As a creative I believe that one important habit to keep is the willingness to learn and observe from people or works that are better than my own. By observing and exposing myself to these award winning ads ideas, I would be able to deconstruct and reflect on what makes that piece of work fantastic. The recent Cannes Lion awards are over and here are some of the ads that I personally liked and inspired me to create better campaigns and ideas.
Harvey Nichols "Shoplifters"
Agency: Adam&EveDDB
Everyone loves freebies, I mean who doesn't want a free give away? The campaign's insight is a statement that is so familiar to everyone and along with the way that this ad is crafted which is something never done before. The art direction of using raw and low budget looking found footage of shoplifters being caught stealing creates such a rich narrative. And because of this interesting style of storytelling, I guess most of the viewers want to know what happens to these shoplifters and the message behind this idea.
Under Armour|Rule Yourself|Michael Phelps
Agency: Droga5
Another fantastic idea that is shot perfectly with the right camera angles, color setting, song choice and a really powerful copy to convey the emotion of hardship and determination of a champion. This ad idea really shows that Legacies like his are built over a lifetime of commitment and determination. The powerful of emotional storytelling to effectively convey the emotion and message across to the audience is really strong in this campaign idea.
Shiseido Co., "High School Girl?"
Agency: Watts of Tokyo
Make up products are usually associated with beauty, flowers or women. And in this TVC, Watts of Tokyo really showed the power of make up by using school girls who are actually men that had a make over with Shiseido make up products. However I am curious why they chose the setting of a classroom with teenage girls. Are they targeting a younger target audience which are likely insecure with their looks and showing them that this product can really cover up/ beautify whatever they want? Never the less, this idea was really well done and wonderfully crafted.
Generation Beyond Mars Experience|Lockheed Martin
Agency: McCann New York
With the recent hype in 360 VR videos, It was obvious that this new technology would open up many more possibilities in the way ads can convey a message. McCann New York did showed the world with its "Generation Beyond Mars Experience" campaign video. As the next frontier in space exploration is Mars, It is key that we inspire the next generation of youths to live out their dreams and potential to achieve greatness. Just by using a normal school bus travelling along the usual neighborhood, McCann inspired everyone with the use of 306 VR in its video. The idea really gives the audience a "feel good" feeling as it is really innovative and inspiring challenging young children to dare to dream and achieve.
Survival Billboard|XBOX
Agency: McCann London
They that once in awhile and if you're lucky, you get to work on interesting and daring briefs by really fun clients. And one such example is the "Survival Billboard" for XBox in its launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider in the U.K. I guess this idea came from an insight that the generation of people now are usually interested in Live on going videos. And to add to the attractiveness of this campaign, users can decide what weather element they want the contestants to withstand, creating quite a sadistic stunt advertisement that turned out to be a success in gaining attention and curiosity.
So wish me luck, hopefully i get a chance to create something as awesome as these ad ideas!
Cheers,
Amos C