Seen and noted

BEST TV
Winner: Hornbach '1 Square Meter'. Where do I start? It's such a lovely composition of an ad; the set design is delightfully claustrophobic, the characters don't speak a word but you feel the humour, the music and SFX weren't generated externally, it all happened within the ad. The ad is just well put together. And yes, the concept was equally as good. Bravo!

Runner up: NFL 'You Can't Make This Stuff Up'. Another great contender for the number spot. The greatest thing about this ad is perhaps how relatable it is to sports fans in general and not only American Football fans. Watch a season of the English Premier League and you could be tempted to believe it's scripted. This belief is actually a testament to the greatness and sheer entertainment value of the sport, which is so often better than any make-believe stuff. This TV spot captures that.

BEST PRINT
Winner: Weber-Stephen Products Co. 'Smoke-Free ads'. The idea is pretty good and the characters resonate globally (I see you Tinder Swindler). I've always felt great ideas work by connecting two seemingly unconnected concepts and what was connected here couldn't be farther apart from each other.

Runner Up: Breast Cancer Now 'A Bigger Win'. Loved the concept, loved the timeliness and loved how it was tied to breast cancer awareness even more. Full disclosure: the only reason I picked this over the Samsung PowerBot is that even now that the World Cup is over, the idea still has legs to run in light of the controversy plaguing Spanish football (The President, besides giving an athlete a non-consensual kiss, also grabbed his b**** in public right next to the Queen). Maybe a follow-up print ad about those balls? Go for it!

BEST OUTDOOR
Winner: KFC Canada 'Sorry, Utensils, It's Finger-lickin' Good'. First off, I get the backlash the ad is getting from the black community, but as an ad guy working out of Nigeria seeing the ad for the first time, I felt nothing but admiration for it. It's a tagline concept just sitting there quietly for years, waiting to be made. I also saw the TV ad first and that showed Canada's diversity so I personally didn't feel offended. They should apologise for the way it was released but it's great stuff nonetheless.

Runner-up: Zhaori Weipin 'Veggie Beethoven'. Sometimes, the effort put into a campaign does all the work for you. This is one of those campaigns. Not sure if the sounds were directly generated from the farm produce, but it's still one heck of a musical event to piece together. The draw of a Grammy-winning artist then served as icing on the cake. Good stuff.

BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Koala Furniture 'Koala Boomer Blocker'. This campaign got me calling my friend in Australia asking if he still had a roof over his head. He does, but I do hope people who are feeling the blow of this crisis do get a good deal out of it. The thinking is smart and the brand definitely brought a little respite and humour to a legion of people going through a crisis.

Runner Up: Histogram 'Heroes About Heroes'. Rewarding this campaign for the effort and the historical significance it presents. Kinda still surprising how they got current Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines of war to tell stories of heroes from past wars (I mean, they clearly have better things to do). But the team pulled it off and the whole nation is better for it. Hopefully, history won't repeat itself this time.




This week's guest judge is Anthony Eigbe, creative director at X3M Ideas, Nigeria.

I'm Anthony Eigbe, better known as Wolve.

A highly awarded creative who happens to hold the distinction of being the first Cannes-winning Creative Director in Nigeria and West Africa.

Awards aside, I strongly believe ideas have the uncanny ability to accelerate business transformation and make a serious dent in culture for brands.

This belief has been my guiding light for 12+ years across my work for brands like; Intel, Pepsi, Heineken, DStv, Glo, British American Tobacco and more than 80+ local and multi-national brands that I've been privileged to work on from Nigeria where I reside.

This belief has also shaped my career path as I've worked hard to make myself well-rounded in all the key facets of marketing communications today; from experiential, through digital and of course, advertising.

When I'm not working, I'm either helping create social media content (I have a few that's viral) or living vicariously through UFC fighters, footballers and rappers (Oh yea, I also have an album out as part of a group).