This week's guest judge is Alan Russell, an independent creative director/writer, based in Vancouver, Canada. Alan has been a prominent figure in Canadian advertising for many years, producing memorable work for agencies DDB Canada, Palmer Jarvis, Grey Canada and Baker Lovick/BBDO. He was Strategy Magazine's top-ranked copywriter for five consecutive years, #1 creative director twice and has been named in Advertising Age's List of Top 10 Creatives. Alan also featured in Marketing Magazine's '100 Most Influential'. His campaigns span just about every brand category and have won numerous awards, including Cannes, Communication Arts, One Show, ADC, Clios, D&AD and London International. When not obsessing about creative, Alan is into travel, hiking, theatre, curries, live music and, masochistically, following Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League.
BEST TVFirst off, I thought all six TV finalists were of a high caliber. After repeated viewing of each, I can say I'd be happy to view them all again. And in some cases, again and again. In the end, for me it came down to two heavyweights - Nike and Pepsi. It's not just because I'm a football fan that I love the
Pepsi 'Africa' commercial. It just feels so perfect for the setting of the upcoming World Cup, with such a funny and well-executed idea where literally 'moving the goalposts' captures the grassroots support for the sport.
As for
Nike 'Tiger and Earl', deep breath. Saturday Night Live's spoof had 'Earl' delivering the dialogue "Tiger, I know this goes without saying, but when I'm gone, please don't use my voice in a commercial. And if you do, please don't use it for a commercial trying to sell sneakers after a sex scandal. But you know that, right?" When I first viewed the authentic spot a week ago, my immediate sentiment was somewhat the same. But the more I've watched it, digested it and listened to debates about it, I've come to the conclusion that it is remarkable - that is, a piece of communication truly worth making a remark about. And for this reason, it's my choice as the week's Best.
BEST PRINTThe print offerings were not as strong as I would have hoped. I liked the simplicity and topicality of McDonald's 'Open 25 hours', but gave Runner Up to
National Centre For Domestic Violence 'Emasculation', mainly for its insight and visual stopping power. (Perhaps the retouching could have gone a little further in terms of anatomical incorrectness?) However, I selected
Olla Condom 'Sperms' as the Winner. It's not as if the ad world hasn't had more than its fair share of concepts featuring sperms, but the idea of hundreds of them camping out and killing time to pay off the line "Condom with climax delay" made me smile and seemed an original visualization of the product benefit. Although, I am still perplexed by the abundance of bubble gum in use by the bored masses.
BEST OUTDOORThe RTA Dubai 'Metro' guerilla was a very clever way to capitalize on news of the fleeing ex-pats, but it just felt a little opportunistic and a bit of a stretch. For that reason, I gave Runner Up to
Kaya FM 'Another Legend Retires', though they could probably have got away without even using the strap line. It's a smart, simple, cleanly art-directed poster, though some might criticize the fact that it's pretty brazen for a dj, no matter how good, to hang his microphone up alongside Pele's boots and Ali's gloves. And so the Winner is,
Billboard 'Marilyn'. I really like the strategy of Music - See what it's made of. A little bit Kiss, little bit Ozzy, little bit Cure, little bit Cher is a nice insight, while using the pixilated images of icons to make up the whole of Manson totally fits the product personality and makes for an absorbing piece of art.
BEST INTERACTIVEThis was a tough one to judge in the apples-versus-oranges sense, but here goes. As a digital experience, I enjoyed playing around on the Wrigley's '5 React' site, but I awarded Runner Up to
Vodaphone 360 'Madame Tre Setsi', which I thought was a smart and intriguing way to engage the user's social networking life. And hey, who doesn't want their relationship fortune told? I chose
Reach Out 'wecanhelpus' as this week's Winner. I spent long periods browsing through the videos, the true stories, the blogs and so on, many created by kids who have been through some really tough times. And that's where the power of this site lies - in its fascinating, first-hand accounts and a subject matter that requires urgent and on-going attention.
