High Five: Conquering Advertising's Truest Test
This is a tough task. So many ads, so many years, so many giants of the industry. How do you pick just five? I reckon the answer is to pick them quickly. Don’t think about it too much. Because those are the ads that struck you and stayed with you. They have answered an advert’s truest test: to be remembered long after the media budget ran out. So here are mine. They all resonated with me more personally and deeply than many believe advertising can. I loved them then, I still love them now...
Carling - 'Starlings'
Agency: Beattie McGuinness Bungay
Director Bill Bungay
Post: Rushes
I love this spot with all my heart because it reminds us of how simple advertising can be at its best. It used what I presume was stock footage (or close to it), a single scene, no VO, no talent, no product demo, no explanation. Just a perfect choice of track and a perfect understanding of audience. If you were in your 20s and you saw this ad in 2006, it created a feeling you can still remember more than 15 years later.
Essity Bodyform / Libresse- 'Wombstories'
Agency: AMV BBDO
Production: Chelsea pictures
Post: Framestore
I can’t remember an ad that hit me as hard as this one. As a new Dad, I felt familiarity and empathy. But paradoxically, the realisation of how little I knew was shocking. It tells incredibly complex stories in a tiny amount of time. Somehow the ad makes them both tragic and aspirational. It’s full of mixed emotions and contradiction which perfectly match the love hate relationship being depicted. I love the track that drives it and mostly I love that at over three minutes it defied a 'six seconds or under' world.
Lacoste - 'Life Is a Beautiful Sport'
Agency: BETC Paris
Production: Iconoclast
You could pick several executions from this Lacoste creative platform, but this is probably my favourite. I adore the line 'Life Is A Beautiful Sport'. It has philosophical depth, but also an elegance that means it’ll never become heavy-handed or cliched. It’s a masterpiece in every way. Not many ads can change your point of view on life - this one did for me. It’s empathetic and uplifting. It puts life into perspective. It would make me buy Lacoste too, if only I could afford it...
Puma - 'After Hours Athlete'
Agency: Droga5 New York
Production: SMUGGLER
Post: The Mill
As a planner, I will always be jealous of this idea. Forget identifying an audience, how about inventing one? Yet this doesn’t feel artificially manufactured. It’s so rooted in a truth I could feel myself being drawn in - I wanted to be an after-hours athlete too. It gives a group that some might see as aimless an identity and purpose. It makes Puma a brand to call their own, a badge of honour. It felt so fresh and original versus the bigger competition of Nike and adidas. It’s masterful.
Shelter - '#NoHomeKit'
Agency: Dark Horses
Production: Kode
Director: Peter Banks
Post: ECT
Editorial: tenthree
Music: DLMDD
Sound: Sounds Good Studio
Ok, so I’m allowed to include one ad from Dark Horses, so I’ve chosen this one. At least I can proudly say I had nothing to do with this brilliant campaign, so it’s much easier for me to champion it. This shows the power of a big idea and the ability of sport to combat big problems. Two things Dark Horses are most interested in. Like truly great ideas, it’s so simple it feels obvious. It can be described in a sentence; can work across any medium and permeate culture. It’s a good idea in every sense.
