High Five: Matt Lever
For me, the best creative ideas are simple, truthful and well-executed. So after compiling my shortlist of recent projects that I love (and could actually remember), it wasn’t particularly surprising to see that thread running through all of the work, albeit in different tonal ways...
Twix - 'Bears'
Agency: adam&eveDDB x DDB Chicago
Production: Dummy Films
Laugh out loud funny. You don’t see that very often. I’m constantly befuddled by the lack of genuinely simple, funny spots on TV in the UK. One thing’s for sure - ads like this are more surprising, entertaining and memorable than a lot of the purpose-led dross that seems to be the norm at the moment.
Alzheimer's Society - 'It's Not Called Getting Old'
Agency: NCA
Production: Academy
Post: Selected Works
Sound: Soundtree Music
This ad is a heart-wrenching triumph of simplicity. The end-line ties it together perfectly and the man’s performance is incredibly nuanced and very moving. It deserves all the awards it will inevitably get.
The National Lottery - 'The Chase'
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Production: Arts & Sciences
Post: Black Kite Studios
Sound: Theodore Music
Big, populist, well-executed and fun. I saw this on the actual telly and it made me want to buy a lottery ticket and dig out my cassette of The Goonies soundtrack...and then buy a cassette player to listen to it on.
CALM - 'Suicidal Doesn't Always Look Suicidal'
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Production & Post: cain&abelDDB
Director: Max Fisher
Editorial: Final Cut
Music: Radford Music
Sound: Wave Studios
Again, this campaign stems from such a brilliantly simple idea - that people who take their own lives might not necessarily be displaying behaviour that suggests they’re in a dark place. Using the real last photos and videos of people who subsequently took their own lives is so powerful and sosimple. A great campaign for an important cause.
Johnsonville - 'Jeff and His Forest Friends'
Agency: Droga5 New York
I’ve cheated the brief on this one (maverick). It’s not from the last few months, it’s from 2016. But I’m not sure it’s that well-known so I thought I’d include it. A very smart twist on the idea of being a 'family company' executed in a bonkers, brilliantly daft way.
