.

Why our fellow creatives should like this:

In the advertising industry, it’s sometimes better to play it safe (as most of us learned a month ago when Pepsi tried to be bold). However, that doesn't mean you can’t take risks, just that you need to make sure they’re well thought-out before executing them. That’s just what Interflora did with this ad and why we think our fellow creatives should take note of it. They took a risk by spoofing the sappy holiday ads/experiment ads, but it was carefully planned. Yes, we agree the ad is long, but this helped build on both the story and the emotion — so that it’d be that much more devastating when they pulled the rug out from under us to reveal it was all fake. By showing the sound and film crews at the end, along with the director screaming directions, Interflora drives their point home that those types of ads are manipulative.

Being bold in this industry can help you stand out amongst the clutter, but if done incorrectly, it can single you out in the worst way possible. Interflora’s mother of all pranks is the perfect example of how an ad risk should be executed and how it can really pay off when done right.

Let us know what you think, and be on the lookout for next week’s installment of Clever Creative!

If you’re looking for some clever creative of your own, feel free to contact us.

Clever Creative: The Mother of All Pranks

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