±±¾©Èü³µpk10

As it’s the month of Mother’s Day and our first time writing for Private View, we thought we would bring our mums along as support and to help us answer the eternal question: "But would your mum get it?" I’m afraid you’ll have to read their musings to find out whether the ad you probably spent the past half-a-year making survived their rigorous review. Just for context, neither of our mums works or has ever worked in an ad agency! Chris Croft is a physiotherapist and Tina Bird is a home helper who’s dabbled in some pretty serious cake catering, and they’ve probably never even heard of the London bubble.

So, first up, we have Virgin Media. Watching other people play computer games is about as interesting as Weetabix without beans, but this manages to tell a very sweet story and the casting is brilliant. It got us thinking: why don’t we see more computer game characters with disabilities?

Right, next up is the NHS Covid vaccine ad. We sense the mums are going to like this one but we have questions. Is that actually Sir Elton John? How did they convince him to do this? And isn’t he a bigger celebrity than Sir Michael Caine? And did Caine actually get the jab? Overall, entertaining once we got over the initial confusion.

"Alexa’s body" for Amazon. We’ve been gagging for some giggles and this ad had us pootling up the M1 to Giggleswick. Amazon has reached the level where it can get away with writing sketches rather than worrying about the product benefits. Does anyone remember the two-minute Christmas ad that was essentially about a guy ordering a torch?

Churchill. What a dream. We could happily watch that slippy little dog sliding all day long but unfortunately we have to look at some other ads or our mums said no tea.

Next up, BT. This looks like a piece of art and like most art leaves us with more questions than answers. What does it all mean? How are people actually going to see this during lockdown? And why would people see it? But props for making BT B2B look beautiful though.

All we’ve ever wanted from a mortgage company is an erotic novel and FINALLY it’s happened (for Habito). We’re looking forward to seeing what the mums think of this one! The illustrations are beautiful and we love that they used Rocky Flintstone. It would probably be hard to chuckle at this erotic novel in the midst of a house-buying nightmare – but once you’ve got your very own lounge, it might be nice to sit on the unfurnished floor and have a look through this book. This is the second time they’ve tackled the issue of sexually stunted homebuyers – would be great to see what they can do with another of the many hideous side effects of the house-buying process.

Then we have Pringles, a delicious brand partnership brought to life by Frank the zombie. These were a fun set of ads with some funny moments but, unfortunately for us, the production values had us wanting to eat our own brains.

Marmite. Love the ad – hated the social branter that came with it.

Last, we have Xbox. An ace idea and we loved the moment where Mary made her avatar. Old people playing games with their grandchildren is a really fun concept and we felt like maybe the films took it a bit seriously. We kind of wanted to see Mary rage quit and throw her controller across the room.

We weren’t allowed to review Wonderhood’s own work for OSU… we can’t think why. But hopefully our mums have given us a glowing review.

Thanks again to our mums for helping out and being a pair of absolute huns.

Hi ±±¾©Èü³µpk10, happy to be here for this Mother’s Day special. It’s Chris (Jack’s mum) and Tina (Stacey’s mum).

Virgin Media.
Chris (main pic): Too fast for me at the start. Some touching and sensitive moments. Not sure what the message was. Thought at one point it was a dating ad!

Tina (inset): I like the action mixed with a hint of a love story. It gives a clear message of how vital our connectivity is, especially given the past year and our lack of human contact.

NHS.
Tina: Absolutely love this.

Chris: Absolutely loved this. Tina: It makes you laugh and keeps you focused on the storyline. The use of Sir Elton John and Sir Michael Caine is inspired. Clear message, get the jab. Chris: Very awkward start but the contrast between this and when Caine came in was brill – it was a laugh-out-loud moment.

Churchill. 
Chris: Cute dog but boring. Why are they singing in a foreign language?

Tina: Good choice of music, love the use of a real dog. A clear brand message – chill as in Churchill.

Amazon.
Chris: I don’t get it. Why is he in the bath fully clothed?

Tina: Confusing ad, too much innuendo and the Alexa ball seems lost. Quite sexist too!

BT.
Chris: No – sorry, don’t get it. Does that mean I’m shallow?

Tina: Very clever and colourful images.

Habito.
Chris: This is just too weird. What is it advertising? Something to do with a cat?

Tina: I found this confusing. I can appreciate the artwork but what’s it got to do with getting a mortgage?

Marmite.
Tina: I like the simplicity of this ad. The message is very clear, as is the brand.

Chris: Yes – like it but I can’t imagine chilli-flavoured Marmite! Is this for real?

Xbox.
Tina: What an excellent idea. I can relate to this. I hope when lonely or elderly people see this, they will give it a go.

Chris: I love this. Although quite long, it is engaging, believable, very current, so natural – I’m sure they are not actors, they must be grandson and grandad, surely?

Pringles.
Chris: I think this is quite clever and funny in parts, and although I couldn’t say I like it, it could do the trick in terms of reminding me of buying Pringles.

Tina: I love zombie Frank. This really draws your attention to the brand Pringles. A good, fun ad.

OSU.
Tina: This ad was cheery, bright and colourful. The actors were adorable, and I couldn’t help smiling. Very clear brand message.

Chris: Aw, love this lots. I loved seeing the old people all dressed up and how they moved, fantastic colours and styles – very classy. Loved the punchline and the lady winking. Can I be in an ad when I’m old?!

A final word from the mums.

Tina: Hope I’ve done OK, Stacey. Let me know your thoughts! Love, Mumma xxx

Chris: OK love, that’s it. Lots of love, Mum xxxxx