One Last Round for 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, LIDA NY has come together to share our favorite personal efforts of the year from brands we like - Hinge, HP and J. Crew. Feel free to stalk our Twitter page to find more of our favorites.

In a world where dating apps seem like both the only answer and the most impersonal one, Hinge’s “Let’s be real” campaign got personal. In October, Hinge released site-specific billboards that optimize personal data. They collected data insights through real user responses to “prompts” or questions prepared by the app to help users build their profiles. Hinge turned common responses to questions like “what can’t you live without” or “what’s the worst fad you ever participated in,” into long-copy stories that read in a run-on sentence style. Each billboard dives deeper into the specific location by referencing “the brewpub to your left” in Williamsburg, for example. For a brand that hopes to paint itself as an app that understands the power of authenticity and vulnerability, “Let’s be real” is a solid start. 

Back-to-school feels got even more personal this September thanks to HP. In an ad promoting the Sprocket, a pocket-sized printer that can bring photos from your phone to paper instantly, HP shows its role in our personal lives. The spot zooms in on a classic father-daughter relationship where the new six grader finds her dad to be nothing short of embarrassing. She rolls her eyes when he stands next to her in the bathroom and when he tries to take a first-day-of-school photo together while she runs out the door. Despite her annoyance, he quickly uses a Sprocket to print the photo. Even upon finding a copy of this photo in her lunch box, she doesn’t flinch. The ad had us tearing up in the office (and still does today) when the dad later finds a hidden collection of father-daughter photos stashed above the lower bunk bed where she sleeps. This back to school cry gives HP a role to play in our personal lives.

J. Crew dropped by this weekend with a piece of personal mail. J. Crew reminds us of the novelty of direct mail with a message for the holidays. They sent a thank you note, recognizing my family as a member of their family and introducing us to the newest member of my daughters’ snow globe collection. Wrapped up in the box was a hand-painted snow globe and the elephant inside is based on a J. Crew design—making it “truly one of a kind.” The funny thing is that most of the time, a template email with your name slotted in at the top can feel anything but personal. In this case however, while the gift was indeed one-of-a-kind, if we could change one tiny thing about our wonderful holiday surprise—it’d be to have our name printed somewhere, anywhere...just proving that personal often needs defining.

That's all for this year folks! Catch us after the holiday. Follow LIDA NY here and on twitter to guarantee you don't miss out!