The first commercial we discuss this month is from NLZiet, designed by the Talpa Network office. This commercial is about watching cable-free TV, which is depicted in a humorous way. All cables are pulled out of the wall because they are simply no longer necessary for a good TV experience on different devices. With this commercial, NLZiet wants to position itself as the TV solution, where the hassle with cables or cabinets is a thing of the past. With NLZiet it is possible to watch 37 channels live on all devices.

The commercial stands out because of its humorous presentation and the clear story about the offer. NLZiet will not yet be very familiar to many viewers, so the commercial will certainly have a positive influence on brand awareness. We do see that the commercial scores below our average in terms of credibility. That is a point of attention: this may have become less strong due to the light-hearted and humorous character. But in general the message and humor seem to come across well, which is well summarized in this response: “Funny, it's now clear what they mean with this commercial.”

May 8 is Mother's Day, which is of course also taken advantage of by a number of advertisers. Two commercials certainly stood out: the first is from Kruidvat, designed by DDB Unlimited and the second is from Etos, designed by NEEW.

It is interesting to see that both companies use a completely different style: while Kruidvat responds to this beautiful day with the usual humor, with of course the leading role for Lies who makes it clear in a "subtle" way which gifts she would like for Mother's Day, Etos mainly plays on the emotion by beautiful music and emotional images in which “Mommy, I am becoming more and more like you” is central.

Both commercials are highly appreciated by viewers. The results indeed show that the Kruidvat commercial is found funny and therefore appreciated. At Etos, the sensitive is more appreciated, but we also see that this is sometimes considered a bit too sappy. Overall, both commercials are highly appreciated, but Kruidvat seems to have chosen a safer line with the lightheartedness of Lies.

A commercial that certainly attracted attention this month is that of the Beren, designed by Shoq. The aim of the commercial is to show that the Beren has been around for quite some time but is still “as good as ever”: “It started in 1984 with a cafe on the Noordsingel in Rotterdam. Everything was possible, everything was allowed and nothing was too crazy. Almost 40 years later, the feeling is still exactly the same, but we are so much more than that one cafe in Rotterdam. The Bears, always delicious!”

This commercial scores very well, especially because of its nostalgic character. The commercial scores above average, especially on the factors "credibility" and "fun to watch". As a point for improvement, it has been suggested several times in the responses that the Beren now comes across as fast food and basic to some, which is probably not the goal of this beautiful chain.

This month we also took a closer look at the Voordeelmarkt commercial, designed by Brand Builders and Lukkien. In this commercial, this relatively unknown brand positions itself with humor as affordable and always with good advice. In the commercial we are introduced to the main character Mark. Mark is the face of the Voordeelmarkt. He has always had a thing for color and paint and he is our handy brush. Hence his wild hair. He likes to help people with their jobs, gives them advice and the best paint for the lowest price.

Even though the brand is still relatively unknown to many viewers and the message does not always get across well, this is a good introduction to the brand for many viewers and will improve brand awareness.

We close the month with the three Vitakruid commercials, designed by DDB Unlimited. The commercials have the theme “Don't just take everything,” which focuses on the fact that everyone is different and therefore needs different vitamins and supplements. That starts with knowledge and personal advice. The campaigns feature various main characters who, in their own way, push their boundaries beyond their limits in everyday situations and 'swallow' them too. In the absolute climax of these situations, Vitakruid always breaks in and comes up with appropriate advice: 'Don't just take everything.' Because if you want to know what you should take, Vitakruid is the place to be.

The commercials are very eye-catching and have daring humor that may seem a bit too daring to some viewers. But precisely by pushing the boundaries, this brand is putting itself on the map, gaining brand awareness and scoring high on “distinctiveness”.

Sometimes a little courage, pushing the boundaries and trying to be distinctive is actually very powerful and we would only like to encourage this!

Together with advertisers and agencies, commercialreview.nl forms the Dutch commercial database. Our panel provides feedback on all participating commercials and we publish the best and most striking commercials in our monthly column on MarketingTribune. You can register a commercial here.

Read the column on MarketingTribune here