Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: Reebok 'Nails'. Cardi B. Upwards of 9 inch nails. A barbershop full of eclectic characters. A cool soul track. Back-up vocalists singing "Nails got did". And one untied Reebok shoelace at the centre of it all.

This is the follow up in Reebook's "Sport The Unexpected" campaign.
I must say I preferred the launch spot by Aussie director Tom Noakes for its sheer WTF factor. But this is a strong follow up from Andreas Nilsson who is a master of subverting celebrity cameos into something iconic. Jean Claud Van Damme Epic Split anyone?

The image of those bedazzled purple tentacles masquerading as nails sure isn't leaving my head any time soon.

Runner Up: 'China Airlines: Souvenirs From Travel'. Travel makes you broke, pregnant, and fat. That's a tough sell to a big airline in one of the most conservative countries and cultures on earth.

At first I wasn't really paying attention when I watched this, and then the weirdly dark plotline and subtle humour dawned on me. This is the true story behind the manufactured instagram stories of travel.

Perhaps it spoke to me because the reason I'm currently writing this from Denmark on a 17 degree 'Summer' day, instead of a 23 degree 'Winter' day in Sydney, is because I myself am the unexpected souvenir of my Danish wife's travels to Australia.

Credit for the Gold Coast gag and the spooky haunted talisman in the final scene.

Cinemark Hoyts: Going to The Movies is Good For us
Camelot: Amazing Starts Here
Wargaming Group: World of Tanks
Continental Tyres: The Descent

BEST PRINT
Winner: McDonald's 'Share the Love'. Having done a few executions based around diversity and the unifying power of food, I can't say this is completely new ground. But that being said, I also know how hard it is to boil that campaign message down to a single image that communicates in print. Extra points for being able to do it without having to actually show the golden arches. Well crafted with striking photography and a clean, bold layout.

It's also an example of the resurgence of the 'still image' as a media moment and PR driver. The recent Nike Colin Kaepernick work being the ultimate illustration of this.

Runner Up: Wimbledon 'Some Stories Live Forever'. This is my runner up, but could have easily been the winner. One. I'm a sucker for a sports ad. Two. For craft and sheer dedication from the team behind this. It would have been a hard slog to sell in something that happened over 40 years ago as the logical way to get bums on seats at Wimbledon in 2019. And then to give half your real estate to another sport? That's before getting copyright clearance to use real images and the hundreds of hours spent pouring through archives to find the exactly the right images to make that composition work. I'm guessing it would've taken months to pull off. 'Some stories live forever' is also a nice campaignable line.

Special mention: VTR Safe Internet 'Hood'. I'm a little sceptical that this made it to print. But assuming it did, it's a visually arresting tactic to run a completely out of focus image in a printed medium, drawing the viewer to lean in closer for an answer. Upon spotting the universal sign for loading, it's a short skip down to the payoff to keep your kids safe from the dark corners of the wild wild web.

Volkswagen: Obsessed With The Earth
Ford: Slot Car
WildAid: Worst Choice, 1

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Wrigleys Extra 'EXTRA Reminder'. Simple. Effective. Relevant. Directly tied into the product benefit. I haven't quite seen a piece of outdoor in this shape before either. So for freshness (convenient for a gum), and direct conversion to sales, this one takes the cake for me.

Runner Up: Busch Beer 'Pop-Up Schop'. I'll give it to the Busch Pop-Up Schop based on their continued commitment to the 'BUSCHHHHHH' sound effect presented in outdoor locations. Here they've taken it off the TV screen and into the wilderness for real. Not sure how many people will actually experience it, but if you're giving away beer for life I guess that's kind of the point.

Glad: Off-Road Kitchen Challenge
Stella Artois: Great Beer Travels
Primark: Walking Billboards, 1
Nissan Altima: Altima Bio-Color

BEST INTERACTIVE
This wasn't a stand-out week for interactive, so I don't have a clear winner.

Work that rates a mention is the JFK Moonshot App, billed as a first of its kind 'Augmented Reality Documentary'. I didn't have time to download the app, but the PR headline alone sounds cool. Although what I have in front of me is the promo video, and not the app, so I don't think I can award it.

The idea for RedBank of promoting a blood bank as an actual bank is neat. I would have loved them to push the writing to make it a bit more provocative. And the actual digital experience wasn't particularly innovative or interactive.

Likewise, Havaianas: Step Into Summer was fun, and having been to the Venice beach boardwalk plenty of times I'm sure it would have worked its socks off, but probably suffers comparison to Nike's AirMax Graffiti Store which won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year.

McDonald's: Social Media Animation
Melanoma UK: FACtor51
Berghaus: Time to Get Out, 1

BEST RADIO
Winner: Hnry 'Hnry Radio 1'. I think advertising has forgotten we can still do campaigns like this.
It's not necessarily the script itself that I like, it's for using radio to get a whole nation searching for one random guys receipt. Also, I'm always losing my receipts, and like all creative people (generalising here), I'm terrible at admin. So for that alone, any product that solves this, wins.

Runner Up: smart 'Washing Machine'. Based on the amount of family holidays that nearly didn't get off the ground because mum or dad had to "check if the iron was still on", I can tell you I have lived this insight, and it's real.

It's an idea that's relevant to the medium, and involves the listener. I wonder how many cars actually turned around to check if their washing machine was running?

Rape Crisis: The Kitchen
Magnum: Caresses
HOYTS: Pride Rock
Fevicol: Ghost Stories




This week's guest judge is Tim Pashen, creative director at Hjaltelin Stahl, Copenhagen.

Tim Pashen is creative director at Hjaltelin Stahl, Copenhagen, joining in December 2018.

Before that he was a senior copywriter at The Monkeys where he happily created for clients including Meat & Livestock Australia, IKEA, Canadian Club, Telstra, Blackmores, and NRMA Insurance, contributing to the agency being crowned Campaign Brief Agency of The Year twice in three years (2016 & 2018).

He has been awarded from London to New York for both creativity and effectiveness at D&AD, Cannes, Webbys, Clios, New York Festival, AWARD, Spikes, The Effies, ADMA, MADC and YoungGuns.

As a copywriter, his 'You Never Lamb Alone' diversity ad was voted #3 in the Top 10 Aussie Ads of the last 60 years by Think TV and B&T magazine.

For two consecutive years Tim was recognised in Australia's 30 Under 30 list for Creativity. He is currently No. 1 Creative in the Campaign Brief rankings.