Clever ads from past to present from around the world, alongside brilliant wordplay, that entertain, move, anger, excite, confuse, impress, shock, amuse and most of all inspire, all of which I couldn't resist sharing.
Right on the Money
Absolutely love the art direction for these ads. These are all astounding and beautifully executed, capturing the essence of the Canadian Lotto 649 excellently, as well as maintaining consistent branding. These ads are turning a day-to-day object into an exciting one associated with holidays. And that is exactly what the lottery is about. They were created by DDB, Vancouver and I simply can't give these ads enough praise. They convey everything it needs to in a simple yet exquisitely crafted ad, and the fact there is no need for copy, highlights just how brilliant they are.
Axe Marks the Spot
Diabolically simple, or simply diabolic? Or other suitable oxymorons. I just can't decide. I love the conception, but I just think these ads from Axe by Lowe, Dubai from the UAE are attempting to be too clever. I'm really can't make my mind up. I've got to give them credit though, how they squeezed three executions out of this one concept is beyond me, but they did it, and they did it really well. I think I've just got to take my hat off to Lowe and say well done. They may not be to everyone's taste, but they are simple, and they are clever, and they do show the product's apparent benefit without showing the product's benefit, if you know what I mean. Good work. I think.
Making a Mountain out of a Molehill
This is a big campaign across outdoor and several print executions for Powder Mountain by the excellently-named Super Top Secret, USA. In case you don't know (how could you not?), Powder Mountain is a ski resort located east of Eden, Utah (Thank you, Wikipedia) and is apparently massive. Some of these executions I adore, yet some of these I hate. Some of these have excellent copy, yet some of these have terrible copy. And some of these look like they have been designed by an agency that deserves the prefix 'Super', yet some of these look like they have been designed by a child.
I'm confused as to why all of these executions have been released at once, as I'm convinced you can get at least 2, maybe 3, campaigns out of these.
The first lot of prints I think are brilliant. They take a light-hearted and amusing approach which I think would definitely resonate with their target audience. Really nice art direction and copy too.
The outdoor campaign is a nice idea but in my opinion only one of them is good. The copy of 'Less oxygen. More air.' is brilliant but the others fall behind by some distance which is a shame. It's also a shame that they are nothing like the above executions. Perhaps they could support them, but I remain unconvinced.
The second group of print ads I hate. They are trying to be funny but aren't, are trying to look good, but aren't, and are trying to get people to go to Powder Mountain, but won't. These should never have been released alongside the two above, or perhaps even should never have been released at all. I think these executions result in a good campaign becoming overcrowded and confusing.
I'm confused as to why all of these executions have been released at once, as I'm convinced you can get at least 2, maybe 3, campaigns out of these.
The first lot of prints I think are brilliant. They take a light-hearted and amusing approach which I think would definitely resonate with their target audience. Really nice art direction and copy too.
The outdoor campaign is a nice idea but in my opinion only one of them is good. The copy of 'Less oxygen. More air.' is brilliant but the others fall behind by some distance which is a shame. It's also a shame that they are nothing like the above executions. Perhaps they could support them, but I remain unconvinced.
Plug in, Baby
A little slow on the amazing print ad front on the internet today, so here's a TV ad for you.
It was created for match.com, the online dating site, by Binder Visão Estratégica, Brazil and is an interesting concept in a market that must be extremely hard to be innovative in. I really like this idea, as simple as it is, I hope you do to.
It was created for match.com, the online dating site, by Binder Visão Estratégica, Brazil and is an interesting concept in a market that must be extremely hard to be innovative in. I really like this idea, as simple as it is, I hope you do to.
Silly Jean
These ads annoy me. I love them, don't get me wrong, I really do. The copy, the art direction, the choice of type. Everything is first class and, most importantly, cool. Levi's are a cool brand. And these ads convey this. Now let me tell you why they annoy me. Imagine just replacing the copy with 'Be Stupid' and essentially you have the Diesel 'Be Stupid' campaign. This is a real shame because I adore these ads. Everything about them is excellent. You can't beat a piece of over-the-top copy that sparks a feeling of adventure and a connection with a brand, and BBH, Singapore knew this. There are many famous quotes saying 'There's no such thing as an original idea...blah blah blah', but in the back of my mind I keep thinking of Diesel. Despite this, I really do think they are exceptional.
Lead Generation
Love these ads. These sorts of ads are what makes art directors want to touch themselves. Really nice idea to convey the true colours these products have. I'm unsure about the dog (it's just plain freaky), and come to think of it the shark as well, but the others are excellent. Fire Engine Red and Aubergine Purple are bright, deep colours that artists want from their Faber-Castell pencils, and German agency Serviceplan, Munich understood this. The succinct copy of 'True Colours' is excellent, and so of course in the art direction, but I would have loved to see other executions along the lines of the aubergine and fire engine. I mean, who here has ever heard of Daschund Brown or Shark Silver?
Raise the Bar
Lovely concept created by Charm Advertising, Beijing. A product that improves male sexual function which cannot be advertised on TV is being printed on parking sensor cards that make the barrier go up. Get it? It resembles a penis. What a great idea.
NO.
Take a step back away from the physical metaphor and think. How many of you actually study and read the parking tickets to get out of car parks? I don't. And how many people do you think will even get it? They carry it around all day, they don't only see it when it's opening the barrier. It's easy to sit and look at this ad and think, wow, this is sooooo clever. But it's just not as clever as you think. I guarantee you most people won't make the connection between the two, and I guarantee you not even that many people own one of these in the country. It's a stupid, ineffective and ill thought out "campaign" by an agency who only have one thing on their minds: Making the client happy. Oh, and penises.
NO.
Take a step back away from the physical metaphor and think. How many of you actually study and read the parking tickets to get out of car parks? I don't. And how many people do you think will even get it? They carry it around all day, they don't only see it when it's opening the barrier. It's easy to sit and look at this ad and think, wow, this is sooooo clever. But it's just not as clever as you think. I guarantee you most people won't make the connection between the two, and I guarantee you not even that many people own one of these in the country. It's a stupid, ineffective and ill thought out "campaign" by an agency who only have one thing on their minds: Making the client happy. Oh, and penises.
Remember Remember Remember
This is such a simple conception from Romanian agency Tempo Advertising for the very questionable memory-enhancing product, MemoPlus. I can imagine myself reading this and flicking passed the same page three times, and it would certainly grab my attention. Almost all of readers will notice it and will also clock the ad on the third page. I'm really uncertain about the copy 'Memorize at the first try' as I'm sure it could be worded so much better, but the conception is still excellent. The execution and extra pages may be expensive, but I think the additional cost is well worth the bigger impression made upon the reader. Simplicity wins again.
Sets Cymbal
I simply adore the art direction and choice of type for these ads. I think the mood they create is exactly what Zildjian, the cymbal and drumstick manufacturer, were looking for. They were created by American agency Allen & Gerritsen, Boston, and I think they are brilliant and beautiful. The first ad's copy is the best out of the three, it's more emotive and striking compared to the other two, but I still think the copy on all of them is very good. I think these ads spark an immediate feeling of passion and create an excellent connection with this brand. Although I really do think these ads are very good, I get a feeling that perhaps more time could have been spent crafting the copy, rather than the visuals, just to take these ads up a notch or two.
Jump on the Band-Wagon
I'm not sure about these ads. I like the concept of using band names and songs that are grouped into one topic, it's a nice idea. But that's about it. I really WANT to like these ads. Long copy ads, for me, can be truly excellent, but these just fall short. These were created by Slovakian agency Jandl, Bratislava and I understand the concept that Kiss Radio is for all types of people, but I think they've squeezed as much as possible out of this one small idea. There's no real insight, just a lot of songs and bands that can be grouped together. As well as this, in my opinion the art direction isn't quite right, and is maybe a little too quirky. I'm trying desperately hard to like these, but unfortunately it's just not happening.
For Previous Radio Ads:
Hire and Mightier
This is such a brilliant concept from car hire firm Avis created by Ireland/Davenport, Johannesburg. I think it's a subtle, clever and amazingly simple way to convey the idea of luxury car rental. They could have created a mundane ad that simply told us we can rent luxury cars, but instead they crafted this clever and amusing ad that evokes an instant reaction. I would like to see other executions, but if they were unable to think of any then it's better to leave them out than risk tarnishing their one excellent idea.
This Doesn't Cut the Mustard
And the award of poorest Art Direction of the week goes to...
This ad makes me cringe. It's awful. The copy reads "Austria's hottest mustard. Since 1923." Love the concept. I really do. But the art direction. *shudders* It was created by the aptly-named Vienna-based agency, Blink and is for the charmingly-titled mustard product, Ramsa Englischer Spezialsenf. This ad took me a while to understand, and it wasn't because I'm having a slow morning, but because it's s**t. That bread roll looks nothing like a tear, is considerably too big to even resemble a tear, and is too far away from the eye to convince you that it's supposed to be a tear. Absolutely awful execution. This product makes me weep. But not in the way they... yeah you get it.
This ad makes me cringe. It's awful. The copy reads "Austria's hottest mustard. Since 1923." Love the concept. I really do. But the art direction. *shudders* It was created by the aptly-named Vienna-based agency, Blink and is for the charmingly-titled mustard product, Ramsa Englischer Spezialsenf. This ad took me a while to understand, and it wasn't because I'm having a slow morning, but because it's s**t. That bread roll looks nothing like a tear, is considerably too big to even resemble a tear, and is too far away from the eye to convince you that it's supposed to be a tear. Absolutely awful execution. This product makes me weep. But not in the way they... yeah you get it.
Job's a Bad'un
These three ads come from Paris and are by Young & Rubicam for L'Etudiant, a job seekers website. I think the concept of these ads is excellent, and the almost slapstick approach with the visuals is a funny and engaging idea. Yes being an astronaut is far-fetched, but the copy reads 'Youth's got future' (which by the way I think is superbly succinct) and so this site is aimed at the younger generations, and dreaming of being an astronaut wasn't that long a go for some of these people. The Fireman ad could be clearer and I'm extremely uncertain regarding the rest of the copy. 'Are you sure your career choice is the best fit?' doesn't read right to me. I'm sure these were probably translated, but that is no excuse from an agency of Y&R's calibre. Still these ads are amusing, and humour can sometimes be a wonderful thing in advertising.
For other job seeker ads:
Solitairey Medicine
This ad I think is absolutely excellent. It's to raise the issue of the lack of self-medication in Brazil by the Red Cross and was created by Paim, Porto Alegre. The astoundingly simple imagery and the superb copy combine extraordinarily well to create an extraordinary and thought-provoking message which you can't help but absorb. Again, a huge and complex issue has been conveyed in the simplest form possible to create an exceptional and exemplary piece of advertising. Really great stuff.
P%
First up today is a simply clever ad for the VW Polo BlueMotion crafted by DDB Brussels. I can imagine the look of excitement in the office when someone realised a percentage sign looks like 'olo'. An easy and straightforward idea to convey less emissions and fuel consumption. My only qualm is that 'minus 15% tax reduction' is a double negative and therefore denotes a tax increase. Either this is a genius ploy or a terrible mistake. Apart from this, the ad is just nice. Not amazing, nor brilliant, just nice.
For past VW ads:
Crocodile Cheers
This is just an absolutely awesome ad. I don't care that it's weird, or that it's advertising three things in the Australian Open, a Samsung Phone and Optus' live streaming function, or that there's no insight whatsoever. This piece of brilliance was created by M&C Saatchi, Sydney and I just simply love it.
Got a feel for the Ambience? Pt 5
Finally gotten round to Part 5 of this wonderful series of ambient ads. Some could be classed as Outdoor but I don't care.
To start off with we've got an excellent idea from Colle and McVoy, Minneapolis for Caribou Coffee's new hot breakfast sandwich range. The bus stop was changed to an oven and heat was actually emitted. Great idea, although probably a little expensive.
Next up a nice idea from McCann Erickson, Madrid for Coke Zero. They deceived the public into thinking they were drinking Normal Coke in the cinema to highlight it tastes the same. This fact was then revealed to them via an advert before the film (which I was going to include, but you're busy people- you don't have time to watch a four minute video). A novel idea with a nice touch of a free coke afterwards.
To raise awareness of the Australia flooding, Clemenger BBDO and Hamilton Creative placed these stencils in flood-effected areas. The stencils are great I'm just not convinced about the amount of awareness it raised. If they were caught on national news stations etc. then this would have been a very successful campaign. A lovely concept though.
This I thought I'd include because it annoys me. No one is going to take these flyers off of the gate. Not a single person. And therefore no one knows that Weber has put them there. Therefore the whole idea is a waste of time and money and has gained nothing. The only positive I can take is that it was created by Miami Ad School, and they're still learning. Probably.
Now this I really like. The very best of ambient ideas are simple. This is one of them. Created by CCZ Comunicação, Curitiba, Brazil it's for Eisenbahn Strong Golden Ale. Excellent.
Last but not least, this is one of my favourite ambient ads for a while. DraftFCB, Lisbon created a zebra crossing out of road accident victims. A really simple, but hard-hitting use of alternative media. "Using the media as the message, and the message as the media." Nice.
To start off with we've got an excellent idea from Colle and McVoy, Minneapolis for Caribou Coffee's new hot breakfast sandwich range. The bus stop was changed to an oven and heat was actually emitted. Great idea, although probably a little expensive.
Next up a nice idea from McCann Erickson, Madrid for Coke Zero. They deceived the public into thinking they were drinking Normal Coke in the cinema to highlight it tastes the same. This fact was then revealed to them via an advert before the film (which I was going to include, but you're busy people- you don't have time to watch a four minute video). A novel idea with a nice touch of a free coke afterwards.
To raise awareness of the Australia flooding, Clemenger BBDO and Hamilton Creative placed these stencils in flood-effected areas. The stencils are great I'm just not convinced about the amount of awareness it raised. If they were caught on national news stations etc. then this would have been a very successful campaign. A lovely concept though.
This I thought I'd include because it annoys me. No one is going to take these flyers off of the gate. Not a single person. And therefore no one knows that Weber has put them there. Therefore the whole idea is a waste of time and money and has gained nothing. The only positive I can take is that it was created by Miami Ad School, and they're still learning. Probably.
Now this I really like. The very best of ambient ideas are simple. This is one of them. Created by CCZ Comunicação, Curitiba, Brazil it's for Eisenbahn Strong Golden Ale. Excellent.
Last but not least, this is one of my favourite ambient ads for a while. DraftFCB, Lisbon created a zebra crossing out of road accident victims. A really simple, but hard-hitting use of alternative media. "Using the media as the message, and the message as the media." Nice.
For previous parts:
Got a feel for the Ambience? Pt 1Thumb Undone
Although this ad did make me chuckle, I'm not a huge fan. It's for First Ascent backpacks and was created by FoxP2, Cape Town. Now, with a name like First Ascent, I'm assuming they are targeting first-time explorers. But saying 'hey, you might lose your fingers but your stuff will be just fine' is generally not the best way to encourage purchasing of a rucksack. In my opinion it's not a success to finish an expedition with fewer body parts than when you left off, but hey what do I know, I'm not one of the 'World's Top Adventurers.' The art direction however is excellent and I actually do like the copy, but like this guy, I can only give it half a thumbs-up.
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