Seen and noted

With jury rooms shut for months, I cannot express the happiness I felt reviewing work for this week's BestAds. It is interesting to see how different countries are dealing with the culture created in the pandemic.

BEST TV
Winner: Heineken 'Back To The Bars'.
Runner-up: KIA Sorrento 'One of Us'.

In reviewing this week's entries, I gravitated to the stuff which made me smile. Heineken pokes fun at our new realities in such a charming way. The script is a product of awkward observations. Nicely directed without ignoring any of the new socially responsible mandatories. I relate to the scene with the guy at the sink remembering to wash his hands for longer. In all of this doom and gloom, this spot gave me a break. It brought me joy.

Kia Sorrento gets runner up as I just love the script- particularly the mom and adult baby in the shopping trolley.

But I prefer bars over parking lots.

BEST PRINT
No Winner.
Runner-up: Marevivo 'Virus'.

To be really honest, I feel a bit let down print work lately. I know we live in Screen Age but I just do not feel we are taking advantage of the UberCreativity that this category can still generate. This week's work isn't the best I have seen and definitely did not bring a smile to my face. I do the Marevivo visual and message is worth singling it out. There are other world problems beside Corona.

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Nestle 'Nestle Nutrition Cart'.
Runner-up: B Honey 'Purple Hive Project'.

I think it is hardest to innovate in the supermarket industry and Nestle's low-budget ambient piece on obesity is remarkable. Considering how much I eat when I visit Dubai, I may have to take the trolley as my cabin baggage.

On the other end of the budget spectrum is the highly UberCreative innovation for B Honey. I am fascinated about cameras inside the hive serving as an intruder alert against destructive mites.

Special Mention: Assupol 'Eagan's Story'. This is one of the only pieces to sit naturally within the traditional definition of outdoor. Although I have seen this mechanic before, I love the idea of celebrating the hard-working health workers of beautiful South Africa and beyond.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Burger King 'Whoppa Anthem'.
Runner-up: Canon 'Truthmark'.

Very often interactive work is for selected, niche targets. That's why I love the simplicity of how Burger King made this a joyful experience for the masses. In a world where concerts have been cancelled, Tinie became the "Tiny Dancer" of the Whopper.

One of the biggest challenges for humankind will be how we process truth. In a world of fake news, Canon's piece is important for our times. I am not sure of the innovation comes from the client or agency and the search function is a little clunky. That said, we need clients and ideas like this!




This week's guest judge is Jason Romeyko, worldwide chief creative officer at Serviceplan Group.

In 2016 Jason Romeyko joined Serviceplan Group, one of the biggest independent, owner-operated advertising groups with 24 agency locations, taking on the role of worldwide executive creative director. A curator of stories across multiple platforms, Romeyko started out on his illustrious career in 1993 as a writer at Saatchi & Saatchi, before working his way up to the coveted role of worldwide ECD.

Romeyko's career has been distinguished with more than 500 awards including Grand Prix, at the most important international creative competitions including; ADC, Cannes Lions, CLIO Epica, Eurobest, Golden Drum, LIA and the MTV Music Awards' "Video Of The Year" for Katy Perry's "Firework".

Described by Muse by Clio as a 'Multilingual Empath', Australian-born Jason enjoys a peripatetic globe-trotting life and speaks 7 languages. Jason conceived the Serviceplan philosophy of UberCreativity, defined as a "higher form of innovation which happens when diverse disciplines, culture, talents, technologies and media collaborate and interplay."

Romeyko's favourite campaigns since joining Serviceplan include the audacious rebranding concept of BMW's luxury range into Bayerische Motoren Werke. A "Screenager" to the core, his creativity has been viewed nearly 3 billion times.

During his time at Saatchi & Saatchi he was the creative mastermind behind multiple award-winning campaigns including Vangardist "The HIV+ Magazine" and Deutsche Telekom "Sea Hero Quest".