Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: Dos Equis 'PreGame'. In a sea of "coming out of COVID-19" ads, this one shines. It's smart, simple, relatable and very much based on something that will definitely be a truth-if not already for some people. The spot is nicely acted, melds beautifully with a great track, and doesn't require exaggeration, clever gimmicks or crazy SFX. Best of all, it works perfectly as a message for the product it's selling (not like most COVID-related ads this past year). Bonus points: Loved the unforced way they introduced the product up top-something we all know clients love.

Runner-up: Apple AirTag 'Couch'. I really enjoyed watching this spot. It's fun, imaginative storytelling that anyone who's ever lost their keys, remote—or in my case, a lint-covered potato chip when friggin' starving-can relate to. It delivers on what the product does, why I need it, and what the brand is, all in an entertaining package. Can't ask for much more than that.

Heineken's 'We'll Meet Again' deserves a very strong honorable mention.

BEST PRINT
Winner: Dove 'Reverse Selfie'. This category was my least favorite. Nothing felt fresh or impactful. I gave it to Dove more for the message it's promoting than anything else.

No runner-up in this category either.

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Postobon 'Bottled Masks'. Honestly, this category was a bit underwhelming. Nothing that jumped out to me as a clear winner, but I gave it to Bottled Masks. I would've loved to see how many people actually cut up these bottles and made masks out of them. Also, I felt it was a bit odd and grasping at straws to quote AdsoftheWorld-unless the quote was from Kleenex.

No runner-up in this category for me.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Iams / National Pet ID Week 'NOSEiD'. First off, why the hell is there a "National Pet ID Week"?! They're just running out of obscure things to dedicate weeks to nowadays. Okay, back on track now. This app is something I imagine any dog owner wanting to download, use and actually keep on their phones. So, not only is this an amazing ad, it's an amazing app. And don't worry, I googled whether or not dogs' noses are unique like fingerprints, just to see if this case study was full of crap. It's not full of crap.

Runner-up: Earth Day 'Earth Definition'. I was close to giving this to Saatchi's The Case Study Project, but ultimately, as this is an Interactive category, I felt Earth Definition was more deserving (although in a Direct or Non-Traditional category, I think The Case Study Project will do great). I absolutely loved the art direction and animation style of Earth Definition. It made a boring topic easy to digest and interesting to learn about. Plus I think it'll actually change behavior.




This week's guest judge is Pierre Chan, creative director at One Twenty Three West, Vancouver.

As a naive teen, Pierre's dream was to become a constitutional lawyer. Bombing the LSAT was the best thing that could've happened to him. Today, Pierre is a creative director at One Twenty Three West, an advertising and design collective based out of Vancouver and Toronto in Canada—awarded Canada's 2020 Small Agency of the Year.

Across 15 years in the industry, Pierre has worked on a wide variety of brands, including McDonald's, Arc'teryx, PlayStation, Kodak, Suunto, and Ronald McDonald House. His work has also been internationally recognized by Cannes, Communication Arts, One Show, Clios, Webbys, FWA, Contagious, ADC NY, Lurzer's Archive, and of course BestadsonTV.

You can find him on Instagram here, on LinkedIn here, or on Amazon here and here, where he's written two picture books, with another one on the way.