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"Fancy having dinner with 15 other ECDs from rival agencies?"

Ooh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll stick needles in my eyes instead.

I could picture the scene: an evening of thinly veiled barbs or, worse, less thinly veiled boasts.

The reality was a particularly warm and wonderful dinner, hosted by Thinkbox, where the Russells and the Rosies of the industry broke bread and drank quite a bit of wine. As the night wore on, offers of help were given and taken, advice sought, insights shared, wins celebrated and losses commiserated.

If there were egos, I didn’t get a taste of them.

It made me think that perhaps for 2015, as an industry, we might start to behave more like a profession and less like a disparate body of individuals who happen to work in the same field. One where we are supportive of each other’s efforts and respectful of each other’s work and disciplines.

And it was perhaps with these rose-tinted glasses that I peeked into this week’s Private View and, lo and behold, found work that feels a little more confident, a little more grown-up… and a lot more generous.

Here is, for the most part, work that comes from creative platforms rather than one-off advertising ideas – with plans to stick around and have an integrated future.

First, Sport England. Love, love, love this work. It is honest. It makes me proud to be a woman. And it is fun. This new genre of more authentic "feminist" work does run the risk of being all knitted lentils and worthy pants. No such dullness here. Well done to the team who created this. It is the start of a body of work that, as an industry, we will be proud to hold up to British women.

In the same way, Lynx offers a more mature and I think more compelling message, but still with the self-deprecating humour we love and expect. "Enjoy your hair – you won’t have it forever" is a quirky and compelling insight. The art direction is gorgeous. Can’t wait to see where they take it next.

Young’s. Not groundbreaking but I like it if just for the line: "All this divine fishy, never in my little dishy." The obligatory food shots are there but made more interesting for the arch cat character. I am not a fan of fish. Or cats, for that matter. But not a bearded fisherman in sight, so it gets my vote.

An ad for Shredded Wheat leaves breakfast table "banter" behind and focuses instead on the far more compelling topic of what you can do with the life a healthy heart affords you. It’s an idea that is generous and I can see will work well through the line as it moves into activation and social.

And, finally, Macmillan Cancer Support. My father died of cancer and my overriding memory of him coping with the disease was the extraordinary isolation and fear it obviously brings sufferers. Using a blizzard as the analogy for this fear could have been trite and ham-fisted, but I think they have achieved it in a sensitive and impactful way, giving a meaningful role to Macmillan and its place in society.

So here’s to 2015 seeing us behave as a more collaborative industry. One where direct, digital, PR, media, advertising and social all sing from the same hymn sheet, all with an eye on the bigger picture of creating value through creativity to help businesses win.

And when/if we do this, I wouldn’t mind betting the work will be all the better for it.

I’ll review the ads in the airport waiting for my plane, I thought. Because airport time is like ads. Both are the easily forgotten little bits of stuff you go through to get to the bigger bits of stuff you really wanted. I’m sure I’ll forget this coffee shop (ideally, I’ll forget this coffee), but some of this week’s new ads will stay with me. There are some beauties.

Sport England. This is blowing up all over the place – for good reason. With so many clichés and sensitivities bound up in women’s fitness, body image and self-motivation, I imagine this was a minefield of a brief. No mean feat, then, that it evolved into such lovely, tight, well-evidenced thinking. The edit is outstanding, particularly the final seconds: that little "I’m knackered" made my heart sing. Unexpected, authentic, funny – we’ve all been that girl. For a campaign about action, though, I just wish it gave me something to do. The big social/interactive opportunity at launch was surely to inspire women to overcome their fear of judgment and commit to do something (such as signing up for a fitness class or maybe signalling this to friends, entreating moral support). I expected thisgirlcan.co.uk to spit out geo-located class listings, personalised training schedules – hell, maybe even help me encounter like-minded women. But no. I’m sure it’s all in the pipes – this campaign is a strategic gold mine. Aside from the odd dodgy copy line, all in, a massive triumph.

Lynx. It feels like the strategy was probably stronger and more provocative than the resultant work. Selling hair stuff to blokes by urging them to make the most of the hair they have, while they have it, feels divergent, fresh, funny and memorable. But the pastiche-y cut and paste doesn’t quite live up to that potential and had me yearning for the smart, high-concept "Lynx effect" work of days gone by. Maybe I’m just mad because the word "amazing" features three times in this ad.

Young’s. But wait. Something about this pensive cat coveting its owner’s goodies feels familiar. And "#LoveFish"? Come on. Or should I say jog on?

Shredded Wheat. Here’s a brand that knows its customer really, really well. Follow your heart is an elegant strategic thought packed with storytelling potential. The sweet northern soul spot, and the follow-up wild swimming piece, are both woven with thoughtful nuances that keep both films light-hearted and compelling. Again, beautiful production – such attention to detail. I think this campaign is a real grower. I’m already looking forward to more. Honourable mention for resisting the traditional product cutaway. We all know what Shredded Wheat looks like, and we would all rather watch Dave dancing.

Macmillan Cancer Support. This stopped me in my tracks. This thoughtful piece is not about fighting cancer, nor striving for cures – it’s about quiet, stoic acceptance and compassion in the most desperate of circumstances. The dramatic visual metaphor (I thought it was a Channel 4 trail at first – even the sound design is striking, splintering the ad break’s wall of sound) cleverly positions the Macmillan nurse as not only a clinical professional but a friend and confidant for someone who either has no-one else to talk to or can’t bring himself to discuss his condition with his family. Cash-strapped January is a rough time for charities, but I’m sure this work will spur plenty of us to support this modest, kind organisation.