Work of the Week: 19/04/24
Balance is the key to a good life. And this week’s best work is exactly that - balanced. We bring to you a series of campaigns swinging between the serious and the humorous, the issues that need immediate attention and those that are for our eyes only. One thing ties all this work together, though - all of it is totally great.
Starting off on a more serious note, we look through a collection of work clothes for children, highlighting the unthinkable working conditions millions of children face across the world. We trek down through Frontline19’s push to help us better understand the daily struggles of frontline workers and we then treat ourselves with some well-seasoned Chicken Licken humour.
Shitty government decisions need taking action against and sex toys don’t need to be obscure household items, because “you deserve better”. Read on to find out more.
SOS Children’s Villages - Clothes That Shouldn’t Exist for Conditions That Can’t be Allowed
As I said, we kick off with a heavy subject, but not nearly as heavy as the realities behind it. According to SOS Children’s Villages, every day millions of children, some as young as five, are forced to perform hazardous labour in the mining, brick, and tobacco industries.
So, SOS has started an initiative aimed at raising awareness about the harsh conditions of child labour, by creating a line of workwear for kids in collaboration with NORD DDB. The pieces in the workwear collection include miner’s pants for five to ten year olds, a brick jacket made of sturdy canvas and design for long working days in brick factories, and a tobacco shirt, reminding us of the grim realities faced by millions of kids every day.
Lovehoney - Not a Sex Toy
Lovehoney, currently standing as the UK’s first stop for sexual happiness, has decided to adhere to strict advertising restrictions a year after the ASA complained about a ball gag featured in Lovehoney’s billboard, and has ditched the explicit images of sex toys in ads.
Today, the brand takes a more tongue-in-cheek approach by featuring a series of household items and perishable goods that people tend to turn to for some ‘me’ time. Electric toothbrushes, washing machines and cucumbers tell audiences that Lovehoney has to use them instead of real sex toys in their OOH ads, “thanks to censorship”, but audiences should opt for the real thing instead.
Frontline19 - Sicker Than The Patients
During the pandemic, many of us became better acquainted with the struggles of frontline workers, which go far beyond insufficient NHS funding and inhumane working conditions. According to Frontline19, many NHS staff do not receive the therapy that they urgently need as part of an extremely stressful day-to-day professional life. And none of them will let patients see the cracks.
This is why Frontline19 has collaborated with adam&eveDDB to create a two-minute CCTV-style film showing the numerous struggles frontline workers face as they battle with life and death. Along with the film, More4 and Channel 5 have invited NHS frontline staff to read the continuity announcements around well-known blue light programming such as ‘24 hours in A&E’ and ‘999 on the Frontline’.
Chicken Licken - The Family Full House
Chicken Licken’s humour has now become an iconic sign of the brand and we at LBB happen to love it. This time, the chain has given South Africans the best possible solution to making their families - and especially their parents - proud. The Family Full House meal!
Tasked with launching the meal campaign on Family Day, Joe Public came up with the story of David 'Legs of Thunder' Mgijimi - the fastest man in the world, undefeated on the race track. His son tells his story as we see a series of comedic scenes of his father running instead of driving, or bagging his gold medal as the race still continues behind him. While a hard act to follow, he isn’t too worried about having to fill his dad’s shoes. The Chicken Licken Full House meal will do good enough.
Central Office of Public Interest - Smear Campaign
“If you want people to clean up their act, you’ve got to play dirty.” And that is exactly what AMV BBDO and the Central Office of Public Interest (COPI) did in their latest smear campaign, aimed at those MPs who voted for millions of litres of raw sewage dumping in England’s rivers to continue.
Shocking figures from the Environmental Agency reveal that there were 3.6 million hours of raw sewage spills into the country’s rivers and seas in 2023 - an average equivalent of 1,271 spills a day. COPI and AMV BBDO made their campaign from… well, from all that. Actual human faeces, used condoms, old plasters and whatever else is in untreated wastewater. The campaign will project COPI’s message on iconic landmarks near sewage outlets, as well as live billboards outside parliament and in affected boroughs.
Beko - The Beko Inheritance
Ending on a funnier note, let’s talk about home appliances that can tear dynasties apart. Beko’s latest spot, produced by VML Germany & UK and directed by Jack Howard, tells the story of a wealthy family at the wake of its patriarch’s passing. Part murder mystery, part comedy, we see the characters deliberate the father’s death and one treasured family heirloom is at the heart of the feud.
Tensions rise, as we approach the will reading, which will inevitably reveal who inherited the… Beko fridge!
