Volkswagen Golf "Under Milkwood"

Looking back on a seminal ad from Volkswagen today. Created for the Gold brand, the campaign, entitled "Night Driving" attempted to recreate the feeling of taking to the road at night and feeling like the only person in the world. Executed with a series of television, print and outdoor advertisements in 2007, the television spot features Richard Burton distinctive voice reading Dylan Thomas' "Under Milkwood". Directed by Noam Burro and produced by DDB London, the ad was followed by a direct marketing campaign 2 months after the campaign began to air.

The ad features a Volkswagen Gold being driven around deserted Los Angele's streets. I think what makes this ad truly remarkable is the soundtrack. The quiet background music does not detract from the poetry, and combined with the imagery, it feels like a massive departure that we see in standard car advertising. It was a very effective campaign to boot, with the Gold achieving its best sales year to date in 2007. 

Boots "Christmas 2013"

Boots win for weirdest song choice this Christmas, with Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy", a song whose lyrics address issues like homophobia and bullying, bringing in the festive cheer. No doubting it's a very catchy song, but seems out of tone with the ad and Christmas in general. Created by Mother London, the campaign depicts a young man sneakily giving friends and acquaintances gifts from Boots in light of their own charitable deeds.

Boots made a major misstep in last year's Christmas advert, with numerous complaint of animal cruelty filed due a shot of a dog being blasted with a hair dryer. Obviously clear to avoid controversy this year, the ad is particularly inoffensive. It's not particularly interesting though either. Youtube views have reached 200,000 in the past week, which is a respectable figure. The spot uses the brand’s “It Feels Good” strapline and highlights the retailer has offers on “1000s of Christmas gifts”. Definitely not my favourite of this year's offerings.

John Lewis "The Bear & The Hare"

In direct competition with M&S is John Lewis, a department store that has been lauded for its creative and engaging Christmas ads the past few years. While this piece doesn't feature any celebrity endorsement, it still was a major investment, costing over seven million pounds to create. John Lewis' agency, adam&eveDDB is particularly note worthy in comparing the two rivals campaigns, as adam&eve was founded by ex-staff members of M&S' agency RKCYR/YR, before being purchased  by DDB. The animations in the campaign were provided by a head illustrator from Disney's The Lion King.

The ad documents the story of a hare attempting to show his hibernating bear friend the magic of Christmas, with Lily Allen providing a folksy rendition of Keanes "Somewhere Only We Know" as the soundtrack. It is John Lewis’ most integrated Christmas campaign yet, encompassing an eBook and hardback book, Christmas card maker, social media, in-store and windows, merchandise, digital outdoor projection and soundtrack single.

The campaign has benefitted from a dramatic response on social media. Compared to last year's Christmas ad which has over 3 million Youtube views to date, this year's campaign has amassed 6 million views in the first week of its release. It also boasts near 100,000 Twitter mentions during the same period. Undoubtedly, the brand will consider this venture a complete success. 

Marks and Spencer "Believe in Magic and Sparkle"

Some major brands released their Christmas 2013 advertising campaigns in the last week, so it makes sense to start taking a look at them now, however far away the holiday is. Marks and Spencer spared no expense in this television spot, showcasing stars like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Helena Bonham Carter and David Gandy. Created by an English agency, RKCY/Y&R, tv spots began airing on the 7th of November. The tagline, "Believe in Magic and Sparkle", is demonstrated throughout the ad with nostalgic nods to children's stories and fairytales.

The advert is beautifully shot and engaging, with a coherent and sweet story line. However, the biggest triumph is the way in which the stores merchandise is displayed. M&S is attempting to reach younger demographics in their clothing offering, and each piece featured in the ad is covetable and on trend. Changing potential consumers perceptions, coming into the Christmas season, will benefit M&S radically.

Playstation "For the Players"

Today I want to have a quick look at this Playstation ad, created by US agency Drum. Drum created this short film, inspired by the user created twitter hashtag which trending globally in late February of this year. The short film capitalises on Millennial nostalgia, charting the brands growth with that of its primary user base. The ad donates the passing of time with both the growth of the featured characters, the change in cultural references in the setting and the London skyline. The film was covered extensively in blogs and websites, linked in to the major release of PS4 information and hype.

Nostalgia within the target demographic seems to be at an all time high, with references to 80's and 90's culture constantly mentioned on social networking sites. Exploiting their brands important role within this period was a clever move from Playstation, whose advertising is generally of a very calibre to begin with.

ECRE "Bloody Stairs"

McCann Erickson's Paris division created a print and television version of this ad for the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. The television ad shows us a familiar picture of a plane with a red carpet placed upon the air-stairs. This image indicates importance and the triumphant music invites the audience to think of arriving celebrities or dignitaries. As the camera pans out, the music falters and we are able to identify the red carpet as a trail of blood. The print ad focuses on this final scene, using the same copy as the television piece.

This ad broaches the important work the ECRE do, encouraging the general public to think about these issues in a heightened way. Changing a person's opinion through advertising is hard, but this ad forces the viewer to acknowledge (and perhaps, alter)  their preconceived opinions on refugees within their own country. It's a great example of an agency taking on Non-profit work and taking a daring step that truly engages with the public. 

Music Faux Passe

Today I read about an advertising music faux passe I had to share. All three of these ads ran concurrently, some even airing in the same timeslot. Choosing a popular song to identify with your brand is all well and good, but it seems like a massive misstep to not view who else is using the exact same song. Major blow for the agencies media buyers also, as running the ad in the same slot as another with the same backing music deeply diminishes the chances of the second product being remembered.

 Realistically, while the song (M83's "Midnight City" if you're interested) is great, it is so deeply ingrained in my head as Made in Chelsea's theme song it is a poor choice for any brand!