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What a couple of weeks! I sat on the jury for ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Posters

(result unknown), played cricket for the Ivy against the Groucho Club

(and lost), captained an advertising XI against Joe Campbell’s musicians

and won.

Had lunch with Gerry Moira and lost, seven one-liners to nil. And our

agency won the Camelot account. Competitive this advertising lark, isn’t

it?

With pads and gloves removed and my trusted willow put away for the

winter, I go into this Private View with my head held high and a spring

in my step.

So let’s open the bowling with the new Levi’s TV ad. (Why me?) Ah well,

as they say, honesty is the best policy. Levi’s has been the creative

barometer for the past decade or so and, I presume, change is

inevitable.

I can remember when Diesel copied the Levi’s ads, now it seems Levi’s is

copying Diesel. Sorry, I’m still a ’drugstore’, ’creek’ and

’launderette’ man.

I recently read that the sales of denim are going down. Apparently, the

combat trouser has taken over and the favoured pant of James Dean is now

only being worn by middle-aged men with beer guts (what’s wrong with

that?) and, God forbid, Jeremy Clarkson. The Levi’s print ads will

definitely take these fashion victims out of the equation but they are

not for me.

Mind you, neither are combat trousers. Cruel, this fashion business.

After my last Private View (and thanks to Alfredo Marcantonio) I’m soon

to have lunch with Diddy David Hamiliton.

Radio stations, therefore, are high on my agenda, so ... Good morning,

pop pickers, this is the Talk Radio campaign. The ideas and the visuals

are absolutely fan-fab-tastic! The art direction, however, is about as

good as the latest Rod Stewart single. Blocks of colour with type all

over the place make these ads not very easy to read. Oh, I’m feeling

seasick.

Whoever shot the TV ad for John West Tuna deserves a medal. I’m a land

lubber myself. But this ad certainly lives up to its claim: ’We endure

the worst to give you the best.’ It gets straight to the point with no

fancy footwork (apart from on deck). And there’s a nice cameo

performance by an old salty sea-dog with a squeeze box. Pieces of eight

for all concerned.

Shiver me timbers, it’s an ad for Nurofen Advance. How much money do

these drug companies spend on the ’exploding capsule’ graphics year in,

year out? Get real, we’re all bored with it.

What I find most disappointing is that this was a product that broke new

ground in advertising when Graham Fink and Tim Mellors worked on the

account and threw all the pharmaceutical rules out of the doctor’s

window. Oh, ye of little faith, you should have stuck with it.

There’s no pulling the soft velvet tissue paper over my eyes. If you

can’t afford the real thing, or the real thing won’t do it, don’t touch

it with a barge pole (or even a bog brush!). The ads for Kleenex Quilted

are an obvious rip-off of Keeping up Appearances except this Hyacinth

Bucket (pronounced Bouquet, I believe) just doesn’t do it for me. The

ads do work if you haven’t seen the series and, no doubt, they’ll get a

bit of a chuckle in suburbia.

I’m sorry to be so disparaging about these latest ads but there is

little to inspire. And if anyone is so greatly upset by my review, they

can always give me a swift kick between the legs ... You’ll find I’m

still wearing my cricket box!

TALK RADIO

Project: Branding campaign

Client: Paul Robinson, general manager

Brief: Raise awareness of specific programmes and presenters

Agency: Walsh Trott Chick Smith

Writers: Sean Larkin, Graham Sherlock

Art directors: Cathy Hutton, Neil Crocker

Photographer: Andy Whale

Typographer: Mark Goodwin

Exposure: National 48-sheet posters

JOHN WEST FOODS

Project: John West Tuna

Client: Jeremy Coles, marketing manager

Brief: Show that John West endures the worst to bring you the best

Agency: Leo Burnett

Writer: Zane Radcliffe

Art director: Mark Oughton

Director: Colin Gregg

Production company: Eclipse

Exposure: National TV

SCA HYGIENE

Project: Kleenex Quilted Velvet

Client: Thomas Erikson, marketing manager

Brief: Relaunch Kleenex Quilted Velvet as an affordable everyday luxury

item

Agency: Roose & Partners

Writer: Karen Duffin

Art director: Richard Ward

Director: Graham Rose

Production company: Rose Hackney Barber

Exposure: National TV

CROOKES HEALTHCARE

Project: Nurofen Advance

Client: Neil Popplewell, marketing manager

Brief: Launch Advance, a fast-acting Nurofen for those people who need

to get rid of pain quickly

Agency: McCann-Erickson

Writer and art director: Stuart Cooper

Director: Philip Dupee

Production company: Lambie-Nairn Directors

Exposure: National TV

LEVI STRAUSS & CO

Project: Brand campaign

Client: Xavier Gauderlot, consumer marketing manager

Brief: Encourage reappraisal of Levi’s by celebrating the originality of

the brand

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Writers: Rob Jack, Roger Beckett (TV); Kim Pepworth (print)

Art directors: Paul Shearer, Andy Smart (TV); Tony Davidson (print)

Directors: Gore Verbinski, Doug Nichol

Production companies: Propaganda, Partizan Midi Minuit

Photographer: Nadav Kander

Typographer: Andy Bird

Exposure: Pan-European terrestrial and satellite TV,

cinema and press