Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: PERIOD. 'Crampus'. As an Italian guy, during my life I've been exposed to hundreds of Santa Claus videos for Xmas. Many of them follow the usual cliche, while the most interesting ones are usually the ones that turn roles, characters, behaviours: bad Santa, young Santa, black Santa, etc. I confess I've never seen a Period Santa. I like this twist and the purpose behind it. Menstrual products can be very expensive in many countries, while no woman has chosen to have a period.

Runner-up: Dutch State Lottery 'Believe in Luck'. Again, as a superstitious Italian guy, I've always believed in luck. And in Lottery. And in love. And in a final twist.

BEST PRINT
Winner: McDonald's 'Loved By all - Friday 6th'. I love the insight. CCTV images have been overused in advertising, and at the beginning I wanted to give this ad the runner-up award. But actually, in this case the CCTV images make the message more credible. You do not always need to visualize something too complicated if reality tells you everything already.

Runner-up: KFC 'Bed'. I do not know who made this, but they clearly didn't give up. In my opinion, it is not easy to sell, it goes straight to the point with the right dose of irony.

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: McDonald's 'The Big Mac Signature'. Who really needs the Big Mac autograph? Nobody, or everyone. It is the surreal beauty of this idea. The video too is quite funny. I love what this client and this agency are doing together.

Runner-up: Skyn 'Real Blind Date'. I like these kind of experiments. When they are made well they can be very interesting. Not sure of its runner-up title, but it is Christmas, we can forgive its excessive length.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Gourmet Market Application 'The Cupboard to Fight Food Waste'. Very simple and useful idea. So good that I wonder why we waited until the end of 2023 to see it.

Runner-up: Coca-Cola 'Create Real Magic'. Well, what I mentioned for TV can be forgotten here. Santa in all his glory. But if Coca-Cola can't do it, who else? AI is a beautiful tool, and when you put it in the hands of the right people, many magical things can happen.

BEST RADIO
Winner: Skelleftea Kraft 'The Carbon-Negative Radio Ad'. Innovative, attention grabbing and funny. Yes, the brand role is not very clear, but hey it's Xmas, right?

No runner-up.




This week's guest judge is Cristiano Tonnarelli, group creative director, Ogilvy, Singapore.

Cristiano is an international creative from Italy. He is currently working in Ogilvy Singapore. Previously he was in Ogilvy Dubai, Dentsu Mena, Publicis Dubai, Leo Burnett and JWT in Italy.

Roman born and raised, he was nurtured on a steady diet of movies, football, books, design, arts, architecture, philosophy, food, wine, family dramas, Coca-Cola and imagination. Today he still mixes all of them to help brands be more relevant, famous, loved and Googled.

In 2014 he created Samsung Smart-Bike which is currently archived at MOMA, and created iconic projects for Heineken, IKEA, Unilever, Audi, Jeep and Fiat among others, for local, regional and global markets.

His work has been constantly recognized at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, LIA, OneShow, Andy, ADCE, etc. in every category.

Cristiano believes that the best ads are brave. Because they are fresh and never done before - embodying the spirit of something that could have gone wrong, but did not. They passed the storms of anxiety and complexity thanks to the calm and firmness of someone at the helm. This has been a stormy year. And it is in times like these, creativity blooms.