Seen and noted

BEST TV
So my winner this week is going to be LEAP 'Take The Leap'. It would have been easy to go down the route of creating a film showing the serious side of the effects of farmed fish, but if you have something big to say don't just shout about it, sing it instead and using Big Mouth Billy Bass to do it is enjoyable and, more importantly, likely to be memorable too.

My runner up this week is Opel 'Yes, Of Corsa'. To be honest, the standard of car advertising has dropped dramatically over the last few years which is hugely disappointing so it's great to see an ad with ambition and craft at the heart of it. There are bits I'm not sure about, and possibly would have dropped, but, hey, it's more memorable than a lot of the wallpaper we've seen of late.

BEST PRINT
It was a tricky one, picking from this week's selection. There wasn't really anything that was a clear winner for me. But, I'm here to select one of these as best, and so I'm going to go with Powner BOND 'Don't lose the good memories'. There is a relatable truth in there, which we have all witnessed as we've seen luggage being slung onto the conveyor belt of a plane. And we're told Power Bond will stick it back together if our memories happen to be shattered. Perhaps there's a stronger line in it and some sharper art direction, but it has legs. Amazon delivery comes to mind for the next execution.

My runner up is La Constancia Columbina 'Happy Father's Month with La Constancia'. Some insight there - not all Dads are great at taking pictures, but when it comes to grilling, they can't be faulted. And that should be celebrated, especially on Father's month. I like where the art direction is heading here. My only gripe would be the packshot. For me it sits awkwardly on that table of over-sized food.

BEST OUTDOOR
My winner is Guinness 'Guinness All Black'. It's no easy task building a distinct and iconic brand. And especially one that can carry on rewarding us for years to come. And this latest poster for the Rugby World Cup supporting the All Blacks is simple and memorable. I'm not entirely sold on the line. Quite simply, it's not 'all black' with its iconic white head! But I forgive it. It's tactical, classy and bang on brand.

My runner up this week also plays on a visual reward. The classic QR code as a piece of sushi held between two chopsticks is simple and bold and I love the fact that Manga Sushi didn't even put their logo on the poster; most clients would laugh at the suggestion of not having their logo. It is a poster after all. But that's the clever part and makes the QR code more appealing, as you want to know who it's for and what it's offering.

BEST INTERACTIVE
From its design and inception to the creative output to date, I just love everything about this brand. When I saw Liquid Death in the mix I was excited and this new work doesn't disappoint. It takes the piss out of all that QVC shopping that you can buy to improve your life and does it with the brand at the heart of it and, as always, great wit. Can't wait to see the outcome of the public taking on the challenge. This is definitely my favorite piece of work this week and a clear winner.

My runner up is Bagels by BENEE for ASB x Youthline. Just reading some of the comments from people on YouTube, shows how important this piece of work is. It's simple and clever in using New Zealand's biggest popstar, and for that alone, deserves to be rewarded. Love the visual of the flying bagel in the relaxation video that accompanies the track. I think I might just download this track myself. Great work.




This week's guest judge is Rich Denney, co-chief creative officer at St Luke's London.

Rich began his career in 1996 as an art director at Y&R, picking up a Gold Lion for his St Mungo's interactive cinema commercial in his first year. From there he moved to Saatchi & Saatchi creating notable work for Visa and the NSPCC, including the multi-award-winning Carlsberg 'Old Lions' campaign. After this, he moved to DDB as creative director and created award-winning work for Volkswagen, Budweiser, Harvey Nichols, The Economist, Kwik-Fit, Tropicana and Virgin Media. In 2011 he joined MullenLowe London as joint ECD and quickly turned the agency around creating campaigns for Halfords, Morrisons, Unilever and MicroLoan. In 2016 MullenLowe London was named 'Most Effective Agency of the Year' at the inaugural UK Effie awards for work on MicroLoan and the Electoral Commission and followed it up by retaining the title in 2017 with work for RedrawTheBalance, which also won EuroEffie gold.

In August Rich 2017 moved to St Luke's London as executive creative director and works across the agency's accounts including KP Snacks, South Western Railway, Heathrow and Which? In 2020 at the height of the pandemic he created the UK's biggest behaviour change initiative #stayhomenow and has most recently worked on the multi-award-winning #GoGrabTheButterkist campaign. Rich has been named among Campaign Magazine’s top twenty Creative Directors.