15 Projects That Adlanders Wish They'd Worked On in 2016

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Daniel: "Long-form video content is still a strong storytelling device, whether it’s viewed on your living room screen or on your phone screen. My favourite piece of video content this year is Under Armour’s Rule Yourself campaign, specifically the Michael Phelps advert. I’m excited to see how the campaign idea matures beyond a video-first campaign to inspire products and digital experiences."

Celine and Clement: "A beautiful way to tell a beautiful story. Cool music. Perfect line."

Amburr: "I love this commercial. Not only is the film striking, but the track is awesome and the emotion and sacrifice that the imagery reveals is beautiful. Granted, I was a competitive swimmer back in the day, so any time I see a lane pool, my heart melts."

Max: "So good."

Myles: "This was just incredible. The idea was good, but this is more about the action – the fact they actually did it and stood for their beliefs. Such boldness and bravery is rare these days. Either this is the world’s bravest client or the world’s best account person selling it in!"

Matthias: "What a brave idea to close down your shops on Black Friday, send out your employees into the wild and let them talk about it! Very disrupting and authentic. Great brand building."

"Who hasn’t been sat at an awards show or tedious function and felt a sense of impatience with the whole thing? Director Spike Jonze and the brilliant Margaret Qualley fulfil a fantasy that I’m sure we’ve all had with this film for KENZO: a no-holds-barred, free-reign release of energy, rebelling against the black-tie stuffiness of an event. It reminds me of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon Of Choice’, with the luxury setting and fantastical elements, and Footloose’s iconic warehouse dance scene. It feels similar to SIA’s oeuvre too. This is no surprise as the choreographer behind “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart”, Ryan Heffington, developed the eccentric moves in this film. Dancehall and reggae-influenced tracks have dominated the charts and clubs in 2016, and the soundtrack to this film, by Sam Spiegel and Ape Drums, serves as a fitting accompaniment to Qualley’s wild moves. This spot just grips me and I can’t stop watching (and re-watching, to be honest)."

It’s fairly recent but it’s really stuck with me, in the way a good punch to the gut tends to. I love that in 2016, as we all race toward the next big thing, one of the most breakthrough pieces of work was an anti-technology TV spot with only type and voiceover.  And yes, I watched it on my phone.

5. Harvey Nichols – ‘Shoplifters’

(This one didn't come out in 2016 but it was a hit in this year's awards circuit.)

"This shows real intelligence in its approach and simplicity. They accomplish it in a very fresh way that manages to transform all that material into a funny and clear message."

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Samuel: "This would have been fun to make just because I’d like to know what it’s like to work with Wes Anderson."

Dominic: "I would like to have had the opportunity to work with Wes Anderson. Music has always been such an important part of his films, so to see him bring his creative vision to a Christmas spot was really interesting. He stayed true to his unique style and was obviously given the freedom to do so which was refreshing."

"I usually look outside of our immediate industry for inspiration. For me, one of the greatest things to launch this year were the solar roof tiles from SolarCity’s boss Elon Musk in October. Brilliant idea – because it feels obvious, but up to now no one had thought of it or made them. The impact on the world will be huge!"

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9. Andes Beer – ‘The Fairest Night’

(This one didn't come out in 2016 but it was a hit in this year's awards circuit.)

"The rational, committed and professional side of me will tell you that I’d like to have done the ‘Live Logo’ for the Statistics Institute of Ecuador. In part because I’m sick of ideas that do not really solve a problem at all and still get awarded. But this one in particular solves a real problem really well – the kind of problem we have to solve in advertising everyday – and it gives a solution that not even the most optimistic copywriter could have anticipated. I think it’s the perfect 10. 

"But that answer is the politically correct one because, even though I like to do my job well and get straight As, overall I like to have fun working. And the category of work that I like the most and have always enjoyed is beer – so I actually wish I’d made Andes Beer ‘The Fairest Night’. The reason for that is because I would still be laughing at it." 

"Director Mark Jenkinson created some pretty inspiring work with Porsche 911: The Best vs. The Best. Our team have always enjoyed working with him, but this project is really special and the opportunity to recreate a photoreal version of an iconic person like Muhammad Ali doesn’t come around that often. I would have loved to see the MPC CG team recreate The Greatest."

 

"Few documentaries have ever felt as profound. If you want to understand America since the 1960s this is the five-part 'advertisement' I'd suggest you watch. A tragedy that in every sense encapsulates all that is good and bad about our country."

"Oh my days! What a brilliant brief for a VFX company to be given. It covers the whole gamut of VFX in 60 seconds and has a bit of everything in there from full CG to beautiful motion control filmed work. I’ve always loved model making, it’s how I ended up doing CG in the first place, so this word of miniaturisation would have been my perfect brief. And still is if anyone at BETC is listening?!"

"So funny." 

"We all enjoyed the 2016 TK Maxx campaign 'Ridiculous Possibilities' by Wieden+Kennedy London. We've enjoyed watching all the ads in this amusing campaign throughout the year and admire the clever creative positioning, strong art direction and most of all the irreverent humour. The culmination of this concept in the Sing-Song Christmas TVC ties it all together nicely, whilst playing on the unexpected, and still managing to effectively showcase the surprising range of designer products the store has to offer for the whole family!"

"I’ve always loved human stories. The real-life authenticity of this commercial deepens the impact of its timeliness. As it turns out I was raised in the Anglican Church (Episcopal in the US to be precise). I was also fortunate to produce and direct a documentary about American Muslims post 9/11 and travel and work on other projects in many countries where Islam is the predominant faith. This heightened awareness makes me particularly pleased to see Amazon’s bravery at portraying a potentially delicate matter in a responsible way that is resonating with consumers."