Food for Thought

Okay, this post is just a few things I've seen lately that I liked the look of. It's a bit of a mish mash - few D&AD award hightlights, and a couple more to boot. Here we go. Firstly there this, which won a Yellow pencil in Art Direction (Poster Advertising). It's called 'Husky & Camel' (one in series) and it's by BBDO/Proximity Malaysia, for Jeep...

It's clear why this won itself some stationary - it's clever, simple, all the things an ad should be. It reminds me of the kind of thing you'd find in 'A Smile in the Mind', where 'getting it' is the whole satisfaction. Next up is 'Rose Campaign' by JWT for DeBeers, (a diamond retailer) one of the winners in the ambient category...

Makes you think how one well placed, engaging ambient ad can do a hell of a lot of work. Apparently it got DeBeers over 2.5 million dollars of free media coverage. Again, a clever yet simple idea well executed. Then there's this ad ('Rabbit') for Comcast by Goodby Silverstein and Partners which also won a Yellow Pencil.

Now, I don't much like this ad - the idea isn't as pure as in my other findings and, to be honest, it kinda creeps me out (maybe it's something to do with my irrational fear of hares)... but it's funny nonetheless! 

Besides the D&AD award winning personal faves, theres this one which I like a strange amount. It hit our UK screens not long ago and is by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO for....... well see if you can guess the brand before the end and you might see why I like it so much! 

They probably could have been really ground breaking and got away with not saying who the ad was for! It just reinforces how ubiquitous the brand really is. As a spokesperson for Heinz said, "This ad reminds consumers that Heinz Tomato Ketchup is so iconic and so irreplaceable that you don't have to see it to know what it is, when it comes to mealtimes it is your best mate." It also has a lot of humanity to it: the kid who uses too much; the bloke scraping the last bit out. I'm a sucker for humanity. So, I guess that's all for now. 

Suddenly I have a hunger for some chips (and a glass of juice)... 

Heg out.

Dance Classics vs. Absurd Graphics

"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." 

- Albert Einstein

Okay, another post for you here. It seems that Clemmow Hornby Inge (CHI) have cracked the formula for a great TV-cum-viral video campaign. The most recent example to come to fruition is their 'Pheasant Rodeo' spot for Drench, in which a man rides a giant pheasant, drinks some Drench orange juice, then continues to ride the pheasant, all set to the 1989 hit 'Ride on time' by Black Box... and the strapline being "Stay on top of your game.'

Before this, of course, there was the 'Brains' spot, also for Drench, in which a brilliantly animated CGI Brains (of Thunderbirds fame) took to the stage and danced to the 1992 hit 'Rhythm is a Dancer' by Snap! until he got thirsty... for Drench water, would you believe.

With that one clocking up more than 800,000 YouTube views so far, and 'Pheasant Rodeo' well on its way, it seems like CHI are on to something. Perhaps a dance classic, plus an absurd graphic does get people going these days... it certainly provides a bit of light humour in 'these dark economic times', though we can't use the crunch to explain everything.

The drench spots are, of course, predated by that legendary Gorilla (set to Phil Collins' '81 hit 'In the Air Tonight') and those somewhat less legendary eyebrows (set to Freestyle's '84 hit 'Don't Stop the Rock'). All four share a sense of humour, delivering simplistic audio and visual bliss. Perhaps people are so sick of being advertised to, they'd prefer it if brands just dropped all pretense of honesty or sincerity and just gave them an unadulterated good time - one they want to pass on to others.

Expect to see more of these before the day is done.