Bestads Top 6 of the Week reviewed by Andy Flemming, creative director, M&C Saatchi Sydney
Some lovely spots here this week. LG’s ‘TV Thief’ is a great product demonstration and a spot I’ve seen peppered around the net over the last few days. The Kompressor Plus vacuum spot made me laugh in a guilty way and will, no doubt, amuse the Cannes jury this year – especially if it’s shown on about day two of judging. The Sam Kekovich campaign is always great but there can be only one, and for me it has to go to the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Hard & Fast’. It takes an incredibly important subject matter (one that’s, unfortunately, very close to home for me) and punches it into your brain with clever writing and the wonderful realisation that ‘Staying Alive’ is the perfect beat for CPR. People will remember it which means it’ll save lives. Great.
Not the greatest selection of print. Subaru does the job, Bondi Advertising add to their beach credentials with a timely piece as there were a few big fish cruising around Sydney last weekend and South America has a few ads that, to be honest, I found a little difficult to understand. There’s no clear winner, but the image of the little girl in the wire prostitute is quite confronting.
After watching countless award entry videos I can’t help but remember when I first started carting my (laminated) book around as a junior. I was always told not to try and explain my work as I wouldn’t be there to do it when it ran. Entry videos do just that, and a couple of these are prime examples – complete with the obligatory amazed shot of passers by stopping to gasp / take pictures / hug the logo (you’ll find that little gem in the ‘Social Christmas Tree’ video this week.) That said, sticking personalised QR codes on people at a music festival is a great idea. It fits the Heineken positioning, no doubt got strangers to approach each other and will possibly add to a population spike in Warsaw in about nine months.
Kia Motors ‘Like Lab’ wanted to delve through my Facebook information to make a badly acted film with me in it. At the point where it announced that my favourite word was ‘bollocks’ it crashed. Leaving aside novelty agency Christmas cards and a KLM application that I couldn’t download because I’ve gone Android, by far the best interactive idea was Honda Civic’s ‘Off the Grid’. With the sleepy voice of Garrison Keillor as a guide, you explore unusual locations with full 360 degree movement. It nails the concept of exploration whilst sucking about twenty minutes out of your day.