High Five Immortal Contenders: Wayne Deakin on the UK

Taking on a classic piece of cinema is always a brave choice for any brand. This spot does it and then some in a fearless elegance peppered with lovely modern twists. From sound design to CGI, it just doesn’t put a foot wrong. Having helped a number of global fashion brands push boundaries in the past, I know the intense pressure all the clever folks who made this would’ve been facing to bring it home - so this larger than life grandeur, grounded in the reality of a very modern Britishness (including the unpredictable British weather charmingly included), makes this a modern classic in its own right and something that ticks many boxes for becoming a strong contender.

Not a lot of people know that I spent many years in print advertising and graphic design before I moved more into the digital world, so when I saw these posters, I instantly loved them. For me, great posters are all about the art of reduction and distillation. These are beautiful simple and strong. The graphic balance of elements, choice of brand colour shades and style of illustration - all just work. In an average high street full of hollering and busy shit posters, these posters just quietly stand out. For some reason they give me the same feeling as when you are waiting for a London night bus on a cold 3am morning and then one suddenly comes into view. There’s something welcoming and inviting about them.

George Orwell said: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” That’s why I love this work and its ambition. It’s about rebalancing, awareness and physically making moments to stop, think and send an important message out to the world. Again, it’s a very British idea that is a simple twist on culture and launched at a time when the world needed to wake up to what has and is happening.

When the world is telling us that everything needs to be short and snackable because people don’t have attention span anymore, this three-minute film demonstrates that great creative and craft doesn’t have to play by that low-bar attitude. A brilliant piece of storytelling and craft that shifts the conversation forward in a powerful and charming way. Gold medal standard.

Making a prediction here, but I am betting this 90-second ad picks up more than a few awards in other shows...but is it 'immortal' you might ask? I think yes. We’ve all worked on many beer ads and know the normal restrictions and watch-outs one has to navigate. This ad ignores all the normal category expectations and instead goes full throttle in your face in lovely twists and turns that cleverly jest with the beer ad narrative. The energy, casting, art direction and edit is bang on for a modern-world looking to embrace sociability after Covid-19, and the end pack bait and switch shot twist, for me, tips it into a classic piece of work. If the legend Joe Sedelmaier did a modern beer ad, it would look like this. Proper challenger brand ad.