Rarely am I captivated by an tv ad, infact I go out of my way to avoid them. I'd prefer to take a call from a telemarketer than watch 2 minutes of mind numbing crap.
However, during the Australian Open one ad has regularly been a head turner. Dare I say it, I actually enjoy seeing it.
The ad is for Nestle 'Drumstick' icecream that depicts the summer ritual of Australia. You can find a Quicktime version here
It's beautifully written & directed. It's a classic. It's captures an Australian truth and gives it a charm - something many clients and agencies fuck up spectacularly. I wouldn't be suprised if this took home a Cannes Lion, it deserves it.
Created by Publicis Mojo Melbourne, it's a memorable ad for icecream. I suspect it's working its socks off as well, judging by the number of families eating Drumstick's on Australia Day at the Clovelly Beach Kiosk.
Big congratulations to Publicis Mojo team, Nestle and everyone else involved. Good luck with it at Cannes.
Carlton United Breweries and George Patterson Y&R today launched the successor to Carlton Draught's Big Ad titled 'FlashBeer'.
To quote a small part of an excessively long press release :
"After parodying advertising stereotypes in previous ads, Made from Beer has taken on new creative territory with 'Flashbeer' by sending up one of the most ubiquitous film cliches of the 1980s - the audition scene from the closing minutes of the 1983 movie, Flashdance.
With all eyes on its passionate leotard-clad hero, 'Flashbeer' has fun with the notion prevalent in many 80's films (hit films like Flashdance, Fame, Footloose and Dirty Dancing) where the 'power of dance' can make any dream come true.
'Flashbeer' is the journey of 'Kevin Kavendish', a peanut inspector by day, who harbours a secret dream to work at Carlton Draught Brewery. The odds seem stacked against Kevin when he goes to a job interview at the brewery given his distinct lack of experience, but then through the
'power of dance' we see our hero realise his dream of brewing his favourite beer.
The famous audition scene was (somewhat) faithfully re-created – about as faithful to the original as you would expect from Carlton Draught anyway."
To view it, head on over to the microsite Flash Beer - unfortunately it's streamed using Vividas so no download or blog embedding options, and it doesn't appear to be on YouTube either which I think is a real mistake.
This is an interesting one if you're in the business - I'm guessing most of our readers are, as an insight into "how"...
About 6 weeks ago I was invited to go along to a 4 day TV, Press and interweb shoot near Malaga, Spain - If you're/were/have been in the UK of late you would/should/must have/may seen the TV press or online activity.
Orange, a global brand, invite 40 UK residents to make an ad in the middle of spaghetti western spain, with none of it being scripted apart from the call sheets and blow up dolls. All at the behest of Mother and Poke.
"This was about creating and capturing genuine emotion and experience.
The intention was to create an event in which the public could participate and interact, something more akin to an art installation as opposed to a traditional ad - the best works of art are the ones where normal people are as excited by it as the art establishment. Ultimately, this is an event media ad as opposed to a genuine art installation done purely for art's sake but we do feel that we managed to achieve and push what is expected from a traditional advertising campaign."
