Finally there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel: the disease and mortality rates are declining and we are slowly allowed to go back onto the terraces to enjoy company, this delicious spring and cold drinks! The whole of the Netherlands has been looking forward to this and we hope that we are increasingly moving in the right direction. What will be the economic consequences in the medium term? We are groping in the dark.

It is time for advertisers to take a good look at where the potential now lies and how they can respond to this new situation. Last month, May, we saw several advertisers pre-sorting commercials that we would like to focus on in this column.

We start with the TopParken commercial, developed by Lukkien, who started focusing on holidays in our own country very early in May. The commercial, which pays tribute to our own beautiful Netherlands, with an adapted version of 'Het land van' by Lange Frans, shows that you can go on holiday safely at TopParken in your own country with peace of mind. It radiates tranquility, beautiful location, privacy and safety. The commercial is rated 7.0 by our panel, which is an excellent average score. The reaction of one of the reviewers is indicative of how this commercial was generally received: 'The Lang Frans song fits well with this commercial, and gives a good feeling to get away for a while.' What was striking, however, was the low brand awareness of TopParken: average of 4.9. There is profit to be made here for TopParken and of course this commercial contributes to that.

Later in May we saw other advertisers in the travel industry also offering similar encouragement of holidays in their own country. Belvilla published a commercial with the title 'Stay in your own country' and Corendon responds to this with the theme 'Costa Holanda, holiday in your own country.' We will probably encounter many advertisements about this in the near future.

Then a commercial from last month in a completely different industry: the banking sector where Triodos Bank published the commercial entitled 'Reset the economy' (see image), in collaboration with Dawn. The message of this commercial is that the economy will decline significantly due to the corona crisis and inequality will increase. That is why, according to this bank, it is very important to invest in balance and equal opportunities during the reconstruction phase. This can therefore be called an actual reset. With this commercial, the bank makes a very clear statement that is appreciated by many of the reviewers. The commercial is rated 6.9, with a frequently recurring reaction being: "Sad, but it also expresses hope." Yet there were also many reactions along the lines of 'sad', 'melancholy' and 'too much focus on the negative'. This is a potential area for improvement: many of the theories say that negativity and fear does not necessarily have to be a bad advertising message, as long as a solution is offered. If many people are still stuck with that negative thing or fear and link it to Triodos Bank, this can in turn be negative for the brand name.

We also saw a large number of insurers positioning themselves for 'the new normal'. ASR, among others, provides a clear story about the return to normal society, which we will all have to get used to again. This can be accompanied by some withdrawal symptoms and accidents as we can see in the commercials. Good insurance can therefore be extra important. In the same category we also see the commercial from Centraal Beheer, which repositions itself with a broader range of services, but is also simply the insurer. Accidents in the garden, for example when filling a bouncy castle with helium, can have major consequences. Good insurance therefore does no harm, according to Centraal Beheer. We also see an Interpolis commercial that responds to the new society. Apparently a good time for insurers to make themselves heard.

We're all going to act more normally again! We are happy that things are going in the right direction and hope that advertisers and agencies will also start working at full speed again.

Read the entire column here