Seen and noted

BEST TV
Some of these deploy some pretty heavy duty advertising judo. They use people, images and music that most people have a huge soft spot for. Which is why I wonder why the one spot that uses one of the the most soulful musicians of the last generation leaves me with less than a warm, nostalgic feeling. Which is weird. I mean, its Bob Dylan and he's telling us why America is great?! That should have emotional gold dripping all over it! But what's odd is I'm left feeling like it's more of a shill than a soulful rant. I think Chrysler might have developed a Super Bowl rut and rather than feel like I did when Eninem talked about Detroit, or Clint talking about halftime in 'merica... I kinda feel like Dylan was simply delivering "this year's installment of Chryslers marketing plan." Make no mistake, I like some of the writing, like "let the Germans brew your beer, etc." And overall the message of America is a pretty great one. But it just feels like Dylan sold out and is reading the words of a clever copywriter.

Winner: The Sunday Times icons. It uses a similar take as Chrysler and brings to life a bunch of images that are each emotionally rich properties, but they did what Chrysler did the first few years - they presented them in a fresh way. Granted, my love of this piece is largely fueled by the behind the scenes footage on how it was all amazingly captured in one take.

Runner up: A VW Teddy Tragedy shows how in the right hands, emotion can be wrung out of a very, small and simple product innovation.

BEST PRINT
Winner: Cebra Toy Store. My affinity for this might be chalked up to some well timed ad placement, as I'm reviewing these after just putting my youngest son to sleep. But kudos on catching me with a very simple truth - made me smile. Though I gotta ask - is this a fake ad? A quick Google search turned up no Cebra Toy Store other than the mentions of these clever little ads. Hmmmm.

Other winner (if the Cebra Toy Store ads are fake) is Pullmantur Cruises . While it's a simple ad trick, get the viewer to focus on an overlooked part of the image (remember "look, there's a blue one" for VW), it's a nice reminder of how to get away from it all.

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Catraca Livre. Daaaaaamn. That's some crazy ass shit right there. Three seconds fills a balloon?! Powerful way to dramatize the exhaust problem. Not sure it offers a solution or plan of action to fix it, but I'll give you an A+ on effective awareness.

Runner up: TNT Academy Award ceremony
1) It's a funny little stunt. 2) I love messing with people in a movie theater. Done.

Runner-Runner up is the Walking Dead stunt. Listen, between you and me, I've just been overloaded with "scare the fuck out of people" ad pieces lately. BUT of the "scare the fuck out of people" pieces... I DO like this one.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: for this brief moment in time, this is my column and that gives me the right to give the nod in this category to the Nissan Detour piece. It's a pretty damn great idea that unfortunately got a bit less good as it played out. But the initial idea is pretty great! So let's think of it as a super cool idea that felt dragged down by the execution. Deal? Deal.

Runner Up: Fazer Tutti Frutti has an interesting and engaging idea. I think the brand seems quirky and fun and I could see people playing along with the story. (Though the winner being knighted by some tourist looking guy in Teva sandals seems less fun and just kinda awkward)



This week's guest judge is Roger Camp, partner and chief creative officer at Camp & King based in San Francisco.

In nearly two decades in the advertising business, Roger Camp has created innovative multi-media campaigns for powerhouse brands such as Old Navy, Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Walmart, Nike, Amazon.com, Capital One and Del Taco.

And for that work, he has amassed awards that include Best of Show at the CLIOs for an unprecedented two consecutive years. His campaigns have been featured on VH1's Greatest Commercials of All Time, and he sits on the Board of Directors of the One Club.

A veteran of renowned advertising agencies Leagas Delaney, Wieden & Kennedy, Fallon, Cliff Freeman & Partners, and Publicis and Hal Riney, Camp joined with Jamie King in 2011 to open the boutique ad firm, Camp & King in San Francisco.

The 45-person independent shop, launched in collaboration with French holding company Havas, counts Del Taco and Bacardi as recent additions to its expanding client roster.

In 2012, iMedia chose Camp & King as one of its Agencies to Watch, a list of 25 agencies that have "advanced interactive marketing through big ideas, brilliant creative, cutting-edge technology, and the passionate pursuit of excellence in the digital space."

Camp & King, through its trademarked Conversationswell, uses traditional and nontraditional marketing to make its client brands part of the consumer conversation. The tactic creates support, approval and enthusiasm for a brand and turns that into brand advocacy, both virtually and in the real world.

The agency deftly moves between TV, radio, digital and other media platforms, creating everything from Super Bowl ads to shopper-targeted in-store campaigns and viral videos.