Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: AT&T - Taylor Swift. I felt a little conflicted picking a winner that wasn't a classic 30 second spot. It just seems a little unfair when the 30 second constraints are removed, but more time doesn't necessarily mean more entertaining. This film is entertaining and plays off the obsession we have with celebrities, their lives and how AT&T's new feature allows you to indulge both. It's a well executed, fun look into a more human side of Taylor Swift, with a number of unexpected surprises along the way.

Runner-up: McCafe - Employee commentary, The Cappuccino. Some of the constraints are a little relaxed whenever a brand is doing a sponsorship piece, but this is a really refreshing approach from McDonald's, and a lovely simple observation on humanity. The casting was great and the transitions from real life to 'film genre' were wonderfully subtle. I liked that they bold enough to show the McDonald's interior in B&W, just a pity they broke style by rendering the McCafe cup in colour.

BEST PRINT
Winner: Faber Castell - Environmentally friendly eraser. I love the simplicity and humour of this ad. It has great stopping power and rewards the viewer. A nice simple idea, well executed. When I initially saw it, I did have a feeling of deja vu, but doing a little research it seems to have originally appeared in 2016, which may be why I felt I'd seen it before.

Runner-up: Gardena - Cutting at the Highest Heights. A simple idea that demonstrates the product benefit. Would have been nice to see it combined with some more imaginative media selections that could have made the idea more impactful.

BEST OUTDOOR
My heart sank further and further as I viewed the Outdoor offering, realizing that with each click my hopes of finding something brilliant to write about were not going to come through.

Winner: Hyundai - Chatty School Bus. Nice use of technology to help kids who face some tough life challenges. The activation was sweet, but the film was a little long and, although it's a different idea, the technology felt like a poor version of 'Field trip to Mars'.

Runner-up: SPCA - An adoptive gesture. Who doesn't love pets? They get you every time, and the next best thing to a real pet is a cut-out 2D version of one. If stroking faux fur gets people to adopt, then bravo.




This week's guest judge is Cosmo Campbell, chief creative officer, DDB Canada.

Cosmo grew up in the disturbingly idyllic city of Cape Town, South Africa. Upon graduating from art college, he began his ad career at a small boutique agency. After a few years, he decided to travel and try his hand on the international ad scene. A short stint in London followed by a year in Dubai with Saatchi & Saatchi eventually led him to Vancouver where he joined Palmer Jarvis. During his time at PJ and now DDB, Cosmo has been fortunate to work with some of Canada's greatest ad people, who have contributed to his work being recognized in numerous major international and local award shows. Additionally, over the past 20 years, he has been consistently ranked amongst the top creatives on Canada's, Strategy Magazines Creative Report Card. In 2014, Cosmo relocated to Toronto, to take over the Chief Creative Officer role. When he's not busy making ads, Cosmo can be found baking bread, painting, or roaming the city at night taking photographs.