Ad of the Day: October 28 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
  
• Location: London
  
• Client: KFC
  
• Name: Fans
  
• Category: Film
  

• Why I like it: This lovely ad understands what effective “branding” truly means. When a product/brand is credibly involved in the climax of a well-told story…that’s branding. When the brand makes a natural, unforced appearance only towards the end of the film, yet people the next day are saying to each other “did you catch that KFC ad about the brothers?”…that’s branding. It doesn’t have to be about making an appearance in the first 10 seconds, or plastering the logo on the screen, or saying the name three times, or any other such crutch. It’s a simple two step process: a) tell the most amazing story that you can, in the most amazing way, without compromising. If that means the brand comes in early that’s fine, if it comes in late that’s fine too! b) credibly insert your brand into the moment of peak attention…if the brand can credibly be the catalyst for that climactic moment, even better. And that’s all it takes. It’s a trap to think of “need more brand” , or “need less brand”…it’s about the right amount of brand, in the right place. Make an amazing piece of content, give a brand a proper role, and sit back and congratulate yourself when people talk about “…that KFC ad about the brothers.”

 

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Ad of the Day – September 26 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
  
• Location: London
  
• Client: The Guardian
  
• Name: Own the Weekend
  
• Category: Film
  

• Why I like it: Fittingly for a Friday morning, here’s a wonderfully crafted collage of an idillic-yet-quite-attainable British weekend. This one deserves to simply be enjoyed as a whole, but if we must pick it apart we see so many elements working together perfectly: the way the brand/product is woven not only into the film, but into the very fabric of our weekend lives…the diversity of people enjoying the same moments, each in their own special way…the way the story takes its time and remembers that a real weekend is made up of two distinct days (that pause and “rebirth” between Saturday night and Sunday morning is so joyfully true!)…the pitch perfect execution, from music track to casting to editing and beyond…I could go on. This is confident, talented and purposeful advertising – more of this, please.

Ad of the Day – March 26 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
  
• Location: London
  
• Client: Clipper Teas
  
• Name: Change Tastes Good
  
• Category: Film
  

• Why I like it: There is something delightfully retro about this ad, and yet it also feels fresh and current…for an overall mix that is very enjoyable. Today’s advertising world is very visually driven, so it’s a nice break to find an ad where the writing is so spot on perfect. Simple, but concealing a clever twist. Just the right amount of cheeky-ness. A wonderful signoff: “Ditch the old bag. Have an affair with Clipper.” It feels old-school, yet it’s shot and paced in a way that makes it all feel contemporary and relevant. Just great. I love it when challenger brands take the fight to Goliath head on, and here it’s done with guts, humor, and craft.
  

Ad of the Day – August 21 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
  
• Location: London
• Client: Barclay’s Premier League
  
• Name: Love is tough
• Category: Film

• Why I like it: This beautiful film doesn’t require careful analysis, it’s there to be enjoyed and cherished. Sports are so intertwined with the human condition that they are an endless source of gripping, emotional advertising. In this, a lovely ode to the highs and lows of loving your football team, every detail is just right (the execution is superb), and the end result is beautiful. Repeated viewings will unearth lovely gems, such as the father trying to hold the hand of his son in the crowds and the son shirking away, or the wisdom and experience in the old man’s eyes that shows he is there for the ride, not just the destination. The end result is uplifting, appropriately branded, highly relevant, and true to the experience of being a football fan. Sublime. 

Ad of the Day – May 10 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
• Location: London
• Client: Robinson (juice)
• Name: “Pals”
• Category: Film

Why I like it: (watch the ad first!) It’s hard not to love this ad, even as you are shaken by its imperfect ending. It’s a nice idea with a clever and touching twist, brought to life by flawless execution: The playful and nostalgic tone, the imperceptible (but mounting) sense that something is not quite as it seems, the disarming freshness of the interaction between the two “pals”, the slow, carefully doled out hints of what is to come…all of this shows us tremendous craft and touches the heart as intended (especially if you’re a dad.) Is it enough to overcome a very weak role for the brand? Not sure. Is it enough to overcome the disconcerting jolt of the end tagline, which feels like it was dreamed up by a 23-year-old childless copywriter? Definitely not sure. Nonetheless, the first 53 seconds are a lovely piece of film making to brighten up a grey Friday morning. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Ad of the Day – March 6 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
• Location: London
• Client: The Guardian (a newspaper)
• Name: “Three Little Pigs”

Why I like it: The fact that BBH London “gets” advertising is really no surprise to anyone who is following the industry. Do a search on this blog for their past Ads of the Day and you’ll see a growing collection that is as diverse as it is awesome. Now, in this fabulous ad for UK’s The Guardian, they make it clear that this newspaper “gets” new media and has a vision for where journalism is headed. A potentially dry topic brought to crystal-clarity in a very engaging and contemporary manner. I expect this one will get quite a bit of buzz in the next days, because it’s quite a few rungs above the average. A strong story to tell, excellent narrative devices, and a very accomplished execution mixing film with digital in a way that seems completely natural to our life, but is seldom captured so well in communications. Great stuff, and hats off once again to the good men and women at BBH London!

Ad of the Day – February 15 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

 

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH London
• Location: London
• Client: British Airways
• Name: “The Race”

Why I like it: I try not to have the same agency and city back too soon…and BBH London has been here before, as recently as only 12 days ago for their work on Axe. But hey, when the work is good, the work is good! In their latest ad for BA they took an important-but-pretty-dull consumer benefit (network logistics), and turned it into something engaging, suspenseful, and imbued with a warm, human touch through the use of the little girl. This is an ad that I would enjoy watching, and would leave me with good feelings (both rational and emotional) towards BA. What else can you ask for? If you think this is easy to do, go to Youtube and look through some airline advertising. Right. BBH London, you guys are killing the rest of it. Stop it. Actually, don’t.

Ad of the Day – February 3 (London)

Your daily dose of advertising awesomeness from around the world!

    

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH London
• Location: London
• Client: Axe
• Name: “Unleash the Chaos”

Why I like it: Wow, very very very nice! Just when you think Axe is starting to become tiresomely formulaic with its “hey nerd, wear this and super models will tear their clothes off for you” fantasy series, they come out with this. With a nice balance between the sexes (dare I say romantic?), but with all of the edge that is expected of the brand. The notion of launching his/hers product is not new, so I love the freshness of the “unless the chaos” core idea. I particularly like the print executions – they are lovely to look at, and they sell the product proposition very well and with originality. (I’m predicting some awards!) But as a special bonus, below is the TV spot, which ads an over-the-top visual drama that is really quite engaging. I have a ton of respect for the folks at BBH London, who keep churning out consistently great work, for completely different types of categories. I’ll raise a pint for you guys this weekend!

PS – Who can tell me where this was shot? I’m guessing Montevideo or BA. Anyone?

Ad of the Day – September 30 (London)

Every morning I scour the web and look at 10 random ads (in any medium) from around the non-US world. Then I post for you my Ad of the Day. Some days it will be awesome, some days you might not like it. But it’s the Ad of the Day!

Today’s pick:

• Agency: BBH
• Location: London, UK
• Client: Audi A6 Avant
• Name: “Hummingbird”
• Why I like it: Wow. Very nice. Normally I tend to dislike (or just be very indifferent to) car advertising. It’s tough to break the the mold, but I think they’ve done it for this Audi ad. The key here is fabulous execution not to show off, but rather in the service of communicating an appealing and credible product benefit. Love the concept of the mechanic hummingbird…because when you see it interact with the mechanic flying “truck bugs” and then zip nimbly away, you suddenly get the benefit with great clarity…even though you haven’t even seen a car yet! Moreover the great soundtrack injects an element of unbridled joy and freedom into the driving experience (the track it reminded me a lot of the track in this great Honda ad by W+K). All in all, it’s attention-getting, it’s persuasive, it’s sufficiently linked to the product, and it made me feel good. A great effort from the guys at BBH, who have been cranking out some really great work of late (check out their British Airways ad if you haven’t already!). Hats off, this is the Ad of the Day!

via @adfreak