These are the ads that caught B&T’s attention for each month of 2024. In July, System1 came on board to test the best ads, while creatives have shared their thoughts about the work of their peers throughout the year. Telstra scored the most campaigns of the month; their new bespoke agency +61, which combines the creative talents of TBWA and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, as well as OMD, has produced impressive work. All of these brands and agencies stood out this year.
January
Uber One and Special served up a very funny spot, ‘Uber One Savings Don’t Disappoint’ ahead of the Australian Open, featuring tennis superstar and former mullet-sporting Andre Agassi.The campaign saw the funny campaign executed across TV, BVOD, online video, OOH, radio, social and owned channels.
February
PepsiCo’s ‘Tastes Ok’ campaign, by Special, saw Pepsi Max take aim at Diet Coke. The campaign was the latest iteration of the established Pepsi Max ‘Tastes Better’ brand platform. This iteration, however, saw Pepsi focus on a “design flaw” in its biggest competitor — it doesn’t taste as good with food apparently.
March
KIA’s star-studded campaign for its then unnamed ute, created by Innocean, won in March. The ad featured a list of sporting legends including Ash Barty, Damien Oliver, Buddy Franklin and Dylan Alcott bickering in a pub over what to call the ute. The ad launched during the NRL’s double header in Las Vegas.
April
Dan Murphy’s hilarious trio of TVCs to launch its ‘Nobody Beats Dan Murphy’s’ brand platform took line honours. Designed to show the range of Dan’s offerings, the spots depict a range of customers in a variety of situations looking for a drink slightly off the beaten track. Adam Ferrier, Margie Reid and the Thinkerbell team created the work. Check out the age-restricted ad on YouTube.
May
Ogilvy NZ’s simple yet visually striking campaign to encourage women to get mammograms not only sticks in the mind, but uses nature and everyday objects as medium to drum home the message. When Breast Cancer Foundation tapped their creative agency Ogilvy to come up with ideas on how to remind women to get breast check ups, few would have thought they’d come back with images of a pair of limes, fried eggs and washing machines, side by side. But that is exactly the premise of ‘The Signs Are Everywhere’, which uses breast-like objects across New Zealand to remind women to ‘book your mammogram’.
June
Telstra’s series of stop-motion spots, ‘Better On A Better Network’ features 26 films that focus on locations around Australia and their idiosyncrasies. The campaign was created by +61, the bespoke agency, combining the creative talents of TBWA and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, as well as OMD. created by CMO Brent Smart after he took the reins at Telstra It was directed by Revolver’s Jeff Low and animation director Tobias Fouracre, who worked with a crew of puppet makers, puppeteers and set designers.
July
From July, B&T partnered with System1 to test the ads on a live audience. Google’s smart, funny and distinctly Aussie ad featuring Sharon Strzelecki spruiking its Ads platform got the nod ahead from efforts from NRMA and Movember. Sharon’s Google Ads Story, created by Emotive, saw Strzelecki showcase Google’s Ads tools and how easy it is for businesses to set up and use them to find new customers.
August
Petbarn used an army of adorable puppies and kittens, a dose of humour. Howatson+Company created ‘Puppies & Kittens’, which showcases a series of cute animals that the pet shop sells. The ad scored a 5-star rating, placing it within the top 1 per cent of ads in System1’s 170,000-strong database.
September
Telstra’s ‘Wherever We Go’ by +61 was widely lauded in the industry for its distinct animation style, boldness and craft. B&T are also big fans, but it didn’t score exceptionally well in System1 testing. Nonetheless, it won the month by effectively harnessing emotional devices, including relatable characters, melodic music, a clear sense of place, an unfolding narrative, and characters with agency.
October
The Monkeys (now Droga5) have produced some iconic campaigns for Meat & Livestock Australia over the years. This spot is a play on the Titanic, with a captain of a sinking ship refusing to desert the boat in order to enjoy a beef steak. It didn’t quite resonate with System1’s FaceTrace, which found the ad scored relatively high levels of sadness, fear and contempt despite solid happiness scores throughout. It still beat other ads for October.
November & Christmas
B&T tested five Christmas crackers from November to find out which one was the top performer. It turns out Woolworth’s giant carrot in a country paddock won, ahead of Telstra’s singing donkey and Aldi’s giant gravy boat. Woolies spot was created by M&C Saatchi. You can check them all out here.
