Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: John Lewis: The Boy and the Piano. No surprises here. To be honest, I've found John Lewis ads a bit touch and go over the last few years. I was one of the few that thought the Man on the Moon was a high point, while the dog on a trampoline fell a bit flat. But, for me, this year completely delivers. It's a brilliantly crafted journey that resolves with one of the best Christmas messages I've seen for a long while: 'some gifts are more than just a gift'. I can't wait to see how else they bring that thought to life.

Runner up: Kaadas Intelligent Lock: Bomb Expert. They could have cut half the gags and not laboured the ending so much, but this one gets a nod purely for the sheer insanity of it all. If I had a dollar for every time I'd wanted to make a spot featuring a hybrid betwixt man and rice cooker, I'd now have a dollar. Which is kinda the point, I guess? Thanks for making the silly season that much sillier, Kaadas Intelligent Locks.

BEST PRINT
Nothing standing out for me here, I'm afraid.

BEST OUTDOOR
Nothing in here either, unfortunately.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Voo Telecom: Buffering Wheel. What a brilliantly simple way of targeting audiences right in the throes of one of modern life's great pain points. A message that only appears the moment you're receptive to a new provider. Genius. I like this one a lot.

Runner up: Stax: STAX. Gamifying financial literacy just makes sense. As someone who's not bad with games, and very bad with money, I'd love to give this a go.




This week's guest judge is Jon Austin, executive creative director, Host/Havas, Sydney.

Host/Havas is Australia's most awarded agency of 2018. In his time there, he's been fortunate enough to write New Zealand's favourite Christmas carol; make the world's most hated pizza; get people revealing their internet search histories; position Australia as a Loser's Paradise to Super Bowl fans; and film a monkey attacking a backpacker. Along the way, his work has picked up Gold Pencils; Gold Lions; Grand Prix's; a Gold Album; two MTV Music Video Awards; a #1 charting song; and a credit on the Power Rangers Movie.
He doesn't like talking about that last one though.