BEST TVIt's almost the end of 2012 and boy, has it rattled past. It's that time of the year again where agencies and clients alike pump millions of dollars into a festive advertising blitz of low prices and late shopping hours that can drive one insane. Thankfully only a few holiday themed campaigns have made it in this weeks best ads, but enough of the scrooge talk - lets spread some advertising cheer.
The stand out film for me was the beautifully poetic spot for
'Save the Children', where the restraint and subtlety of both music and cinematography combined neatly to create something very special. A real reminder that this time of year isn't all about 'down, down, prices are down'. Everything else in TV didn't even come close, but as holiday commercials go the
'Aldi: Surfin' Santas' wasn't completely horrible. A bunch of surfers in red and white Santa suits paddling out on candy cane boards carrying giant hams was fun to watch.
BEST PRINTPrint might be the new radio. An art long forgotten as content integration and experiential marketing casts its long shadow. Of course there are a few surprises every now and then but this group unfortunately doesn't contain any. The
'Volkswagen: Hedgehog' park assist ad is nice because of it's simplicity and
'Mars: skaters' due to some classy photography. But thankfully, there was not a reindeer antler to be seen anywhere.
BEST OUTDOOR I am surprised some smart creative hasn't done this elsewhere in the world... "what if children designed the store?" well they did and did it very well in Hong Kong. Sure there have been examples of crowd sourcing cars, buildings, sneakers - the list goes on. But what makes the
'McDonalds: I'm Amazing' integrated story different is the insight. A culture that is so driven to educate their children that creativity is left behind mostly. McDonald's have attempted to bravely change this behaviour however so slightly. Another smart piece of thinking is for
'TAC: A Place to Remember'. Over the years TAC have created some very powerful ideas, and this example is no exception. A very simple reminder before the silly season.
BEST INTERACTIVEI always love seeing exciting new technology developments for brands. Some shit that will blow your mind. Thankfully we live in a time where if somebody says something can't be done, it most likely can be - you just have to ask someone smart. I'm a little disappointed there aren't any real game changers here. But the two that did rise to the top were
'Ibis: Sleep Art' - a sleep study that visualises your blissful experience (minus the snoring) and
'BMW 3 Series: Ultimate Track' where you can create your very own track with a squiggle of your finger on a smart phone and take a virtual test drive. Both very engaging and rewarding experiences with an underlying sell.
Happy Chrismahannakwanza!!
This week's guest judge is Reed Collins, most recently national CCO of The Campaign Palace in Australia.
The descendant of sweet prison love in a penal colony in Australia, Reed has spent the last 16 years doing time at some of the most creative agencies on four continents. Companies such as Mojo Sydney, Hunt Lascaris TBWA Johannesburg, Lowe Howard-Spink London, Cliff Freeman & Partners New York, Leo Burnett Chicago and The Campaign Palace Sydney.
Reed has won every international award several times over across a wide range of categories on brands such as Fox Sports, Altoids, Stella Artois, Staples, Hollywood Video, Qantas, BMW, P&G, Olympus, Smirnoff, Kellogg's, Greenpeace, Caesars Palace, McDonalds and Nintendo to name a few. In 2001, Reed was the most awarded creative in the world for his Fox Sports campaign, according to the Gunn Report. His work is also on display in the permanent collection at MoMa NYC.
