Adwatch (July 6): Top 20 recall - Evian makes its position clear

Bottled-water brand at last makes 'Live young' positioning clearly relevant to adults.

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Times are tough for bottled-water brands, especially with pressure growing daily regarding their environmental credentials. The response to this is polarised: some prefer to focus on the energy and vitality benefits of mineral water, while others tackle the environmental question directly.

The cynic in me would argue that if they care that much about the environment, why exist in the first place? I mean, really, this is a serious problem. That aside, I feel that often in advertising, taking the 'responsible' approach and being worthy can also sometimes become all-too dry, especially when trying to win consumers' hearts and minds.

Evian's latest TV spot, continuing the 'Live young' theme, has once again used imagery of babies to adopt a much more light-hearted and fun take on advertising in this sector.

You can never underestimate the power of making someone smile, and this really made me smile.

The key to the ad is a very simple and clever mechanic - the T-shirt, which really brings the idea to life. Animated in the way it is, it has also created a fantastic, eye-catching visual effect. This style of execution is nothing new, but what stands out for me is a clean, fresh art direction led by outstanding choreography, which is beautifully in sync with a very funky and catchy soundtrack.

The outcome is a brilliant piece of visual communication that shows the effect drinking Evian can have on us all as individuals. The movement of the babies' bodies on the T-shirts delivers real humour to the campaign and it's this that wins my affection for the brand.

This represents a real step forward in establishing Evian's proposition to 'Live young'. The previous ad, featuring roller-skating babies, lacked any adult presence, which confused the message. Inherently, babies live young anyway. Perhaps I am taking this rather literally, but this is how the concept of 'live young' speaks to me. I also found it all a bit surreal for no real reason.

The approach as demonstrated in this ad, however, is very clever, and, as Evian is now revealing, it can manifest itself as a big 360 degs concept that is so versatile it can play brilliantly in any media. Currently online, you can join a bid to create the world's longest music video which is a great extension of the idea.

Evian already seems to dominate shelf-space in most of the fridges I frequent, but following this piece of work I am more than likely going to go there, drink it and maybe even get the T-shirt.

Adwatch (July 6): Top 20 recall
Latest Jul-29 Brand Agency/TV Buyer Recall
rank       %
1 (–) O2  VCCP/ZenithOptimedia 44
2 -5 Sky  WCRS/MediaCom 37
3 (–) Walkers Sunbites  Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/OMD UK 36
4 (–) Iceland  (Beta)/MediaCom North 35
5 (–) Kraft Belvita  Euro RSCG London/PHD 34
6 (–) National Lottery EuroMillions  Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/OMD UK 33
7 (–) Birds Eye Rice Fusions  Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/Carat 31
8= (–) Evian  Euro RSCG BETC/MEC 30
8= (–) Nectar  G2 Joshua/MediaVest 30
10 (18=) Currys/PC World  M&C Saatchi/Walker Media 27
11= (–) Boots  Mother/OMD UK 26
11= (–) Everest  MBA/Mindshare 26
13= (11=) Morrisons  DLKW Lowe/MEC 25
13= (–) Domino's Pizza  Big Communications/Arena Media 25
13= (–) Peugeot  Euro RSCG London/OMD UK 25
13= (–) Right Guard  Dare/MEC 25
13= (–) L'Oreal Men Expert  McCann Erickson/ZenithOptimedia 25
18= (–) Europcar  Ogilvy & Mather/MediaVest 21
18= (–) Cathedral City  Grey London/Universal McCann 21
18= (–) Malibu  Publicis/Vizeum 21
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