High Five: Czech Republic

This is already the second campaign that IKEA Czech Republic and Triad are doing to raise awareness about domestic violence. The campaign speaks about the insight that there are too many obstacles when it comes to leaving abusive relationships, so let’s not be one of them. The voiceover features questions and comments that the victim is facing once she starts talking about leaving an abusive partner, such as: 'Where would you go? After all, you have no money. But he is nice. You want to break up the family? What would people say?' I appreciate that the brand is staying on their strategy and is taking a lead on this topic in our local market where not many brands are talking about it. The video is directed by Marek Partyš, one of the best Czech commercial directors, and I also really like the sound design in this one.

Colleagues from VMLY&R keep doing a great job for Česká spořitelna bank, which was deservedly awarded the Client of the Year award at the most recent ADC Awards in Czech Republic. For their 197th anniversary, they tell a story of what Česká Spořitelna has done historically for this nation and this country, but I appreciate how they managed to keep a humble tonality and focus on people, while reminding them that they have been - and will be - there for them on their mission to support the self-confidence of Czech people.

I am very proud of our third vaccination campaign for City of Prague that we did over Christmas. It is based on the insight that, despite rising numbers of Covid-19 infections, it is very likely that people would meet their loved ones over the holidays, regardless of the consequences. There is a lot of fear around this topic and people are generally tired of it, so we decided to lighten it up a bit by playing with terms associated with Christmas and winter holidays to remind people that when they associate during them - they should behave responsibly. We always changed the third word on the poster so it would indicate one of the consequences of this irresponsible behaviour. It would be hard to make a direct English translation of the copy, but as an example we can use decorating / celebrating / isolating. Although the copywriting is clever and humorous, the key message is meant very seriously. 

Amazing Places is a website for renting houses, apartments, pensions etc. in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. I like the fact that they decided to have some fun with their very first video campaign. This is one of those commercials that makes you react for different reasons - some of us might cringe very hard, some might find it funny, some even a bit creepy, but one thing is for sure - you will remember it and will not easily confuse it with other brands and campaigns. The only thing I would question is the stereotypical approach to the role of wife in the key twist scene. 

Most Christmas campaigns are full of clichés, but the way Vodafone managed to somehow step out of them is why I chose to include it on this list. We’ve all seen the commercials where families are buying the most desirable gifts for their loved ones and they are over the moon about it, but what if they don’t care about your gift at all? Especially when you are a father getting a gift for your kid with which you don’t live with as your ex has a new partner, you don’t spend much time with him and there is an obvious distance and disconnection that a gift can’t fix. The campaign is reminding people that if they want to give the nicest gift, they should give a bit of themselves and their time to their loved ones.