Why Every Ad This Month Feels Like a Sad Indie Film
You’ve noticed it too. Suddenly, every ad is a moody pastel portrait, slowed-down piano cover in the background, and a protagonist quietly peeling an orange in silence. We’re in the midst of what I’m calling Softvertising.
It’s the tonal pivot brands make when the creative brief says: ‘show emotion’ and the agency delivers a 90-second melancholic mini-movie about a girl going to her first flat-warming with a reusable shopping bag. The story may be fictional, but the trend is very, very real. Peak Softvertising hits in Q2 when no seasonal holiday is bold enough to justify humour or glitter. So instead, we turn to long, narrative-heavy pieces that feel like a B-roll from the NZ Film Commission vault.
Here’s the thing—it works. Sort of. The problem is when everyone does it at once. The impact flattens. It's like watching the same art-house short twelve times. I found myself more emotionally invested in the drying rack in the background than the actual character. There’s nothing wrong with emotion in ads. The issue is how borrowed it’s become. From tone to pacing to lighting—it’s all lifted from the A24 cinematic starter pack.
We need to find a version of sentiment that feels locally grown, not algorithmically watered. There’s emotional resonance in a neighbourhood pool cannonball or a double scoop melting onto jandals. Let’s dig into our own textures, not just the colour grading filter that says ‘authentic’. Good design provokes. Good marketing connects. Great storytelling? It surprises us. Let’s do more of that.
It’s the tonal pivot brands make when the creative brief says: ‘show emotion’ and the agency delivers a 90-second melancholic mini-movie about a girl going to her first flat-warming with a reusable shopping bag. The story may be fictional, but the trend is very, very real. Peak Softvertising hits in Q2 when no seasonal holiday is bold enough to justify humour or glitter. So instead, we turn to long, narrative-heavy pieces that feel like a B-roll from the NZ Film Commission vault.
Here’s the thing—it works. Sort of. The problem is when everyone does it at once. The impact flattens. It's like watching the same art-house short twelve times. I found myself more emotionally invested in the drying rack in the background than the actual character. There’s nothing wrong with emotion in ads. The issue is how borrowed it’s become. From tone to pacing to lighting—it’s all lifted from the A24 cinematic starter pack.
We need to find a version of sentiment that feels locally grown, not algorithmically watered. There’s emotional resonance in a neighbourhood pool cannonball or a double scoop melting onto jandals. Let’s dig into our own textures, not just the colour grading filter that says ‘authentic’. Good design provokes. Good marketing connects. Great storytelling? It surprises us. Let’s do more of that.