This week's guest judge is Frederico Roberto, executive creative director at Interweave Agency in London and Athens.
BEST TV
Winner: Audi Norway 'Globe'.
It's the second ad I see 'answering' back to the General Motors' one
with Will Ferrell at the Super Bowl and its stab at Norway's clean
energy vehicles philosophy. Point being, to pull something like this,
with Kristofer Hivju, in less than a week, is a great testament of
creative prowess. Oh, and great messaging too: "Don't hate. Imitate".
Relevant. Timely. All you need.
Runner Up: Virgin Media 'Faster brings us closer'.
As a hardcore gamer myself, this resonates. And it's totally true. Over
the years, better online experiences, through games and other
entertainment vehicles, brought people to my life that I wouldn't have
met otherwise. A wink to "Ready Player One" to package it up with nice
craft and storytelling. Classic Adam&Eve.
BEST PRINT
Winner: IKEA Home & Storage 'Bedroom'.
This one is a beauty. It has all the ingredients of a great ad:
stopping power and then layers and layers of little stories that you
just keeping uncovering. If at first it seems like a simple "before and
after mechanic", because of the colours, quickly you understand that
there's a whole life journey throughout the bedrooms. Just lovely.
Runner Up: Land Rover 'Standard Since Day 1'.
I looked at this ad and I've learnt a lot of stuff with little more
than 10 words and an image. It shows me legacy, authenticity, ownership
and even a bit story in that historical picture. A great ad, through and
through. I hope they do more "Standard since day 1" ads for Land Rover.
BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Marmite Dynamite 'Makes a Crash'.
Yes, it's a one-off. Yes, it's meant to just hit the web and become
viral in a PR stunt-y kind of way. So what? It's a great execution of a
product promise done in a funny, impactful way. Those it have an idea?
No, not really. Not in the way you expect "an idea" to run a deeper
message. Not everything needs to be a peace treaty.
Runner Up: Billy Boy 'Love Crossings'.
A topic little piece playing with the street names crossings for condom
brand Billy Boy. Fortunate, but the best ideas also come from seizing
an opportunity when it's there for the taking. It's clever and surely
will become a reference.
BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Verizon's 5G Ultra WideBand 'Verizon 5G Stadium'.
Here comes my gamer heart again. Topical, relevant, unique, grandiose,
on culture. Product demos will always be one the best ways of
advertising. And sometimes, all you got to do is to give power to the
people and get the hell out of the year. 5G will change our world
through people's sheer power to create whatever they want. This is just a
great example of that.
Runner Up: Habito 'The Road to Completion'.
Honest insight, brave client. To do something like this that at first
might not seem fully aligned with your core offering as a company, might
seem silly at best (and a waste of time and money at worst), but the
best companies know being in contact with their customer base in every
moment possible even if it's just to make them giggle for 5 sec, it's
worth every investment. After all, #emotionisthepotion.
BEST RADIO
Winner: KFC 'Barbie Girl'.
Ha! A blast from the past. I heard the whole thing. I sang the whole
frigging song in my head. That's when you know you're onto something.
When you play in people's minds. That's our turf, we the creatives. The
ending is just like a soothing balm to bring it home. Super cool.
Runner Up: IKEA 'Life (at home) by IKEA - Sleepy Rug'.
It might seem easy to pull a straightforward radio ad like this one.
But it's not. Pace, tempo, script, acting, SFX, delivery. Everything
plays a part. This is Radio 101 and a great - albeit simple - example
that radio still lives.