Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: Magnum 'Not Available In The Metaverse'. Yes! This piece of work from LOLA MullenLowe and director Martin Werner is an exquisitely told story of the journey of an avatar, who puts on a VR headset to escape to the real world, culminating in her failed attempts to eat a Magnum ice cream. The end line 'Not available in the Metaverse' closes the story, showing there are still certain pleasures, like enjoying an ice cream, that can only be found in the real world. The cinematography and CG work are both beautiful and subtle, giving the story a wonderfully eery, real life feel. A great piece of work for these current times where we're all grappling with what is real and what isn't.

Runner Up: Dorito's 'Failing is for the Bold'. This commercial has a lot going for it but I particularly like the way it combines a fairly deep topic (albeit from a chip brand) with a playful tone. From the outset a series of chickens walking the streets with a Hollywood movie worthy VO is the stuff I'm here for. The relevance of the chickens becomes clear fairly early yet the spot held me intrigued until the end. Well shot with some great transitions and match cuts and all round a piece that does the Doritos brand proud.

BEST PRINT
Winner: Heinz Ketchup 'Kitchen'. I really loved this print campaign. A stylish interpretation of an age old principle. I like the mischievous tone, the realism of the shots and the cleverness of the headline placement guiding your eyes towards the idea. The execution is beautifully simple yet leads you to complete the full story in your head - print done right in my book.

Runner up: Vaseline 'Sun Warnings - Ocean'. A clever use of a visual device that gives the viewer just the right amount of work to do to figure out the story and therefore remember the message and brand. In these well-shot ads, Vaseline tackles Thailand's low awareness of the sun's danger late in the day, with a campaign that doesn't just turn the image on its head but also turns every sunset into a Vaseline billboard. Not just in Thailand, but around the world.

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Skoda 'The less trunk space you have, the more Skoda gifts'. This idea brought a smile to my face. Don't be deceived by the simplicity of the execution, it has layers. The idea tests consumers' brand loyalty in a playful way by gifting competitor car drivers a free trailer to allow them the extra trunk space you get with a Skoda. I imagine it would be very hard to say no to a free trailer... no matter how loyal you are. I love that competitor car drivers would therefore be driving around advertising Skoda. Simple and clever!

Runner up: LEGO 'The Hardest to Reach LEGO Store in the World'. I confess I'm a massive Lego fan. But apart from that, what I liked about this idea is that it kept evolving and there were regular enough twists and turns to keep me engaged through the full video. The two lead characters are entertaining to watch as they race to secure the prize of a very cool looking Land Rover Classic Defender Lego set.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Heinz Brasil 'Heinz Tattoo Ink'. Heinz have done a lot of cool work in the past few years and you can add this one to your favourites list. Such a clever idea - they've developed the Heinz red ink for those fans who want to get a Heinz tattoo (and there seem to be surprisingly many who do!) without suffering from the problems that comes with using normal red ink. I like how the idea speaks to selecting the right ingredients (product) and pride in their colour (brand). Most of all I like how cool it makes Heinz - the humble brag that people love Heinz so much they'll get a tattoo to prove it never gets old.

Runner up: Unchained At Last 'Unseen Housewives'. The NGO, Unchained at Last, wanted to make people aware that under-age marriage is a significant issue, yet it remains legal in 43 States in America! They did this through a media channel that Americans can't turn away from, reality TV. Creating a fake reality show based on the stories of real child-marriage survivors and using the powerful end line "This show must NOT go on". A big idea to help raise awareness for an important cause.




This week's guest judge is Brendan Hoffmann, executive creative director at Joe Public Cape Town.

In 2019 Brendan started the Cape Town office of Joe Public, the biggest independent agency in South Africa. Driven by its purpose: To be the fertile soil that grows our people, our clients and our country, Joe Public has been rated the top creative agency in South Africa for the past 5 years and 22nd in the One Show Global Independent Agency rankings.

In its first 3 years Joe Public Cape Town has attracted several blue chip clients including Uber and Uber Eats, Engen (SA's biggest petroleum brand) and Hansa Pilsener.

Before this, Brendan ran the creative department at Publicis and has also worked at DDB, Lowe and FoxP2. He is passionate about creativity and believes strongly in the power of great ideas and their ability to grow clients' businesses and change people's lives. His work has been awarded at local and international award shows and he also regularly judges these shows.