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If marketers needed a reminder of the unparalleled power of creativity to shift perceptions, they got one in the form of Joint’s 2016 work for Amazon Prime.

The agency achieved the seemingly impossible: humanising a brand that has ruthlessly extended its tentacles into every corner of consumers’ lives.

A beautifully understated ad, featuring an imam and a priest drinking tea together, was brilliant on so many levels. As they say goodbye to each other, wincing from the pain of aching knees, both are spurred to buy the same gift (from Amazon Prime, of course): kneepads.

In a year of division, hatred and confusion, the closing shots of each man using the pads to kneel in prayer – one at a church, the other at a mosque – are uniquely moving. The ad, which could so easily have been clumsily executed or overtly emotive, is pitch-perfect and surprisingly humble. For Joint, it was nothing short of brand-defining.

Joint’s work for Amazon also proves that the agency has potential to compete on the global stage (Amazon aired the ad in the UK, Germany and the US). In perhaps the ultimate endorsement, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos took to Twitter to declare: "Love this TV commercial for Amazon Prime very proud of our team."

Elsewhere, work for Thatchers Haze helped it become the UK’s number-one cloudy cider and Thatchers Gold is successfully growing its share in a fiercely competitive category.

With the infinitely bullish Richard Exon at the helm, Joint will no doubt be hoping to do the same in its own sector – and building on the success of its Amazon activity will be top of the agenda.

The agency certainly needs a bigger profile for itself and its work, and a few more meaty clients offering creative-led briefs for Damon Collins and his department to get their teeth into.

How the agency describes its year in a tweet

Loving every minute and learning as we go.

Score key: 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Good 6 Satisfactory 5 Adequate 4 Below average 3 Poor 2 A year to forget 1 Survival in question