American Express : Airport Lounge

Hey there ! Long time no see.. Oh you know, life.. But let me make it up to you with this funny ad from Ogilvy & Mather. In this ad you will find all the elements of a great spot. You have an edgy script, good acting, a 60's-70's feel and of course Martin "Marty" Scorsese in the credits. What more can you ask for? To understand the spot and where American Express wants to take us, the script answers a question we all asked ourselves when you're used to travel in coach: "What's so special about the business lounge?"

Only there Tina Fey (30 Rock) needs to get in there so she could talk with Scorsese as it was her, quote: "only chance to get kicked to death in a movie" (laughs). Then as she flashed her AE card she finally got in. All this to remind us that with the platinum card you can access over 160 airports lounge just by flashing it. Next, you see a "are you a cardmember ?" sign appearing on your screen. For my account I'll admit that I was more interestied in seeing how the plot would unravel. Hey, everyone has their priorities (laughs).

Here's the link

Nike : Los 5 Magnificos

The conclusion of Eurofoot 2008 is upon us. Tonight we will know which country of Germany or Spain will take the trophy home. However, during the tournament there was also another competition waging betweens the teams' sponsors, Nike & Adidas. Analysts gave the edge to Adidas considering both finalists are equiped by them. But, we'll see how Nike gets by with the ad I'm about to present to you. In the ad called "Los 5 Magnificos" or "The 5 Magnificents", we see 5 star players from the spanish national side, (in order of appearence: Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol, Sergio Ramos and Fernando Torres) writting on their torsos the survey results on why Spain's hasn't won an official competition in 44 years.

The element that makes this spot so bold is that, it forces Nike to take a stance in who's going to win the Final. If Spain wins, people will salute the vision of the ad and of Nike officials for coming up with the idea. If they lose, well it will still be a great commercial but just betting on the wrong side. For the anecdote, the ad is a product of the agency Villarosas. I personnaly think it's time for Spain to deliever the goods and bring home the silverware. I mean let's face it, we don't know when they'll be back at that stage of a competition, so they might as well make the most of it (laughs).

Here's the link, Viva España !

Home Office : Binge Boy/Girl

Party people this ad is for you. Apparently, the british government was trying for a while to communicate with young adults on drinking habits. With that goal in mind, they came up with the Binge Boy/Girl campaign. The ads are products of the VCCP agency. First, you see a girl (in the female version) getting ready to go out. But quickly, something seems odd. She rips a her clothes open. Puke in the sink then generously spread some in her hair. Messes up her makeup. Now, if you first view this commercial having never heard about it, you're a little startled. I mean, you wonder, why would someone voluntarily inflect himself so much abuse.

The answer is given when the ad draws to a close, as you read : "You wouldn't start a night like this so why end it that way ?". The concept made me smile but more importantly it also made me think. Everyone had a wild night once that they never expected would be so out of control. I mean, we all want to party but, down the line, we all expect to make it in one piece or at least, clean enough to be able to head to our room unnoticed (laughs). Since I first saw the "girl" version, I then went on to watch the "male" one. And, to be honest, when the guy caught the closetdoor in his face I kinda expected it to happen. Otherwise it just wouldn't have been credible (laughs).

Here's the link to the female and male version.

Crest : Bulldozer/Lice/Pre-nup

It's been a while since I came up with something to show you guys, but I guess I was looking for something inspiring. And I think I found that. The question I'm asking you is, can we get away with giving bad news while having a smile on our face on? Could you look someone in the eyes and tell him he's dying while smiling at him, hoping he'll take it well. I think we're all looking to avoid guilt, but what if I told you the secret was brushing your teeth with Crest, giving the news and putting a pearly white smile on? Seriously, what if it was that easy ? Some serious brand image enhancement.

Come on, guys be honest. I bet there will be at least one of you, who'll try it out on his girlfriend tonight (laughs). "Honey, I'm dumping you (aaannnd smile)..". The commercial is the product of Saatchi & Saatchi New-York. In the "Bulldozer" plotline, we see a bunch of kids talking to a construction worker in a bulldozer about to demolish their playground. As he sees the mob of kids interrogating him he punctuates each answers with a smile. At some point the smile apparently convinces the kids that a power station would be a cool place to play in. The concept is very well supported by the acting which ultimately makes it a fun ad to watch.

Here's the link. I'll also give you the links of two alternate versions. First, where a guy annonces to his girlfriend that he gave her lice by bringing home a pillow from the streets. And second, a rich man surprises his fiance with a pre-nup and his lawyer. Like the copywriter says "you can say anything with a smile". Priceless.

Nissan Qashqai: Qashqai Car Games

Saw the Nissan Qashqai ad on TV the other day. This second wave comes after TBWA designed a succesful integrated communication campaign in 2007 to celebrate the launch of the new Nissan Qashqai (anyone knows how to correctly pronounce this unpronounceable word?). 

The strategy included two waves. The first one, with online content, virals, PR, and ambient marketing aimed at preparing the field for the second wave that included the TV ad. And to be honest, I believe the first wave worked better. 

Before the airing of the first TV ad (Spring of 2007), the first wave reached 212 countries and was shown on 4370 sites. In the first month, the campaign attracted over 3.5 million views, rising to 12.5 million after three months.

TBWA created a fictional new sport, Qashqai car games:

"[…] we had to create an entire universe around the sport – everything that would make it seem real and entertaining: the history, the rules, 6 national teams, logos, crazy drivers, psychotic fans, sponsors, specifications, merchandise, as well as a footage of the QASHQAI performing fantastic stunts off giant ‘skate’ ramps."  Jamie Bristow, TBWA London

Check out the virals and the ads in the official website: http://www.qashqaicargames.com/

Orange : Rewind City

What if you could rewind a memorable moment ? Freeze time, rewind and relive the moment that took your breath away. Orange, through the agency Publicis Conseil, made it happen in their latest ad. The plot develops in Goa, India. A young lady looks away with a sadden look. A man, seeing this, gives the word for the whole town to rewind the scene. If only it was that simple. So vehicules shift into reverse-gear, pedestrians walk back and painters repaint the original colors. However, the girl is still sad, until a bus stop in front of her. Passengers come off backwards and we can see her face lighting up as, who we can guess is, her boyfriend gets off the bus and kisses her passionatly.

The idea was to draw a parallel with Orange's "TV on demand" service. But getting back on the spot, I was really charmed by the concept having been an extra once and as I was watching this I was telling to myself "man, those extras must have had a rough day" (laugh). To get everyone to have the right timing and also making sure it looks realistic and natural was a real coup for which we can thank the director, Ringan Ledwidge, for. Great commercial when you realise that the concept itself is not really that innovative, yet the creative director was subtle enough to introduce it with flair.

Here's the link

Score for the Red Cross - Euro 2008

Le Grand prix romand de la création s'est déroulé hier soir à Genève. Comme son nom l'indique, c'est un concours qui prime la créativité publicitaire romande et il est le seul dans son genre dans la partie francophone de la Suisse. J'ai été ravi de trouver parmi les gagnants un jeune illustrateur/Directeur artistique travaillant chez Saatchi Simko à Carouge: Julien De Preux.

Il remporte un Grand suite à son travail d'illustration sur le flyer ci-dessus pour l'initiative de la croix rouge Score for the red cross.

En m'intéressant de plus près à son travail j'ai pu découvrir deux autres vidéos: une qui complète cette campagne et une autre pour Amnesty International. On y reconnait à nouveau son style et personnellement j'aime beaucoup.

Encore bravo Julien!

Pour la Vidéo Score for the Red Cross cliquez ici

Pour la vidéo pour Amnesty International, cliquez ici