Having witnessed the Great Cannes Scam Scandal, followed by the
4A's 'Gwei' debacle, I've seen just how easy it is to upset the local ad
industry.
All I can say is thank God most of the selection of work in this issue
of media is from outside Asia. I can safely walk the streets of Causeway
Bay without fear of threat or reprisal, despite my barbed comments.
The first commercial is from France. As far as the Brits and the French
are concerned, the English Channel could never be wide enough.
Merde!
It's a Volkswagen ad. Nobody has ever written a bad Volkswagen ad. Not
even a Frenchman. Double merde! It's actually pretty good. Barman slides
a glass of milk (can't show beer in France) along a bar top. Glass takes
detour around a bowl of peanuts. Cut to man pouring tea. He sneezes and
waves teapot around, but the tea still finds its way into the
teacups.
Finally cut to another man washing his hands. Soap slips from his grasp,
but finds its way back into the soap dish.
End title: "Always being in control of your journey", which probably
made more sense in French.
Meanwhile in Australia, spare a thought for the unlucky British Lions
rugby team who narrowly lost the recent test series, thanks to some
diabolical refereeing decisions. They may have a reasonable rugby and
cricket team down under, but creative teams? Babe's might fly. Everyone
knows they spend all day in the pub drinking Fosters and Jacob's Creek
while whinging about us Poms. Take the Virgin Mobile phone ads. They're
saying all the right things about not getting ripped off by the big
boys. But the 'spoof' ad executions are too much like the real thing.
Where was the creative team when it was being shot?
As fate would have it, my pick of the week is from the UK, for The
Economist, written and directed by Tom Carty, who also wrote Volvo
"Twister" and Guinness "Surfer". Bastard. It tells the true story of how
Nelson Mandela and fellow inmates were able to keep in touch with what
was going on in the outside world during their imprisonment in South
Africa. Outside news was forbidden. They did, however, manage to
convince the authorities that The Economist was "just a magazine to do
with economics". When the authorities eventually found out what was
happening, the magazine was banned. As with the rest of The Economist
campaign, the story is intelligently told, well written and beautifully
directed. Bastard.
Still in Europe, an ad from Germany. Now, they may produce halfway
decent racing drivers and tennis players, but television commercials?
Nein chance. This one for Condomshop.org doesn't disappoint. An animated
penguin stands on an iceberg with three young penguins. She kicks one
off and it's eaten by a large fish. Super. "73 per cent of parents are
stressed". Condomshop.org.
It's scheisse, as they say in Germany.
Finally, two ads from Asia. Why this fixation with lifestyle in this
part of the world? If people in real life pranced around with inane
grins while worshipping a can of drink, mobile phone or shampoo, they
would probably be certified insane. Offender number one is from Thailand
for Heineken. It's that old cliche about two guys in a bar spotting two
girls who they think are trying to attract their attention. Surprise,
surprise, the girls are actually trying to attract the attention of the
barman to order a couple of Heinekens. All this to the sound of the
60s,Green Onions by Booker T and the MG's. Not exactly cutting edge, is
it?
The Pocari Sweat sports drink is at least lifestyle with a twist. A
tennis match but played underwater. I couldn't quite see the relevance
of it, but at least it looked interesting. I'll give the endline,
"Sweat, part of you", the benefit of the doubt. It probably sounds
better in Japanese.
1. VOLKSWAGEN
Client: VW France
Brief: Highlight the manoeuvrability of a Volkswagen
Agency: DDB Paris
Creative director: Sylvain Guillomard
Copy writer: Olivier Apeis
Art director: Hugues Pinguet
Production Company: Why Us?
2. VIRGIN MOBILE
Project: Demolition
Client: Virgin Mobile
Brief: Promote Virgin's latest mobile phone offer
Agency: Host, Australia
Art director: The Glue Society
Creative directors: Gary Freedman, Jonathan Kneebone
Production Company: @radical.media
3. THE ECONOMIST
Project: Freedom of knowledge
Client: Demonstrate to potential readers why they need to read The
Economist regularly
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Copy writer: Tom Carty
Art director: Tom Carty
Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises
4. CONDOMSHOP.ORG
Project: Penguins
Client: Raise awareness for Condomshop.org
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Frankfurt
Creative directors: Stephan Vogel, Thomas Hofbeck
Art directors: Joerg Schrod, Jens Frank
Production Company: La Fourmi
5. HEINEKEN
Project: Pub
Client: Heineken Asia Pacific Brewery
Brief: Increase the desirability of Heineken among the 20 to 34 age
group
Agency: Leo Burnett Bangkok
Creative directors: Keeratie Chaimoungkalo
Art director: Chanyutt Boonyagate
Production Company: The Film Factory
6. POCARI
Project: Tennis
Client: Pocari Sweat
Brief: Reinforce the message that the best drink after physical exercise
is Pocari Sweat
Agency: Asatsu-DK
Creative director: Shin-Ichiro Nakaso
Production Company: Level 7 Productions
These commercials are taken from Campaign Screen, the video magazine
featuring the top television ads airing worldwide. For subscription or
advertising enquiries, please contact Roz Parr in the United Kingdom on
44 20 8267-4659 or email her at roz.parr@haynet.com.
To submit work to Campaign Screen, email screen@haynet.com for details.
