Many recent advertising and marketing campaigns from brands are focusing on messages of joy, kindness, inclusion and empowerment. Get the rundown on the news you need to know about in our latest Weekly Must Reads.

Golden Globes Aired Historic Breastfeeding Ad

During the Golden Globes yesterday on NBC, women’s wellness brand Frida Mom aired a groundbreaking commercial, marking one of the first times breastfeeding has been shown on network television. The video is meant to be an “authentic display of motherhood,” focusing on the challenges women face but can’t always openly discuss. All of the women shown in the ad are real mothers caring for their real babies in situations that are true-to-life for many other moms.

Last year, Frida Mom tried to air a similar commercial focusing on the realities of postpartum recovery during the Oscars. However, the ad was ultimately rejected by ABC. This year, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said, “We partnered with Frida to share their message and protect their creative vision, while ensuring the ad complied with NBCU standards. We agree that the ad may push the envelope, but it is the context surrounding the visuals that makes this ad different, and we stand by it.” Watch the ad here: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/this-truthful-ad-about-breastfeeding-will-push-the-envelope-during-the-golden-globes/?itm_source=parsely-api

The Joy of Painting Mountain Dew

In their latest nostalgic campaign, Mountain Dew has brought back everyone’s favorite painter, Bob Ross. In the first video for the campaign, Ross is painting one of his classic landscape scenes with some added “happy little droplets” – aka, a bottle of Mountain Dew. Ross even takes a sip of the soda at one point in the video. Though Ross passed away 25 years ago, Mountain Dew and the Bob Ross Foundation were able to recreate his likeness through CGI and a body double.

The first ad serves as a teaser for a full-length episode, which will be released on YouTube later this week. Expect to see Ross teach us how to create the entire Mountain Dew painting in his iconic happy demeanor. Check out the first ad here: https://adage.com/creativity/work/mtn-dew-brings-back-bob-ross-teach-you-how-paint-soda/2316211

Spreading Zax of Kindness

Another brand is adopting TikTok as a social media platform of choice. In honor of the recent Random Acts of Kindness Day, restaurant chain Zaxby’s released the #ZaxOfKindness campaign on TikTok. The brand posted their own videos featuring their Big Z mascot performing random kind acts. The mascot was filmed paying parking meters and distributing dog treats in hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

Zaxby’s has also focused recent marketing efforts on Twitch, another popular platform with younger consumers. Last year, the brand became the sole sponsor of Ali Hassan, one of Twitch’s most popular Fortnite gamers. Find out more about #ZaxOfKindess here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/zaxbys-inspires-random-acts-of-kindness-with-tiktok-challenge/595222/

Pepsi Pushes Personalization

Pepsi’s new campaign supporting its Zero Sugar soda are perhaps some of the most customized ads ever. The commercials, which air on TV, digital and radio, use data to create more than 70 personalized voice-overs. The audio content will change from video to video depending on its platform, programming or time placement. Pepsi is mainly focusing on Millennial and Gen X men in this “Zero Sugar, Zero Compromise” campaign. Their goal is to remind the audience that even in a pandemic, they won’t have to compromise on low-calorie soda.

To create the personalized versions, Pepsi used internal data and Google Analytics to identify behaviors that may vary across their audience and apply the most appropriate content. According to Pepsi spokespeople, voice-over has been easy to create remotely and can be swapped out in ads with little effort, making it a perfect pandemic campaign. Learn more about their strategy here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-pepsi-is-looking-to-balance-personalization-and-reach-with-its-latest-z/595713/