Seen and noted

BEST TV
Alrighty then. Neuro Sleep: Sleep with Neil Patrick Harris is great stuff. And it gets greater with cameos by Problem and Asher. It's entertaining, does a great job of communicating what Neuro Sleep is, and it's chock full of sexual innuendo. However, the sing your product benefits gag is sort of familiar, and even though it is pretty self aware, Neuro Sleep comes in at Runner Up.

The Winner: Black Box Comedy Festival: Timing is Everything. This is good shit! Hah! Bad timing? Sorry about that. The spot however, is in itself an example of great timing. The direction and the cast are perfect. I did not see the joke coming and ultimately, I cannot argue that timing isn't important.

BEST PRINT
Print continues to live up to its ugly stepchild status. The options here are pretty uninspiring.

The Winner: My favorite of the bunch is Harvey Nichols for its pretty tasty art direction and simplicity.

The Runner Up: National Sea Rescue Institute: NSRI. I like the idea a lot more than the execution. Using names is a nice way to make the point in an emotional way. But the typography is almost seizure inducing.

BEST OUTDOOR
The Winner: DHL Express. This is a super simple idea with a ton of conniving and effort behind it. I love how subversive it is. It makes me wonder how many of those boxes got delivered with minimal damage.

The Runner Up: The Famous Grouse. This seems to be more like an art installation than a piece of communication. It doesn't make me want to try their whisky, but it is cool to look at.

BEST INTERACTIVE
And The Runner Up: Kibo360. The idea of being in a space station is compelling. But unless you party with Richard Branson, it's probably the closest most of us will get to hanging out in a space station.

The 'Best' goes to UNICEF Tap Project. This is a great example of pushing a culturally hot topic button in the name of something good. What's more, it's a win win. I see the VIN diagram like this: tech/creative/etiquette/cause/charity.




This week's guest judge is Rob Palmer, Executive Creative Director at Doner, LA.

Rob leads all creative efforts for Doner's LA office. He also contributes to the agency's creative work for the Chrysler Group and assists in elevating the level of creativity across all mediums for a variety of the agency's client partners.

Rob has spent his entire career on the West Coast developing award-winning creative for iconic brands such as Apple, Nike, ESPN, Microsoft, Chevy, Coca-Cola and Levi’s, among others. His work has been recognized by nearly every major industry award show including Cannes Lion, One Show, Kelly, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Effies and CLIOs. He has also been honored with an Emmy for a SportsCenter campaign and was awarded MTV's Music Video of the Year Award in 1992 for his involvement with the Van Halen "Right Now" music video.

Previously, Rob was Executive Creative Director at Razorfish where his creative leadership helped grow the agency into an Advertising Age "A-Lister". Prior to starting his own agency, he was a Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy.