BEST TV
Winner: Waitrose '
Sweet Suspicion'. It's Christmas. The unofficial world championship of advertising in the UK. The bar is high. What do you do? You surf the wave of Whodunnit's and create a mystery that can be solved in under 60 seconds. Ok, it helps if you have the finest actors from the best tv-series out there. But creating a finger lickingly good mini series that pierces through all the UK ad industry has to offer this Christmas is exactly what you were hired to do. And you delivered.
Runner up: Orange '
Safer phone'. What I love about this, is not only the fresh approach to bringing to life the very real battle of the generations. But also the fact that Orange offers a real solution. To make a shouting match into a musical and deliver a peace offering in the shape of a special mobile phone deserves recognition. And hopefully, massive adoption.
BEST PRINT
Winner: Save The Children Mexico '
Alejandra'. I think the Save The Children campaign from Mexico deserves this accolade. The print by itself might not have made it to the top. But in my head, I can't help but add the powerful 6 minute film called 'Fer' that I judged in 'TV', to this overall campaign. Beautifully crafted, the campaign shows the issue of gender based violence in Mexico and the length young women go through to avoid it. It's print, it's film. It's just a good idea, executed powerfully.
Runner up: The Ordinary, '
Slowvember'. Black Friday seems to have gone beyond the idea of a day. I have seen many Black Friday Week Deals this week, and I'm sure Black Friday Month isn't too far away. As always, consumerism has gone ahead of itself. The Ordinary hits back with what we all know and feel. Simple, in the style we have come to love. I just don't know why we need a pun like 'Slowvember' to hold it all together.
BEST OUTDOOR 
Winner IAMS '
Waylon'. In a world where (beauty) brands trip over each other with 'Faux OOH', this felt fresh. Clever. And truly Outdoor. Imagine, you're on your way to Chicago's Thanksgiving Day Parade and you see this: a gigantic balloon dog called Waylon, stuck between two buildings, to raise awareness about the fact that 59% of dogs in the US are overweight. Big Dog applause for the brand that has a solution for this endemic problem: IAMS petcare.
Runner up: Nike '
Greatness. It Only Takes Everything.' In true beautiful Nike style, the brand says goodbye to one of their longstanding ambassadors, Rafa Nadal. That photo with that headline. You see Nadal's life flashing before your very eyes. All the wins, all the training hours, all the injuries, all the hardship. I think when it comes to advertising, everyone should be a bit more Nike. Everyone should remember that in any field this is true: 'Greatness. It only takes everything.'
BEST INTERACTIVE
Winner: Helga's '
Brat Sandwich'. Bread, people. We are talking about bread. And Brat. And Charli XCX. We often talk about 'moving at the speed of culture'. I think Helga's outdid themselves, running with this idea of the Brat Sandwich. It's not difficult per se, you just have to do it. Take a leap of faith. And Helga's did. Bread that dared. Bravo.
Runner up: Mattie's Place '
Pet-ition'. Forget the pun. Focus on the hack. Must feel good to slap the government in the face with a dog-sized loophole.
This week's guest judge is
Bas Korsten, global CCO, innovation and EMEA CCO at VML, based out of Amsterdam.
Bas graduated as a logistics engineer but moved into advertising as a copywriter. Two years later he became creative director of DDB Amsterdam. After setting up an experimental agency called Nothing in 2008 (where he invented a new sport: FootGolf), Bas joined JWT Amsterdam in 2012.
His commitment to creativity and innovation turned a local office into one of the most awarded agencies in the world. With double Grand Prix-winning campaign 'The Next Rembrandt', the agency was named Cannes Lions 2016
'Innovation Agency of the Year'.
In December 2019, Bas was promoted to Global Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman Thompson. The agency network was named Cannes Lions 'Most Innovative Network' for 2020/2021.
In March 2023, Bas launched 'The Mammoth Meatball' for cultured meat company VOW. The meatball made from cultured mammoth cells was featured in every news publication in the world. And won multiple Grand Prix.
As of January, 1st, 2024, Bas is officially in his new role at VML. To date, Bas has won 70 Cannes Lions (6 Grand Prix), 27 D&AD Pencils amongst which a Black Pencil, plus countless other awards.
