BEST TVWinner: Apple '
The Underdogs - OOO'. Damn you, Bestads! I swore I'd do my best to celebrate an undiscovered gem of a TV spot from a cool, under-the-radar brand that deserves its moment in the sun, and look at that, 3 of the 6 great spots on this list are from Nike or Apple. But, ok ok, I see why you did what you did. So I'm gonna go with the latest installment of Apple's The Underdogs, because the whole thing has always been such a fun, goofy, wish-I'd-made-that ride. It's basically just a wildly entertaining product demo film with a funny, likable cast of characters we can all see a bit of ourselves in. And I certainly can, because I've lost my luggage twice on work trips - so I relate to the dude wearing the panic-purchase fake muscle t-shirt (at least he didn't run smack into my old boss David Lubars.)
Runner-up: UScellular '
Ironic'. For me, it was a close call between BA's
Period Drama and this. Come to think of it, watching a spot with Alanis Morissette in 2024 kinda makes this a period drama too. Ironic, don'tcha think?
BEST PRINTWinner: Honda '
Off the Market - Invaluable dents'. In honor of my recently-departed former teacher at SVA, the great and hilarious Sal DeVito, I have a deep appreciation for the long-lost art form of long-form copywriting: observational, lyrical, funny and kinda profound. If it's good writing, people will read it. Even Gen Z.
Runner-up: Nikon '
Michael'. Nice idea, nice initiative, average name.
BEST OUTDOOR Winner: Women's Refuge '
New Zealand's most supportive bed'. Pretty powerful way to shed light on a serious problem, and I appreciate how it depicts a benign, even hopeful, moment of shopping for a new bedroom and how it descends into the dark setting for domestic violence. Like most great activations, I'd love to see if it can lead to action versus just awareness (and donation), to be even more effective.
Runner-up: Soles4Souls '
Doors of Opportunity'. Have to admit, I wasn't quite freaking out with jealousy about everything in this category, but there was some solid work overall. This one is a pretty smart adaptation and twist of the "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" line, which has kept me out of most 7-11's for years.
BEST INTERACTIVEWinner: Volkswagen Golf R '
R&Create'. I'll paraphrase a quote from director David Lynch about how nowadays there are so many more cameras, yet pretty much the same number of filmmakers. I'm sure I'm butchering that, and I don't even know if it's true, but it kinda fits this idea. It's useful instruction for those who wanna create content about their VW Golf (they do? they do!) I wasn't sure if the tone was kitschy or real or if the Alberto Blanco was a fictional character or not, but man, he should be!
Runner-up: Deliveroo UAE '
Euro Food War'. It's not gonna change the world, but it's at least smart and timely, building off an existing behavior about whose cuisine is best during the Euros. Sorry Spain, I'm going Italy all the way.
Thanks for having me, this was both humbling and fun - my favorite combo!
Michael
This week's guest judge is Michael Aimette, chief creative officer at FCB New York.
Under his creative leadership, the agency has been named 2024 Agency of the Year at ADC and The One Show, 2023 Agency of the Year at CLIOs, and the #1 Agency in the World on The One Club's 2023 rankings, as well as WARC's 2023 Most Effective Creative Agency in the World.
In addition to leading FCB New York to these prestigious accolades, Michael has created Cannes-winning work for AB InBev's Michelob Ultra, Spotify and mike's, and contributed to recent new business wins for Kellanova's Pringles, Intuit's QuickBooks, Budweiser, Listerine, Johnson's Baby and the New York Mets.
His work has been featured in The New York Times and Fast Company, and in 2023, garnered the agency's first-ever Emmy - followed with a second Emmy in May 2024.
Prior to FCB, Michael's decade-plus stint as ECD at BBDO NY resulted in effective and award-winning campaigns for diverse global clients such as GE, Snickers, Visa, FedEx, and AT&T.
A filmmaker too, Michael wrote and directed a feature film in 2010 and continues to write screenplays for both film and TV. Most of all, he is quite proud of his twins Juliet and William, who are now starting to discover just how incredibly embarrassing and uncool he really is.
