Creative Focus: Love hate relationship

Every month two creative types from different agencies put pen to paper and share their thoughts on six different campaigns, from across the media spectrum including radio, TV, print, digital, social, outdoor, cinema and integrated.

Up for review this week:

• Audi, ‘Land of Quattro’, Holler
• Wonka Chocolate, ‘Wondrous Rhyme’, JWT
• Wynns Coonawarra Estate, ‘It’s all a matter of time’, DDB Melbourne
• Adidas, ‘Speed of light’, Worldwide London
• MasterCard, ‘Priceless Sydney’, McCann
• Marmite, ‘End Marmite Neglect’, Adam & EveDDB

Wayne Deakin, ECD, Jam & Engine Group

Back when I was a young spotty ex-AWARD School copywriter in Oz working on the likes of Zupps Cars and Woolworths, I would have killed for the opportunity to work on the six dream brands I’ve been asked to review. Fast forward 20 years – and after spells at agencies all over the world – I’m sitting in a spitand- sawdust pub in London across the road from the global independent agency of which I’m ECD, wondering whether those lucky creatives who have been given the chance to work on such magnificent briefs have done themselves justice. Will their creations inspire a new generation of young ad folk in the same way that campaigns for Mastercard, Adidas et al inspired me? Will they be the envy of art students lusting after the Next Big Thing? Or will we be disappointed, saddened that these creatives, when faced with the opportunity of their lifetime, failed to pull it off?

Audi (01). Let’s start with Audi. What a brand and what a responsibility. A history of beautiful sexy car stuff, hey? To give the piece credit where credit is due it has embraced the world of co-creation with some nice touches. It keeps my interest for a fair time because it’s trying something new. But is it sexy? This is Audi after all – does it have that young creative pin-up power a brand like this requires, nay, deserves? Maybe not.

To make your own Audi ad click here.

Wonka (02). There’s no golden ticket for the Wonka work, either. A huge opportunity lost here. Let’s just say that maybe more time should have been spent on the idea instead of on the sweet animation. A brand with this much fun and lustre means this work could have hit heights akin to Coke’s ‘Happiness Factory’. Sadly falls way short.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate (03). Does the Wynns print work challenge my perceptions? Will we still be talking about it once the campaign has run its course? It has a lot going for it; there’s beautiful craft and there’s some nice thoughts gone into the writing. But it’s a pleasant grownup campaign rather than a world-beater. More like a beautiful, well-executed planner’s ad, not a category game-changer.

Adidas (04). Adidas, Adidas, Adidas…what were you thinking? The world’s best footballer nd this is it? Where’s the idea? Where’s the authenticity? Where’s the storytelling? One of the world’s biggest sports brands offering you Lionel Messi really is dream brief territory, and this is the best you can come up with? You’ve let a generation of young creatives down with this spot. Nike does it better.

MasterCard (05). The ‘Priceless Sydney’ work for MasterCard is not priceless but it is good. It taps into culture and people to bring it to life. The use of earned and paid media feels relevant, charming and connected. A simple idea done in an engaging  way with a pinch of fun. It’s not totally fearless, but there are some good cross-channel lessons to be learnt here for any aspiring creative.

To see the microsite click here. 

Marmite (06). Thank f**k for Marmite. Phew! A generation of new talent has something to benchmark against. Here’s an ad that’s grounded in a good strategic, ownable thought. It’s clever and brave stuff with a simple but strong message that stands out in its category. The execution feels right for the time we are in. Well done to everyone involved – if young creatives are smart they won’t just be watching and sharing your ad, they’ll be learning from it.

Matt Gill, group CD, Hammond & Thackeray

Working on health related products 24/7 it was nice to venture into the world of mainstream advertising, at least for a couple of hours. Some really nice creative thoughts here, but not everything hit the mark for me.

Audi (01). I really enjoyed this site. You can play director on the latest Audi TVC by picking\ footage and camera angles to create your own spin on their spot then submit it in a competition. This was right up my alley and it would certainly get me\ to spend more time with the brand. However it did occur to me that working in advertising I might enjoy playing with this a whole lot more than the average customer. It worked for me anyway.

Wonka Chocolate (02). Doesn’t really matter what age you are, everyone knows Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willy Wonka through Roald Dahl’s books – or more recently the Johnny Depp film. There are probably financial and copyright\ reasons for not mimicking that world directly, especially the Tim Burton version. However this spot is quite dull in content and colour, doesn’t hit the mark for me at all. To be honest I think the Joyville work for Cadbury has out wonka’d Wonka.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StNBhJQClao

Wynns Coonawarra Estate (03). Nice art direction, good shots, great retouching. However I find the idea a little confusing. I get the thought that, over time, nature has provided all the ingredients needed to produce great wine, but I don’t understand why everything around the vineyard looks dead.

Adidas (04). I’m a football fan so again this had my interest straight away. Add in one of the biggest stars that has ever played the game and it’s pretty hard to fail with its target market. It was a visual feast and I’m sure will shift a few pairs of boots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjjb_Dy7tXg

MasterCard (05). A great way of bringing the ‘Priceless’ idea to life. Interacting with people on this level is fantastic because people love discovering new things about their city. There are many touch points and I’m sure it will be a lot more successful than just trotting out another TVC.

Marmite (06). Marmite has been running with the insight that some people like it and some people think it tastes like crap for some time now, but just repeating that doesn’t really do much of a job in my book. Are they just saying to those who eat it, don’t forget to keep buying it? Is that enough? I didn’t find the ad itself particularly funny either, although I didn’t find it as offensive as other people seem to.

It reminds me of the problem Guinness had a decade or so ago where they told us that it was an acquired taste, but the work made us want to try it. This doesn’t.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHjssdNNzP0