But looking at the ads in front of me, I tend to like the work whose details take a campaign from the obvious to the insightful. Those that "tell you a truth you didn't know you knew
1. AWARE: From a planning point of view, here's my favourite. To say that women feel that men ignore them or patronise them is a statement of the obvious. To say that they feel so most when men start talking about women's issues without listening, or that men pass their good ideas, uncredited, to other men is a hidden truth that women recognise (I showed it around the office). I hope they have enough media money to get a response.
2. MTV: Here, on the other hand, is an ad that is resolutely uncreative. "Tell us who you love". But if I'm being honest, I actually expect it will work. The MTV Awards are well known, as is MTV, and teens want to be part of them. They also want to be heard. They'll respond to anything. But I think it draws away from MTV's status as a brand that understands teens rather than contributing to it.
3. AAPA: "Travel moves people
is a truism, reflecting a category motivator for travel - to enjoy human emotions. It would make a sound benefit statement, but it needs insight to make it into great creative. Why does travel move people? What moments of travel do they feel most moved by (while avoiding cliches)? Who is moved most? It's hard to imagine that a TV viewer is going to see this ad as telling them something they didn't already know, and I shouldn't think it will change their travel plans in any way.
4. Sampo: This ad is certainly impactful. It dramatises the need for a bacteria-killing washing machine by showing what sheiks get up to in hotel bedrooms in Europe where the technology used in this washing machine is also used. Nice try. But it's convoluted, and it invites people to believe that if they live clean, ordinary lives they don't need this product. Wouldn't it be more impactful simply to raise the point that everybody has bacteria in their bed because we're human - perhaps not a nice thought, but a powerful one?
5. Nokia: This is going to sound perverse, but isn't this a "planners ad"? "The beauty of minimalism
is a nice concept, but wouldn't the execution have been more appealing if it had been simpler?
6. Viagra: How do you tell men to deal with impotence without embarrassing anybody - especially in Thailand? A problem elegantly solved, with a touch of humour.
What conclusion should I draw? One of our creatives has just come in and told me that he thinks the AWARE ads are poorly art-directed and reckons the Sampo ad will work best because it's the most memorable. Fair enough. He might be right. And creatives should be the most competent judges of creative work. But if everybody judged Private View on the basis of what will work rather than what is new, wouldn't clients trust our judgment more?
