Work of the Week: 28/02/25

Advertising doesn’t save lives, right? Well, now it just might – in a world first, Australian health brand nib and Dentsu Creative are using digital billboards to run medical simulations for cancer and Alzheimer’s research.

Given that most digital billboards only use half of their CPU’s processing power, the brand and agency put the remaining 50% to work by partnering with Alliance Outdoor and Folding@home – a computer program that anyone can run on their computer to help scientists develop new treatments. The results are being fed back to scientists in America.

It’s an empowering example of advertisers using their resources for actual, practical good, and certainly sets a standard for others to follow. Let’s hope others follow suit!

See, I don’t care much about cars, but I do care about folding paper airplanes and defying expectations. This OOH campaign does exactly this – takes the automotive sector, often synonymous with badass music, cheesy visuals and toxic masculinity, and continues its transition into an actually exciting category of advertising. It’s true that in recent years we’ve seen some actually innovative car ads that take the machine off the road and place it in less standard ‘advertisement’ settings, showing the manyfold ways in which owning a car does change your life. 

A product is a product, though, and you still need to promise audiences that your car goes really fast. In comes this brilliant usage of the simple paper airplane – classy, and good looking. 

Not to mention the brilliance of the strategy behind the OOH placement, for which “a sequential media strategy” was employed. In simple terms, on any given high-impact route, commuters will first see the paper plane laid out flat, and as they continue their journey, they will come across images of the car coming together to ‘fly off’. Genius!

As a millennial who regularly checks Bandsintown to see which emo band has reformed to tour their seminal album in full for its 20th anniversary, I’m underqualified to comment on whether brands acting in self-described ‘unhinged’ ways on social media is an effective way to connect with gen z. But I have to hand it to whoever it was at Chemistry that successfully convinced Cinnabon to buy copywriting such as “life is an anonymous scream into an empty mall… for churro” or “i am hollow inside… where is my frosting?” These posts exist as part of a social-first campaign, appearing on Instagram, where such nihilism and chaos are more likely to be embraced, but if they put one of these on a billboard I would be even more in love with this campaign. I hope it sells lots of churros because it’s a thrill for advertising to take a tone like this.

You would think that in 2025, being a mother would not become a detriment to your career. As a mother myself I am deeply saddened by the astounding figures released from new research by Pregnant Then Screwed, in partnership with Women In Data®, which has revealed that up to 74,000 women every year lose their job for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave - an increase of 37% from 54,000 in 2016.

To bring this tragedy to light, the charity, along with a collective of advertising creatives have launched ‘The Career Shredder’, a new campaign to highlight that the motherhood penalty is worse than ever. The giant physical shredder will be live-streaming the shredding of  mothers’ CVs and the event will be aired across a billboard in Westfield for the next four weeks. Anyone can support the campaign by engaging via their LinkedIn profile and ‘shredding’ their CV too.

Monochrome fashion editorial is like catnip to me. So when I saw NM Productions’ collaboration with Cutler & Gross and Aboud + Aboud for the eyewear brand’s Duālis SS25 collection, I knew it was the one. 

It’s moody, imbuing modern day London with a ‘70s spy glamour akin to ‘Tinkor, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’, and playing with themes of identity and secrecy. Who’s looking and who is being seen?

The film and stills were shot in a former spice warehouse by Boo George and Mike O’Connor, interspersed with cinematic shots of London, creating a feeling of stylish anonymity and eeriness. 

The glasses – which are indeed lovely – play a central role; they’re a character in the sly exchange of gazes. It’s a pleasing way to integrate the products, making them a narrative anchor the film and stills couldn’t do without. 

Telstra and +61 partnered with director Dan Tobin Smith and art director Rachel Thomas to create a campaign showcasing ‘beautiful internet’ with 20,000 colourful dominos.

The campaign features intricate domino runs designed by a team of experts, symbolising flawless connectivity. Built on a bespoke theatrical set, the dominos visually represent Telstra’s promise of uninterrupted performance.

By transforming a technical concept into a striking visual metaphor, Telstra highlights the beauty of simplicity in a crowded market.

Telstra CMO Brent Smart said the distinctive campaign is designed to “capture the imaginations of Aussies and stand-out.” It’s certainly captured our imaginations.