3 Great Ads is a long-running Thinkbox and ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 series. The idea is not only to explore some of our greatest ads in the company of people who know a thing or two about making them, but also – because of the proven link between creativity and effectiveness – to inspire the ad industry to even greater heights.
Mark Shanley likes to make provocative work – work that makes you feel something. He wants you to like his ads, but he would much rather you hated them than ignored them.
As executive creative director at Adam & Eve/DDB, he has put this into practice for a diverse range of brands including Puma, Pot Noodle,The V&A Museum and more.
For 20 years, Shanley has made many ads and won many awards for those ads. Yet he has only won two Thinkboxes Awards – that’s an average of one every ten years.
He hopes doing this will increase his chances of winning a third.
Shanley’s choices
This tale of a woman who abandons her old lamp on the street in the rain after buying a new IKEA lamp is directed by Spike Jonze. How it’s lit, the point of view of the lamp outside looking up and in, the music – the strongest lever to make people feel something – it’s all there. Until sentimental music plays and a Swedish man breaks the mood, flipping the narrative by telling viewers they’re "crazy" for feeling bad as the new lamp is simply better.
A really silly rug pull that makes you laugh.
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky Client: IKEA Creative Team: Alex Bogusky, Paul Keister, Ari Merkin, Mark Taylor, Steve Mapp, Rupert Samuel Production company: Moron/Jankel/Zander (MJZ) Director: Spike Jonze
Volvo’s The Epic Split showcases the stability of its trucks by showing Jean-Claude Van Damme performing a split between two reversing vehicles. A trade ad, for people who buy trucks, it’s beautifully shot with a serious performance and great music – and all real. Filmed in one take at sunrise in Spain’s Ciudad Real Airport, the ad combined precise choreography, Enya’s Only Time, and bold creativity to create an unforgettable moment in advertising.
With no tricks or twists, it’s the ultimate product demo.
Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors Creative Team: Anders Eklind, Sophia Lindholm, Bjorn Engstrom, Martin Ringqvist, Jerry Wass, Joi Persson Client: Volvo Trucks Production company: Folke Film Director: Andreas Nilsson
In this short but hilarious ad, a couple adore their new couch but recoil in disgust at their old coffee table – to the extent that when they look at the table, they gag. The idea that a piece of stylish new furniture makes old furniture look outdated is simple, with millions of ways you could write it. The comedy – pitch-perfect, so controlled when they are gagging, and with few cuts – showcases it beautifully in an amusing way.
It's all about the performances.
Agency: Translation Creative Team: Eric Kallman, Jay Berry, Marc d' Avignon, John Norman, Steve Stout, Katherine O’Brien, Kasia Haupt Canning, Chad Howitt, Kevin Stein Client: Value City Furniture Production company: dummy. Director: Harold Einstein
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Thinkbox is the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, in all its forms. Its shareholders are Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media and UKTV. Thinkbox works with the marketing community with a single ambition: to help advertisers get the best out of today’s TV.
