PRIVATE VIEW: Gary Tranter, head of creative at Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong

At first glance, my job was simple. Brands like Playstation, Budweiser, Heineken and Durex have always produced such great advertising and this would simply be a matter of watching the ads, scribbling down, "great work, love it" and then off to lunch. But this wasn't the case. Now I find myself in the uncomfortable position of loving the brands, being loyal to these brands, loving the past work and sadly not being too impressed with this lot. Being a huge fan of previous Playstation work, I found the Wolfman ad disappointing. It's hard to view it without comparing it to previous brilliant work. It falls short in delivering the double life idea powerfully and seems to ignore the Playstation tribe that previous ads made me feel like a proud member of. I get the sense it's aimed at a younger target market as my son rather enjoyed it (he's five), and he's a brand loyalist. Unfortunately for me, however, it's not that funny, and unlike other Playstation ads, the story is predictable. The Budweiser, Mr Foot-long-ten-inch-wiener ad, was also disappointing, and again, probably in light of the ads this brand has produced over the years. The spot is entertaining enough, with some funny moments and is a faithfully-produced send-up. But it just seems to be trying a little too hard to point out it's a piss-take and therefore becomes very obvious. The Durex 100 million reasons spot had hold of me from the minute it began. I love the idea of a hundred million sperms walking around with you like a loaded gun waiting to fire at any opportunity. This is a genuinely interesting spot that one enjoys watching. What is depicted is a refreshing change from other reasons given by other condom makers and is based on a funny, relevant insight. Unfortunately the punch line is watered down by showing the giant condom at the end. A shot the ad simply doesn't need. The Red ad certainly got my attention but left me once again disappointed. While clearly not being in the target market, I am, nevertheless suspicious of a big, mainstream brand trying so desperately hard to appear cool. I am presuming this ad is for a service paid for by Nokia as their phones are featured (albeit getting smashed up). I'm actually confused as to why the phones need to be smashed up at all, as the purpose of having a pre-paid phone service is to give the youth market an alternative to expensive price plans. If they can afford to smash up their phones they probably don't need this service. By the end of this spot one feels that while the idea of young people having a voice is not necessarily bad, it may be better if they had something to say. The Heineken, 'blackmailing your viewers into buying your product' idea is a nice one and seems to be in the spirit of the brand. The blackmail part is suitably annoying, so the message is appreciated. I assume there's a break where other ads run in between before you see the pay-off, giving people a chance to drop everything and dash out to buy a pint or two. The little treat is a nice touch. I like the lions. I like how they quietly ascend behind the singers, licking their lips. The ending is unconvincing; the screams and the cut back to the piano player do not look real. I think the average Heineken drinker would have appreciated some reality here. Fortunately the ESPN SportsCentre ads are consistently great to watch. They give you a laugh while delivering a very clear message about the brand. This one puts a smile on your face from the opening line, 'Like a lot of organisations, ESPN was having trouble with their carpet ...', which grows through the little touches like the bumble bee nodding in agreement when 'grass stain' advice is given. The production is excellent, I hope there are many more to come. PLAYSTATION Project: Wolfman Client: Sony Playstation Brief: Reinforce PlayStation's core brand value Agency: TBWA/ London Creative director: Trevor Beattie Production house: Passion Pictures BUDWEISER Project: Mr Foot-Long-Hot-Dog-Inventor Client: Budweiser Brief: Underline Budweiser's strength in the marketplace Agency: DDB Chicago Creative directors: John Immesoete, Mark Gross Copywriter: Bill Cimino Art director: Bill Cimino Production house: Propaganda Films DUREX Project: Square Client: Durex Brief: Promote the concept of safe sex to 16 to 24-year olds Agency: McCann Erickson, UK Creative director: Dave George Copywriter: David Price Art director: Neil Lancaster Production house: Spectre RED Project: Express Yourself Client: Islandssimi Brief: Build brand awareness of Icelandic telecom company Islandssimi Agency: DBT Adhouse, Iceland Creative director: Thorhallur Arnorsson Copywriter: Thorhallur Arnorsson Art director: Thorhallur Arnorsson Production house: Saga Film Productions HEINEKEN Project: Treat Client: Heineken Brief: Continue building on the brand's core values Agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners, UK Creative director: Charles Inge Copywriter: Tony Barry Art director: Damon Collins Production house: Gorgeous Enterprises BRAND Project: Turf Client: ESPN Brief: Underline ESPN's leading position in sports broadcasting Agency: Wieden & Kennedy NY Creative directors: Ty Montague, Amy Nicholson Copywriter: Jeff Bitsack Art director: Ted Royer Production house: Hungry Man

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