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Bestads Six of the Best Reviewed by William Gelner, Founder/CCO, Special Group U.S.

09/03/2021
Publication
Sydney, Australia
37
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Each week Bestads picks the very best advertising in the world, in every medium – which is reviewed by a top creative director or team to select their own personal favourites

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.

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