This week's ads under review are: South Western Railway "Spread your wings" by St. Luke's; Lloyds Bank "Drumbeat" by Adam & Eve/DDB; Specsavers "Should've 2.0" by The Agency; Samsung "Night mode" by Mother London; Vagina Museum "Neighbours" by TheOr London; and "#StandwithUkraine" by Banda.
George Bryant, group chief creative officer, Golin
Advertising can be some pretty extraordinary things.
Advertising can be information. Charming us to change our behaviour. South Western Railway's "Spread your wings" makes us rethink a utility we had disdain for, as a source of new found post-pandemic joy. A brief heavy on information has evolved into a well-crafted film with a relatable warmth.
Advertising can be emotion. Stallions and banks were never the most obvious partners but through consistency and a genuine emotional resonance over time, the Lloyds work never fails to connect beyond the rational. Simplicity is so often the hardest quality to keep alive through the creative process, I admire a team that can sell and buy work with this singularity.
Advertising can be pure entertainment. Let's not criticise advertising's past. Let's show that when done well, 1970s style ads have never been so much fun. Specsavers' long-running campaign feels like the natural protégé of beer brands that refreshed the parts. A brand unashamedly laughing at the smell of its own farts. That rare thing, a mainstream campaign that doesn't talk down to us. A campaign that is being allowed to play and get better over time.
And as Samsung shows, advertising can still be performance. Not staged happenings caught on video. But beautiful evocative, original performance pieces. Effortlessly demonstrating the product's key benefit. What could have been a tame, predictable experience in the hands of a less talented and ambitious team, becomes a standout moment on our screens. One of the best directors I know recently lamented that there are moments when he feels the industry has stopped trying, reaching for the same techniques and references (thank you Euphoria). The "Night mode" cuts through and elevates any ad break it decides to sit in. A breath of fresh air.
But the best advertising can and should matter more.
Advertising can be art. Like all the bravest art the best advertising changes perceptions, challenges the taboo and opens up new conversations. I love the Vagina Museum work. An intervention masquerading as advertising. Artwork in the true sense. A conversation that smiles in the face of an outdated narrative and invites everybody in. Advertising so good it is worth paying for. Sign me up.
But in the most extreme case, advertising is proving to be something more. In the hands of the atrocities enacted upon the Ukrainian people, advertising is a tool for democracy. A window on an unimaginable reality, being played out in the palms of our hands. Ukraine is now is a film that should never have needed to exist. It leaves me speechless, like the war itself. My thoughts are with the filmmakers, the subjects and the wider community. There will not be a more important ad made this decade.
Please show your support for Ukraine is now, by reposting the video and #standwithukraine.
Nicola Wood, creative director, Ogilvy UK
My son constantly moans at me "you're always on your laptop" which is kind of ironic coming from the kid who spends most of his non-school hours playing with his mates in the metaverse – they'd rather go for pizza in Roblox than IRL – I'm not sure how I feel about that but that's a conversation for another day. So, when he showed some genuine interest in what I was watching I jumped at the chance to spend 10 minutes talking to him about something other than legendary knives of MM2 (if you know you know). So please find some additional commentary from Ollie Wood aged 10 ¾.
What caught his ear was the Charli XCX track on the Samsung film. I have to admit it is flipping cool (I'll reframe from swearing in the presence of a child) and it really adds to the dreamy other-worldly quality of the film. I love it. Though I fear it is probably not aimed at me as I am very far from cool and generally like to be in bed by about 10pm these days. I can see it appealing to fashionistas and trendy Shoreditch types. Oh and 10-year-old boys; Ols particularly liked the boots. Top marks for a beautifully written endline. See the night in a new light. Quality writing.
Next up, Specsavers. The film raised a smile from both of us but I kind of knew where it was going from the off. What I do love is the idea of script switch-ups across programmes but on the wrong channel. That media partnership with Channel 4 and ITV is super clever.
Stand with Ukraine. So heart wrenching. Every shot felt considered. From the supremely powerful opening image of a young mother breastfeeding in a shelter, which brought a lump to my throat, right through to the very last shot of the guy crying and apologising for being Russian. It's hard to fathom this is really happening, but it is, and we do stand with Ukraine. Ollie didn't have anything to say about it. His silence said it all. This is a kid that literally doesn't stop talking. Ever. I wonder if he'll talk about it later?
It's hard to follow something so emotive with something so joyously flippant but you've got to love the Vagina Museum work. The "Open soon" campaign is a very tough act to follow and I'm not sure this work is quite as strong as that, it feels a little busy but then the fly poster style does suit East London. I do like the details in the writing like "Mind the WAP". What did Ollie think? You lost him at vagina. And I've lost him to the metaverse.
Black horses running somewhere in Britain. Undoubtably Lloyds Bank. But it undoubtedly feels like I have seen it before. Sorry, I hate to say that, but they are blurring into each other a wee bit. There is no denying the level of craft that has gone into it – Lloyds films are always impeccably crafted and set to a gorgeous track –but just as the lovely Imelda Staunton tells us Lloyds is always by our side, I feel like its ads are always the same. Needs more teeth or a different hook.
Lastly, we have a charmingly animated Pigeon and Seagull trying to encourage us back on the trains. Feels like a bit of a tick list from the client with all the reasons why we should head back into the big smoke. I bet there was some lovely writing that got cut from the script to fit those in. I'm a commuter so I have no choice but to pay the extortionate fares and spread my wings but I'm not sure this campaign will quite convince the masses to.
When Ollie resurfaced, he said quite seriously: "I've been thinking about one of them ads Mum... where can I get those boots from?" I promise you – I am trying to teach him empathy.