Hearing aids and hearing loss seem like a subject reserved for the doctor’s office, but recently it’s been a topic that permeates pop culture. Here are the Top 9 most memorable advertisement campaigns that made us laugh, cringe, and appreciate the wonderful world of hearing. Enjoy!
1. Audicus Hearing Aids
This touching commercial brings the viewer inside what is sounds like to be hard of hearing. A grandfather is enjoying time with his grandson, but he can’t quite make out what he is saying, until he puts on his new Audicus hearing aid. This commercial is a sweet reminder to treasure the small moments of life.
2. Normal: One Size Fits None
Everyone’s ears are a little different, and that’s why the company Normal started making custom-fit 3D-printed earphones. Their wacky advertisement, that features a man walking backwards through buildings, deserts, and radioactive labs, is one of the strangest, yet brilliant, ads we have ever seen!
https://youtu.be/8tmhdOfIEqU
3. ESPN Radio App
This giant ear can hear everyone celebrating, but he can’t see the winning home run. Luckily for him, ESPN’s Radio “sports for your ear” app lets him hear a “play-by-play” of what he can’t see.
4. Action on Hearing Loss
This ad uses a powerful visual image to highlight the damaging effects of loud music on the ears, and how it may lead to hearing loss.
5. Widex Hearing Aids
If you can’t hear someone, you can usually get away with nodding your head and pretending – if what they’re saying isn’t too important. This husband struggles to hear his wife, so he nods his head and agrees with her by saying, “right.” But what he hears is very wrong.
6. Pepsi and Deafness: Which House is Bob’s House?
The Pepsi workforce EnAble created this commercial performed by two hearing-impaired men. They go to their friend Bob’s house to watch a football game, but they can’t remember which house is his. They don’t exactly make a sound decision about how to find out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffrq6cUoE5A
7. Cochlear Implants
These ads poke fun at the the unexpected outcomes of having your hearing restored.
8. NOHR: Keep It Down
The National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation (NOHR) uses this quiet commercial to offer tips on how to prevent hearing loss.
9. Audibel Hearing Aids
“Hamster cheese” and “armpit chewing bubble wrap” are only two of the things this man mishears, signaling that he may have slight hearing loss, and needs to get his hearing checked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qANtzOh5Ypk
10. Monty Python “I want to buy a hearing aid”
This last video isn’t an ad, but we’re sure it served as inspiration for many creative advertising executive in the hearing industry. A man tries to purchase a hearing aid from a sales representative that is having trouble hearing him because he’s having issues with his own hearing aid.
Sources: Audicus Hearing Aids, Audibel, Apple, ESPN, Action on Hearing Loss, Widex, Cochlear, http://nohrfoundation.org/