Work of the Week: 03/11/23

Kids ask all sorts of questions when it comes to Santa Claus and Christmas - why can’t they ever see him, what time of night does he actually slide down the chimney, where do all the letters go, and plenty more. In this year’s installation of Boots’ Christmas advert, titled ‘Thank you, Santa’, we see a little girl ask the question that should perhaps be on top of that list: 'Who gives presents to Santa?'.

So, naturally, her and her mum embark on an epic journey to the North Pole to fix the problem. Armed with a huge Boots bag filled with goodies for everybody on the way - from the employees at the train station to Santa himself - the duo manages to deliver what he most needs.

In line with its ‘Big Brands, Small Prices’ tagline, UK’s TK Maxx has too revealed its holiday ad. 

In ‘Festive Farm’, a group of animals are dressed in Pinterest-worthy outfits by their owner, Jeane, who knows that TK Maxx prices allow you to 'keep it small' this year without scraping style or quality. 

An alpaca struts confidently in a cashmere green jumper finished with a brown cross-body bag next to the iconic ‘lil goat’ (known to audiences from the 2020 TK Maxx Christmas ad) wearing a sparkly pink jacket, some pearl-dripped geese and an adorable hedgehog. All this to the backdrop of ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ by Eve and Gwen Stefani - what’s more festive than that?

Volkswagen has recently been on a roll, breaking out of the classic, somewhat tiring, automotive tropes, and that streak isn't ending with the brand's latest campaign. In a mesmerising series of portrait videos by director Joe Vanhoutteghem (Czar Brussels), Volkswagen ditched the sleek movement shots and the epic too-perfect-to-be-real landscapes. Instead, they banked on framing every Volkswagen - regardless if it’s new, electric, petrol, or vintage - as the one car of your life. With not one person seen in the campaign, instead, we watch different Volkswagen cars in the quiet moments of life’s many aftermaths. There's one parked in the garage after a party, and one alone in a parking lot with a flower poking out its roof, old mugs in the cup holders, inflatables overflowing out of the trunk, and a heartfelt ‘Sorry’ written with lipstick on the windshield. No action, no speed, no complicated script - just the car of your life.

Let’s be real - we all have that one room, attic, basement space, staircase or just random spot in the kitchen in our houses where the wi-fi just does not reach. And with Christmas parties getting closer at a rapid speed, we become aware of our home connections’ blind spots ahead of time... Especially if the blind spot is the entire living room.

In come AT&T and Omnicom - the latest campaign for AT&T Fiber with All-Fi - better and broader-reaching wi-fi with no dead zones or slow downs - has us covered. In a series of hilarious spots, we see a group of parents hiding in the attic watching sports during a kids birthday party, a gamer couple installing a gaming chair as a floaty, just because they can game in the pool outside, a Hispanic family utilising every corner of the house at an extended-family event, and many more ‘GIGillionaires’ whose wi-fi connections don’t ever miss a spot.

It’s that time in the list where you’d normally get a hard watch. And this one is a really, really hard watch. Cats Protection’s latest TVC, directed by FLIPT’s Duncan Christie, is a heart-breaking rollercoaster of emotions about a mum and daughter in an abusive home. 

The film opens with a shot that immediately sets the tone - the little girl and her cat hide away under a DIY bed sheet tent while they comfort each other as they listen to screams from the kitchen. Once the two women finally find their way out of the abusive situation, though, the cat has to stay behind and the family has to go through an unbearable separation. 

Thanks to the volunteers at Cats Protection who take in pets when times get rough, however, many families like this one are given a second chance with their pet, once they’re back on their feet and the time is right. Thankfully, the film ends with a beautiful reunion and a new beginning.

The year is 2052. A duo casually cruises around retro-futuristic Paris in a flying car. The city is flooded with neon lights and holograms that illuminate the night scene as a giant octopus projection wraps its endless tentacles around the buildings. It’s a world we’ve never seen, sitting at the cross section between ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘The Fifth Element’. But, one thing has stayed the same - the Colonel’s secret recipe. 

After two films that concentrated on KFC’s origins, this time Havas Paris wanted to take a peak in the future, where the Colonel’s chicken remains the crispiest on the market. So, scared or not of AI takeover, don’t worry - at least we’ll still have the boneless banquet.