This week's guest judge is William Gelner, founder and chief creative officer at Special Group U.S.
BEST TV
Winner: Topic 'Topic is Criminal'.
As someone who's admittedly guilty of every pandemic trope in this ad,
they had me from the jump. Using the characters from the genre of shows
they specialize in - foreign criminal thrillers - made it interesting.
They are all pleading for us to put down that 112th loaf of sourdough
and watch something other than Golden Girls reruns. Which, for the
record, is an amazing show.
Runner-up: Google 'First of Many'.
It just so happens that I'm watching this beautiful film today on
International Women's Day. All the while my teen daughters are sitting
across from me. So this one really hit home. The world today presents
far more opportunities to women thanks to all the trailblazers who not
only opened doors, but in some cases, kicked them down for the next
generation. It's a truly moving tribute to them all. I only wish there
were even more featured. Luckily, the stories homepage lists out many of
the inspiring women in the ad with all their backstories and
accomplishments. My daughters spent a fair amount of time learning about
them. Who knows what they might be motivated to do now?
BEST PRINT
Winner: Congrats, Dictators! 'Congrats, Dictators!'.
The ads powerfully demonstrate one of the biggest problems in society
today. Corrupt leaders who control and rig elections so they can stay in
power forever. Nothing is more horrible than imagining authoritative
dictators still ruling many years into the future. The team did a nice
job on aging Putin and Assad as well.
BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: Rexona 'Pitvertising'.
Really smart use of media. The brand's logo is only revealed during
high stress moments, which reinforces the efficacy of the product while
also entertaining the audience. The case study for the campaign makes a
good point as well: corporate sponsorships of sporting events have
become littered with giant brand logos everywhere you look. Cutting
against the grain with a more subtle approach makes the Rexona logo that
much louder than the brands ten times their size.
Runner-up: SangSom 'Bucket for 1'.
I've personally never had the shared bucket drink experience in
Thailand. But even without a pandemic, I would imagine this would be the
only way I would partake in this time-honored tradition. Bucket for 1,
please.
BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Bodyform/Libresse 'Pain Dictionary Definition'.
As a man, I've never had to experience the horrible, debilitating pain
that women feel with endometriosis. The artful pieces and copy do a good
job of literally making me imagine what it must feel like and the only
word that comes to mind is hell. Sheer hell. Maybe instead of doctor's
asking, "describe your pain on a scale of 1 to 10" they should have this
dictionary handy and let women point to what level of hell they are in
at that time. Powerful stuff.
Runner-up: Pedigree 'The League of Hero-iso Small Dogs'.
I'm a dog lover and have a soft spot for the small dogs in particular.
One of my favorite things about these little guys is that they normally
have no idea of their size. They all think they are big dogs and capable
of doing big things. This campaign does a good job of nailing that
insight and provides some fun "super hero" style comic book content as
well. Made me want to see more. Always a good thing.