Private view: Smart kids and immunity to stunts

In Private View, we ask two creative leaders to comment on recent work from around the region.

This month's participants:

• Kitty Lun, head of creative shop, Greater China, Facebook
• Paolo Arevalo , ECD, DDB Philippines

1. Uber India
Project: Move forward
Client: Uber
Agency: BBH India

Lun: Delightful, with strong insight on traffic and smart kids. Yet, I wonder whether Uber wants more people to ride or to drive. What exactly should we think of Uber after seeing this? I am a bit lost here. Do they have GPS to help me navigate this video?

Arevalo: Y-a-h-o-o! A spot that doesn’t rely on heavy drama to warm the audience’s hearts. This seamlessly integrates all the essential elements of the Uber brand—the caring driver, the worried passenger, the spotless car, the safe arrival.

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2. Bar-B-Q Plaza
Project: The secrets of black pan
Client: Bar-B-Q Plaza (Food Passion Co. Ltd.)
Agency: GREYnJ United Thailand

Lun: Spoofing the hilarious Thai ad industry is bold. What’s more, there is no ambiguity in their communication intent. Great product design. I salute the creatives for finding a brilliant way to convey the minor, but important, selling points.

Arevalo: The flavour’s lacking and I wish the ingredients mixed together better. The aim to ‘make fun’ of overly dramatic Thai ads overpowers the main ingredient: Bar-B-Q Plaza’s new pan. 

Campaign's coverage: You'll laugh when you see why these people are so emotional

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3. Coca-Cola
Project: Coke uplifting breaks
Client: Coca-Cola Singapore
Agencies: Mediacom, Geometry

Lun: I do pity those FMCG clients and agencies that have to come up with a different promotion theme every year. This is not bad but it feels tedious. I doubt this campaign has much PR and viral effect. Both consumers and the media are immune to this kind of stunt already.

Arevalo: ‘The youth’ already interact digitally with music stars on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Live. Taking it offline and into OOH territory would add a new twist, but I don’t know how exciting a selfie with a star holding a bottle of Coke on a billboard is because, well, because youth.

Campaign's coverage: Interactive OOH panels invite passersby to give Narelle Kheng a Coke

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4. Cathay Pacific
Project: Marco Polo Club
Client: Cathay Pacific
Agency: Eight Partnership Hong Kong

Lun: I don’t really get this: some random Marco Polo members expressing the club’s philosophy? They each have a different story, so what’s the point here? Most people won’t watch all the way through to the end so will miss the Marco Polo logo.

Arevalo: Tackling the lives of Marco Polo Club members “when they’re not travelling” may just be too broad a theme. The films don’t really make you say “I want to be part of that group!” And I can’t imagine the members and viewers becoming friends.

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5. CineMalaya
Project: CineMalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival
Client: Cultural Center of the Philippines
Agency: Leo Burnett Manila

Lun: Good storytelling, good insights, good acting but too long and too tedious. The reveal at the end is actually not a resolution, but kind of an anti-climax. 

Arevalo: Funny but honest. The people behind this ad were brave enough to poke fun at themselves by calling out the shortcomings of their industry—clichéd plot devices and tired storylines. But you need to be in on the joke to fully appreciate the visual puns.