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In the new spirit of anti-sleaze, I must declare my interest in

cars before I review other car ads. So, for the record, I am working on

Ford with Leon Jaume and believe the current Fiesta work is the

strongest car advertising since Audi’s ’odd couple’. I’m sure Ford won’t

mind me saying that VW is also producing some of the best work around

Nor, I hope, will they mind me admiring Mercedes in an ’if I won the

lottery’ sort of way. I liked the posters but find these press ads a

little cold.

I don’t really want to be in a ’vacuum-sealed vault’ as one ad offers,

nor do I get nervous enough to change my car and house as another

suggests. The third brake-assist ad seemed to be a great brief but again

lacked the style and wit the car demands.

The Chrysler Jeep ads I liked in a ’great for driving round Hampstead’

way. They reminded me of early TBWA Land Rover work, but were clean and

witty, with perhaps a little too much copy.

I can’t help feeling they’re trying to do too much with coupons, phone

numbers and prices, forcing the brand to get a little swamped. I suppose

the trouble with a name such as Jeep is it becomes a generic, despite

the endline, ’There’s only one.’

I’d not seen the RAC work until now and I watched them twice, but I’m

not sure I’d want to again. Most of them had ’real’ people patronising

me with words of wisdom about ’too many cars on the road’ and ’how

companies in the future will succeed with imagination’. All without a

hint of solution or humanity.

A ’future in motion’ strapline is, perhaps, the nearest the ads came to

answering ’what’s in it for me?’. Although pounds 25 back if I didn’t

call out the RAC seemed like some kind of offer in one of the ads.

Perhaps if I followed the advice in the other ads, kept my car off the

road and used my imagination, I wouldn’t join at all. Then it wouldn’t

just be pounds 25 I’d save if I didn’t use them.

On to the endless quest to take some of Kit Kat’s giant share of the

snack market and this time it’s Riva’s chance. I can understand

McVitie’s resting Jane Asher (don’t you just love her in a Fab Four kind

of way?) and giving Pauline Calf a go. The ads are full of innuendo and

catchphrases.

’Riva breather’ could even give ’have a break’ a run for its money but

perhaps, like Pauline, the ads are just a trifle overdone. The character

is good though, and Mr Coogan can be very funny if persevered with.

When I saw Schweppes I really thought I was watching the early Levi’s

’rivets’ ad - the opening frames seemed almost identical but, as the

drama unfolded, it turned out to be a diamond mine. A couple of miners,

Herb and Ritts, had decided to pinch a couple of gems. They opened the

conveniently large, trendy fridge full of Schweppes, as you do down the

mines, to wash down the rocks. Unfortunately they were caught and

X-rayed but, to everyone’s surprise, only Herb had a diamond in his

stomach, while Ritts was then seen retrieving his loot from a Baywatch

trashcan lady. Yes, he’d hidden the gem in the empty can, while Herb was

left inside waiting for all things to pass. The ’think Schweppes’ line

at the end made it seem even more dated and just didn’t seem to be

completely true to the brand.

If simplicity and wit are important ingredients in advertising, then

One-2-One was already well on its way with a clear, strong brand

name.

The campaign so far has brought us the excellent Elvis commercial and,

like all good advertising, has given us all something to talk about. Our

kids have all decided who they’d like to have a One-2 -One with. For Vic

Reeves, it’s the bounder Terry-Thomas, brilliantly shot in varying

styles all seamlessly held together. It’s such a simple, well-branded

idea for a great campaign you want to see more of them. My only slight

problem is that when Vic falls off his bike it seems neither comedic nor

believable but then that is being rather picky. For the record, Leon and

I would like a ’One-2-One’ with the Spice Girls.

Mercedes-Benz

Project: Mercedes-Benz

Client: Oliver Johnson, marketing director

Brief: Give an insight into ownership

Agency: BDDH Writers: John Dean, Owen Lee

Art directors: Simon Green, Gary Robinson

Photographers: Andreas Heumann, William Albert Allard Typographer: Jay

Ellis

Exposure: National press

RAC

Project: RAC

Client: Jan Smith, group strategic director

Brief: Own the future of mobility

Agency: BDDH Writer: John Dean

Art director: Simon Green

Director: Mark Harrison Production company: The Producers

Exposure: National TV

McVitie’s

Project: Riva

Client: Mark Horgan, marketing director

Brief: Position Riva as the everyday chocolate biscuit for women

Agency: Leo Burnett

Writer: Mark Thompson

Art director: Paul Taylor

Director: Geoff Posner Production company: Academy Commercials

Exposure: National TV

Schweppes Cadbury Beverages AIMEE

Project: Schweppes

Client: Paul Troy, European brands manager

Brief: Gain mainstream acceptance throughout Europe for Schweppes as an

adult soft-drinks brand Agency: Saatchi and Saatchi Writer: Kes Gray

Art director: Dennis Willison

Director: Tarsem

Production company: @radical.media

Exposure: National TV

Mercury

Project: One-2-One

Client: Paul Donovan, sales and marketing director

Brief: Develop the stature and humanity of One-2-One by inspiring

intimate conversation

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty Writer: Steve Hudson

Art director: Victoria Fallon

Director: Mehdi Norowzian

Production company: Joy Films

Exposure: National TV

Chrysler Jeep Imports UK

Project: Jeep Cherokee

Client: Steve Gray, marketing director

Brief: Reinforce Jeep Cherokee’s values as the authentic American 4x4

Agency: Delaney Fletcher Bozell Writer: Peter Kew

Art director: Ronnie Brown

Photographer: Chris Martin Typographer: Ronnie Brown

Exposure: National press