Seen and noted

BEST TV
Fave: Budweiser 'One Team'. As one might expect the coronavirus features heavily in this week's shortlist. I picked Bud as my favourite because it did more than just tell us to stay home. It celebrated the heroes out there who are doing all they can to keep us safe or fed. It also delivered a tangible message of what Bud is doing to help. As Bernbach said, 'A principle isn't a principle until it costs you money.'

Runner-up: Direct Line 'Bumblebee'. Tricky one this as this new campaign replaces Harvey Keitel which I worked on with the late, great Paul Silburn. But I like its scale and ambition. It's well made (by the very excellent Hungryman gang) and cuts through the clutter with a simple message. Pretty rare these days.

BEST PRINT
Fave: Hindu Newspaper 'It's Practically This Easy to Stop the Virus From Spreading'. Simple. Visual. Demonstration.

Runner-up: Nike 'Now Is Your Chance'. A simple, emotional call to arms. It's great but perhaps suffers from Nike's own high bar. That Colin Kaepernick ad is one of my favourite ads ever. Soz.

BEST OUTDOOR
Fave: Naked Heart Foundation 'Born Inclusive'. I'm a big believer in the wisdom of naivety. As Picasso said, 'We are all born artists. It is remaining one as we grow older that is hard.' This is a great point, well made with an emotional demonstration.

Runner-up: Guinness 'Stay at Home'. I admire the proactive nature of this ad. It's of a type within the Guinness world but nicely done. Sofas can be curved too so that would make the visual coincidence more obvious but it was good to see Guinness pick this up and share it.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Fave: Gazeta/MasterCard/Storytel 'The Future Peasants'. The power of emotion - Remaking an iconic Polish tale is a lovely, emotional way of getting this environmental message across. The response from the public proves how powerful it was. Attention to detail is excellent. Sound and visuals have all been given the love they deserve.

Runner-up: Anti Covid19 Screensaver. Less is more and with a human insight - We are all now more than ever relying on our computers. A simple screen saver to remind us to wash our hands more frequently is a really simple and smart. And actually they are rather beautiful.

NB: I really wanted to like Dining at a Distance. But you need to get a copywriter / editor involved.




This week's guest judge is Neil Dawson, founder of Neil A Dawson & Company, London.

Neil recently launched his own advertising company. It's a new model, taking creative and strategy out of the agency and plugging it directly into the production network.
Giving clients 'more of what they need and less of what they don't.'

Neil began his career in London.
In the mid 90s, in need of some excitement, Neil headed to South Africa to witness the birth of the Rainbow Nation.

On returning to the UK, Neil joined BMPDDB working on VW, Marmite and American Airlines to name a few. The VW Wedding ad he created with Clive Pickering for Surprisingly Ordinary Prices is still the most awarded print ad in advertising history.

The 'Fish' commercial he created when leading Johnnie Walker at BBH London transformed Keep Walking into an award-winning global campaign.

As global CCO on Philips at DDB London, Neil won back-to-back Cannes Grands Prix for Philips Carousel & Parallel Lines.

In a bizarre twist Neil also designed the cover for The Bee Gees Greatest Hits...

Neil has just created the first campaign for the real estate disruptor brand, Nested. He is also currently working with ASICS, Pernod Ricard, Sainsburys, Vintagefrench.com and The Imperial War Museum.