Womb Stories has continued to top the list of favourite ads among some of Australia’s top creatives.
Last week, AdNews called on creatives to share their favourite ads of the year so far, with some listing Snoop Dogg’s jingle for Menulog, Tourism Tasmania’s Come Down For Air and Google’s Loretta named.
This week we continue to share some of the best ads from around the world to come out this year with Womb Stories and Google’s Loretta continuing to make the list.
Burger King’s Moldy Whopper has also been applauded for being “visionary” and staying true to the brand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Check out the full list below.
BMF group creative director Pia Chaudhuri
Womb Stories is easily my favourite campaign of 2020, if not ever.
The reasons for its triumph have already been widely reported by the creative community so I won’t be adding anything new by sharing my deep admiration for its honesty, craft and bravery. However, I would like to add that it is also the perfect example of how the length of branded content should be determined by how good it is, not simply by universal calculations based on drop off rates. The film wouldn’t have been anywhere near as powerful if it had to be capped at the 1 minute mark, just because we believe this to be ‘best practice’.
It’s obvious that this kind of work is hugely important in changing the narrative around women’s bodies and experiences, but I also applaud it for showing our industry what’s possible when you have the guts to tell underrepresented stories, and craft them lovingly.
TBWA\Sydney creative director Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt
Womb Stories by AMV BBDO / Bodyform in London
Having worked with Libra in this market I know how challenging it can be to tell truthful stories about women's bodies, this is a masterclass. Fuelled by an incredibly simple idea - there is a narrative women are told about their bodies, but the truth is, being a woman is complicated, real stories are seldom told. An insight driven campaign at its core, I'm sure almost every woman who watches it finds moments deeply familiar. And if that wasn't enough the film itself is delicately handled, beautifully rendered and supported by a killer track. More like this please!
M&C Saatchi executive creative director Mandie van der Merwe
Burger King’s Moldy Whopper
To call this work brave, is to undersell it. It is visionary. The type of work that makes you stop and wonder, “How the #@*% did they sell that?” The thing I love most about it - besides how contentious, category-defining and beautifully crafted it is - is the story of collaboration that sits within it. Burger King started with a commitment, three or four years ago, to remove nasties from their food. That turned into an idea that breaks every rule of food advertising. And it was protected over time with three agencies and the trust of a client. This is work I wish I’d made.
Carat Australia chief strategy officer Linda Fagerlund
If advertising is defined by COVID in 2020, then this Burger King one is my favourite so far. I like it for so many reasons.
Not only is it witty and enjoyable to watch, it manages to be a strong product message, while being a call-to-arms for people to do their part and stay home. And oh, did you know that they’re doing all this stuff to support those in need? Many COVID ads can feel too laboured in a quest to appear purposeful, authentic and empathetic. This one proves that in COVID the best brands are the ones that stay true to their tone of voice, understand what they offer, and simply tell you how they’re still here when you need it.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne creative director Hilary Badger
Apple’s sequel to The Underdogs, The Whole Working From Home Thing, is so well-crafted. And with great Australian talent behind it, that makes sense. So many pleasing character moments to enjoy – the finance guy’s katanas and the IT woman who doles out the software licences were particular stand-outs. The product is very present, but I have no issue with that because it’s truly at the heart of the story. As Victoria lurches forward into its second week of its second lockdown, this ad felt pretty much like an actual documentary of my life.
Wunderman Thompson creative director, content Brie Stewart
Social justice is an enticing, yet questionable place to play as a brand. It needs to be done sensitively, elegantly - but importantly, supported by actions that show the brand will fight for, or change their own business structures to align with that cause.
Nike continues to show its strength as a brand, which was further heightened with their ‘For Once, Don’t Do It’ piece that they launched across social and digital platforms. It was simple. It was powerful. It wasn’t over crafted (or one may say, crafted at all?) It reminded us of the power of copy. It was channel agnostic. It spoke up, without concern of losing customers. It turned its slogan on its head. And importantly, it was then backed up with honesty and a commitment to the community, as well as a commitment to changing their own business structures.
In these moments, we need the power of large brands like Nike to further amplify our voices to help make change. For me, this was simple, powerful and brave.
Digitas head of creative Simon Brock
Google: Loretta
Technology, data, personalisation, intelligent targeting and orchestration are all essential parts of the modern marketing skillset. But none of them replaced the need for storytelling craft in 2020. You know that’s true when the brand with more of the aforementioned skills than any other decides to use its 90 seconds of Super Bowl airtime to tell this story. It oozes humanity, which is carried right through to the YouTube description (that explains how to do all the interactions demoed in the spot) and the crediting of the voiceover as ‘Grandpop’. A moving story, perfectly told through the product.
TBWA\Sydney and Eleven executive creative director Russ Tucker
As every global brand scrambled to pull together an ad during the 2020 COVID lockdown, all the ads ended up looking eerily similar, a story covered by AdNews.
ALDI’s agency BMF, provided some much needed comic relief, making the point that when it comes to their prices, nothing has changed. The story highlights the ridiculous media frenzy that fuelled panic buying and price gouging, illustrated by a news chopper circling a lady returning from the supermarket after buying groceries. The punchline: in these unprecedented times, ALDI set a precedent of low prices. The production company GoodOil also pulled off a pretty ambitious shoot during lockdown with a real helicopter.
Freelance creative Adrian Elton
“In these unprecedented times” there’s been a pandemic of earnestly awful ads which have uniformly featured mournful pianos recorded in subterranean caves. Amidst a trillion think-pieces on how to market during a pandemic, The Monkeys produced this spot for BCF (Boating Camping Fishing) which spoke to our exact moment with a measure of hilarity that evinced ads from a simpler time where great writing held more truck than Hollywood grade camera pans. In it, everyday camping gear has been reframed as the tax deduction you need for your hastily assembled ‘home office’. All that’s missing is a Mike Brady jingle.
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