PRIVATE VIEW: Jim Aitchison

Having just written a 500-page book about television commercials,

these six spots embody many of the learnings (and warnings) from all my

research.

The good folk at Dentsu, Tokyo, applied one of Adrian Holmes' classic

creative formulae, the "snowball", for their client Midori Bun-En smoke

extractors. Holmes, the chief creative officer at Lowe Lintas, told me

the secret of taking a fact and making it bigger and bigger - or

"snowballing" it. The Midori spot is of this genre. Dentsu took a

universal truth, that all Japanese smoke, and "snowballed" it. What if

smokers all over the world longed for the freedom that Japanese smokers

enjoy, thanks to Midori's smoke extractors? What if smokers from all

over the world smuggled themselves into Japan, like refugees, like boat

people? My favourite shot is a young American on a dinghy looking up at

the featureless Tokyo skyline and crying, "Japan ...", a great switch on

the migrant's first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

I'm an avid Springer & Jacoby fan. I love this Hamburg agency's work,

the way it thinks, the way it's organised in autonomous cells. Its

Coca-Cola "Car" commercial is brave and outrageous. A man walking his

dog in the snow is alarmed to see the door of a snow-covered car

suddenly pop open and a naked German git reaches out for two bottles of

ice-cold Coke. He is doubly shocked when he catches a glimpse of the

git's naked girlfriend in the car. "Try something different ... and Coke

at three degrees." Man-with-dog swiftly walks on, clutching his pooch

protectively. And yes, while it's funny, it begs two questions. First:

how does it build the brand? Secondly, like so many similar one-joke

ads, will you bother to watch it on the second screening? Probably

not.

Technique should serve the idea, not replace it. The Fiat Punto

"Volcano" commercial is a dazzling display of Framestore wizardry. The

effects are realistic and awesome, but sadly it all tries too hard. In

fact, the net result is that you feel cheated and insulted. As Graham

Fink told me, too many commercials build you up and up, only to leave

you with a weak finish. This ad is no exception.

Weetabix vs Bimbobix. The classic "ambush" ad. Full marks to Banks

Hoggins O'Shea/FCB London. We think we're watching the usual, insulting

rubbish: an impossibly thin girl in a bikini is swimming, while the VO

coyly tells us, "Now there's a cereal for the way you live ..." Bimbo

steps from the pool and a real-shaped woman (comedian Arabella Weir),

munching on her Weetabix, groans: "Oh, please ... All we need to know is

that Weetabix Advantage is naturally low in fat, high in fibre, and

doesn't taste like a gravel drive." Having established some truth,

respect and sanity, Arabella turns to the bix-eating-Bimbo and says,

"So, is that your first meal this year, yeah?" At which millions of

women all over Britain must have cheered and gone out and bought

some.

I really like the Mars Starburst proposition: "Get your juices

going".

It could have developed into some great executions. But it didn't. This

commercial is just very average advertising.

Stuck for a great idea? Start with the product name. John West,

according to Leo Burnett London, is really an intrepid adventurer who

fights bears and endures danger to bring us the best fish. This is

simple, endearing advertising. It doesn't take itself seriously. And the

idea is highly campaignable. Apparently it's spreading like wildfire on

the internet, too. Come to think of it, this is pure Burnett's heartland

work; old Leo was fond of creating characters like Snap, Crackle and

Pop, Tony the Tiger and Morris the Cat. I bet he would have loved John

West.

1. MIDORI BUN-EN

Project: Smoking Defector

Client: Midori Bun-En

Brief: A frustrated American, sick of his health-obsessed colleagues,

joins a mass exodus to Japan to benefit from Midori's "Bun-en

Culture."

Agency: Dentsu Japan

Creative director: Masaaki Tsuruho

Copy writer: Yoichiro Abe

Production Company: Tohokushinsha Film Corp

2. COCA-COLA

Project: Car

Client: Coca-Cola

Brief: The tagline is "try something different', 'And Coke at 3

degrees.'

Agency: Springer & Jacoby Advertising Germany

Creative directors: Hans-Jurgen, Lewandowski, Amir Kassei

Art director: Amir Kassei

Copy writers: Hans-Jurgen, Lewandowski

Production Company: Tempomedia film produktion

3. FIAT PUNTO

Project: Volcano

Client: Fiat Punto

Brief: The ad evokes the "spirito di punto" by means of the car evading

lava streams and falling rocks.

Agency: D'Arcy UK

Creative director: Nick Hestings

Art Director: Dave Godfree

Copy writer: Mark Waldron

Production Company: Stark Films

4. WEETABIX

Project: Bikinis Rant

Client: Weetabix

Brief: A cereal ad

Agency: Banks Hoggins O'Shea/ FCB UK

Creative directors: Rob Fletcher, Dave Alexander

Art Director: Andy Lennard

Copy writer: Jason Cascarina

Production Company: Tomboy Films

5. MARS STARBURST

Project: If

Client: Mars Starburst

Brief: The ad begins by asking a question.

Agency: Grey Worldwide UK

Creative director: Rob Baiocco

Art Director: Brian Lefkowitz

Copy writer: Sean Burns

Production Company: The Moving Picture

6. JOHN WEST

Project: The Bear

Client: John West

Brief: It features the story of the John West embroiled in kung-fu-style

battles with bears to get the best fish.

Agency: Leo Burnett UK

Creative directors: Nick Bell, Mark Tutssel

Art Director: Paul Silburn

Copy writer: Paul Silburn

Production Company: Spectre