MY AD OF THE WEEK .89

Alzhelmer Netherlands have created this compelling ad that recreates the disease's effects on the mind by confusing viewers about what happened when. At first I was said to myself 'that wasn't in 2014, was it?' It's strong, but at first glance it could have been a Google ad.

WE BUILT THIS CITY EXHIBITION

I found out last week one of my illustrations (To Tower Bridge and Beyond) is being exhibited and sold, in this pop up shop in Carnaby Street in London. It's called We Built This City, with their mission being:

"We thought it was high time souvenirs got an art-designed makeover! By setting up shop in the heart of London's West End. we're offering everyone - from the first visitor to established city dweller - the chance to take home a unique and lasting piece of London, whilst supporting our talented homegrown artistes and designers at he same time'

It's exciting to see my work displayed and this piece has been successful for me, with it now being in it's third exhibition.

My illustration is the blue one of tower bridge and the many boats. It's dead centre.

If you can't make it down there, Evermade.com sell the print on my behalf.

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I feel better sharing Christmas ads now it's actually December.

Well, who doesn't like cute baby animals? Add in that they are choir singing the 1980 hit 'only you' and we've got ourselves an extremely cute ad for McVities's, as part of their 'Sweet' campaign. It's well put together and they have selected the baby animals well (as most baby animal are cute).

My favourite part is the baby whale that pops out of the dish. What's your favourite part?

GUESS HOW MUCH WE RAISED?

At Gatecrasher Advertising we've been doing some pretty crazy tasks last month to raise money for Movember. People at Gatecrasher have swam, carried me, ran miles, waxed their back and even eat dog food for the good cause. We've raised $2398 (which I think is pretty impressive) and if you would like to show your support, there is still time to donate and laugh at our videos too, at gatestacher.com.au

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This charming handmade ad from Airbnb gets my pick this week. It's shot in 1 take from the perspective of a toy train, that goes through a whole range of landscapes from castles to rain forests. It took 30 people, 5 weeks to build this huge 85-square-meter set. I think it's a nice technique to show the range of offerings from Airbnb and the level of craft on such a small level is impressive.

ARE QR CODES WORTH PLACING ON YOUR AD?

QR codes where originally designed back in 1994 to track vehicles during manufacture. Since then they are used to connect the offline world to the online world.

I want to give you both sides of the coin and finish with my verdict on them. I’ll start with my negative hat on.

NO

I knew the percentage of consumers scanning QR codes was going to be low, so I did some research and found out only 19% of USA consumers have ever scanned one. That’s ever; I can imagine a lot fewer have scanned one again.

The reasons why it’s so low, well it doesn’t help when advertisers aren’t using them correctly. Linking people to the wrong content is a key one, but more importantly what’s giving them a bad name is there placement. Sticking a QR code on a moving vehicle, on the other side of the train track or at an underground station (that has no Wi-Fi or connectivity) isn’t a good idea.

It’s also hard for QR codes with new technology making it easier and more engaging for consumers to get to your offering.

YES

Here are some nice ways that advertisers have used them, to show that they can live on.

A simple and very effective use is when they are linked to interesting content. Like Australia mail that let consumers create a video stamp, a QR code that links to a personalized video message. The second best thing when you can’t be there to give your friend their gift.

Some advertisers have even edited QR codes and integrated them into their ads, like these Disney posters.

You can actually edit up to 30% of a QR code, which gives advertisers more flexibility and more of a creative opportunity.

The location and timing when consumers scan them is extremely important too. Like this supermarket chain, which was losing business at lunchtime, so they created a shadow activated QR code, an installation that only became a visible when the sun hit it between 12pm - 1pm. Leading people to discounts in their store.

VERDICT

I don’t think they are dead; they just need to be used in interesting, engaging ways. Advertisers need to stop being lazy and give people a unique experience, add value to the ad and reward consumers with good content.

If advertisers do link it to their client’s site, they need to make sure it directs the consumers to a mobile optimised site. So before advertisers just stick another QR code in the left hand corner of their client’s press ad, they need to think about when the consumer will see it and how they will interact with it.

Create a reason why they would want to scan it.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .86

I watched these ads below and I had to share them straight away. These fun ads by BBH NY for Playstation, use the New York City Ballet showing off their classical dance moves to create scenes e.g a football match, robbing a bank. What followers, when the dancer destroys their opponents, is them breaking into a proper down and dirty victory dance. These are my favourite 3 below out of 6 made, each one is 45 seconds, it must have cost a fortune.

Every part of each of these ads are crafted extremely well, even the font that has been created at the start of the ad. They have a nice Instagram competition too, where you can send in your own victory dance for a chance to win a PS4 for you and a friend to ease their pain.

What's your victory dance?

GATESTACHER

At my agency Gatecrasher, we're doing some crazy stuff to raise money for The Movember Foundation. Such as me eating dog food (it's as horrible as it sounds), someone getting their back waxed, paddling a long way down the coast of Perth. Check out the rest here.

So far we've just raised over $1000, but we don't want to stop there, so please donate to the great cause and have a laugh at what we're doing too.

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Christmas ads have already started appearing and they are everywhere. So I had to share my favourite one so far, yes the John Lewis Penguin ad. You've probably already seen it, so I've decided to share a parody version of it (there are so many out there already) and as I missed sharing 'my ad of week halloween edition' last week, it ticks both of those boxes.

It shows how import music is in advertising, with a different track and a slight re edit can make the cute penguin be viewed in a completely different way.

I only read yesterday John Lewis have sold out of there toy penguins, after a huge demand and there are people now selling them on ebay for £500. The ad had only been on air for a day or 2.

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This ad for discrimination against women will make you listen. It features cute little girls dressed up as princesses dropping the f-bomb. As they put it, using the word for a good cause.

I think it's a clever way to make people listen and it will get people sharing it because of who is swearing. My favourite quote from one of the youngest girls is "I shouldn't need a penis to get paid".

Do you think the girls swearing are in an effective way?

'STM' 10TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION TV AD

A couple of weeks ago this TV ad ran; it is my first TV ad in Perth and it was created at Gatecrasher.

The brief was to celebrate The Sunday Times Magazine 'STM' turning 10, through a competition that was giving people the chance to win a trip to Abu Dhabi, then flying on to Rome for a feast of fashion and food. As it sounds, there was a lot to get into this 30 second ad; we were also limited with footage and Etihad (who had given part of the prize) needed some promotion too.

So our solution was to package the prize as a Glam Getaway (as the target audience was females), showing the prize through the glamorous sunglasses women wear, as if it could be them living the experience themselves.

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Here's a pretty crazy stunt in South Korea, created by the extreme outdoor clothes company The North Face. Where customers, just browsing at the clothes section are faced with the floor moving from underneath their feet, making them have to climb the wall or in some cases trying to hang onto the clothes on the rails. They are then rewarded by a new jacket that they have to jump off the wall to grab, with the copy 'Never Stop Exploring' appearing on the floor to promote the companies line.

Only in Korea.

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We haven't seen Mr Bean in a long time, since the Olympic Opening Ceremony I think.

But Snickers have just brought him back for their extremely successful formula/campaigns 'You're not you when you are hungry', past ads have featured celebrities like Joan Collins. Mr Bean brings back all of the fun from his TV series (and there was that film?) in this 1 minute ad.

It's always going to make you laugh, when the title of the ad is 'Snickers Mr Bean Kung Fu'.

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Someone sent me this earlier this week and it's is probably one of the most bonkers ads I've shared. It's starring Jeff Goldblum (from Independence Day and Jurassic Park) with some great hair, in this fake infomercial ad for GE Link lighting solutions.

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I can't believe I've already written 80 of these.

This week I was weighing up which of two dog ads to share with you, but this one had to win. It's for the Dutch airline KLM. Let me first ask you this though, have you ever left anything on the plane and only released you lost it when it was too late?

Well for these lucky passengers, this cute dog brought their lost items back to them as they'll walking out of the airport. They should have a dog like this for every airline at every airport.

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This week it goes to these simple and beautifully crafted ads for John Lewis, to announce the arrival of their new store in Southampton. It's nicely art directed by Adam&Eve/DDB and they have really chosen the products well.

These are my two favourite from the outdoor campaign.

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Canal +, who in recent years have done 'The Bear', an ad of a film director, directing the set, production etc but the director was a bear, it was very good and an multi award winning ad too. Watch it again.

So they have just done this ad for their sports channel and I also do love my football. So it shows how dedicated their cameramen are, to get fantastic images/footage for the fans, with the new tagline 'Making sport bigger is our sport'.

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There are a lot of ads that take the micky out of Apple, some do it a lot better than others and this is one that has done it very well.

IKEA have taken the technique Apple use to present their new products to display their new catalogue. There are some great touches in it throughout, linking to iPad and Macbook Pro ads especially.

Watch it in YouTube.

NEWS

My blog has been pretty inactive the last month, mainly being back in the UK for a few weeks, sorting through boring visa forms and also starting a new job a couple of months ago at this fantastic advertising agency in Perth called Gatecrasher. Here I am kissing my football teams badge on their site (Charlton Athletic). Up the Addicks.

So my 'Ad of the week' is now back and so are even more updates.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .76

Here is an ad that was hard on YouTube as they blocked it, but it's now back. It's by Greenpeace wanting Lego to end a deal with Shell, that shows antarctica made from Lego being covered in real oil. It's well shot, with track you'll remember and it's also only ranked up a couple of million views this week.

Watch it in YouTube

MY AD OF THE WEEK .75

Burger King (Hungry Jacks for Australia) have created this ad using an interesting media space to support Gay Pride in San Francisco. They created special packing called the 'Proud Whopper', that has messaging on the inside of the wrappers saying 'We are all the same inside'. I think it's a really nice way to reveal the messaging and I haven't seen wrappers used in this way before. Have you?

Watch it in YouTube

MY AD OF THE WEEK .74

I haven't shared some print advertising for a while, so I thought I'd share these ads for Rothammer (a beer). "When love is born, a friend dies",  shows mates mooring their friend who has fallen for a girl and now has less time for drinking. It's extremely well crafted and it deserves the Gold Lion it picked up at the Cannes Advertising Festival recently.

EAT THAT ELEPHANT BOOK COVER

I was approached to illustrate the cover of a book, all about clutter clearing. The company logo, that I had worked on in the past was an elephant, so I expanded on this and illustrated items of clutter to create the elephant's silhouette.

Check out the book on Amazon.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .73 CANNES EDITION

This week has been the Cannes Advertising Awards, one the biggest and best awards shows in the world. There's been loads of fantastic and inspiring work that has been awarded this week (see the winners here).

But I wanted to share this, it's from last year, but I didn't see it until now. It was shown at the Saatchi & Saatchi new directors showcase (one of many huge events that showcase new talent). Called It's Not Porn... I read it's the funniest fake ad at Cannes this year.

Watch it in YouTube

MY AD OF THE WEEK .72

With the world cup in full swing, I wanted to share this short film Nike have created. It's a nicely animated story about robots who take over the football world and the only people who can fix it are the best players in the world. I haven't sold it on you, but it's got some lovely animated parts. Though I did wonder why some of the players are playing in club kits.

Watch it in YouTube

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NEW WORK: YOUNG LIONS 2014 DIGITAL

A month ago I told you I was made a Young Lions 2014 digital finalist and that I was going to share the work. So here is the start of my entry below, the brief was for Qantas. We sadly didn't win the 24 hour brief, but we came pretty close.

Problem: Customers don’t realise that Qantas are the only full-service airline in Australia.

Solution: Qantas don’t skip anything. So, we created an ad that highlights all the inclusions our competitors don’t provide. 70% of people skip pre-rolls, so we used that insight to highlight what the other airlines skip.

Pre-roll ad 1 45 seconds
Skip through 7 Qantas videos to highlight what you get compared to Tiger Air.
 

If you want to see the rest of the campaign visit: www.henrybillington.com/artdirection


Update 8th September

Me and Paul Donnelly (my creative partner for the Young Lions competition) had our achievement mentioned in August's edition of the Campaign Brief an Australia advertising industry magazine.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .71 WORLD CUP EDITION

With the world cup starting next week or if you're reading this from my newsletter, yesterday. I thought it was time to share a world cup ad. I wanted to share this new one from McDonalds 'Go!', that uses unknown talent from around the world showing off there trick shots. It's nice to use unknown talent rather than Neymar, like everyone else. Some of the skills are impressive, it's a nice watch.

Watch it in YouTube

MY AD OF THE WEEK .70

I found these print ads a nice way for VW to talk about one of their new technologies, which helps you keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. These great photographs really make it.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .69

When I first saw this video being 5 minutes, I thought I would watch it for a minute or two, get the idea and skip it. But I was hooked for the whole time. It's a great stunt for the upcoming game Watch Dogs.

Imagine how you would feel, if it was you.

Watch it in YouTube.

WEDDING INVITATIONS

I've recently illustrated these wedding invitations (below) for a good friend of mine in the UK. The first one shown is two champagne glasses with each one created from things that are part of them. The second illustration is a wedding cake created with all sorts of wedding items.

If you're keen on commissioning me for any projects, drop me an email for a chat: henry@henrybillington.com

MY AD OF THE WEEK .68

The sad news has hit the creative world today, that David Abbott, one of the most famous ad men ever has passed away this weekend.  He founded AMV and created famous campaigns for Volvo, Sainsbury's, IKEA and the Economist to name a few.

So I thought it was fitting to share this reworked David Abbot Economist ad, Droga5 have created today.

The orignal ad below:

YOUNG LIONS 2014

On Friday I found out myself and Paul Donnelly are digital finalists in the 2014 Young Lions Competition and the only digital team in Western Australia to get through to the final round against the whole of Australia and the winners of that round get sent to Cannes. I'll be sharing the winning work in the next few weeks on my site.

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How many cookbooks do you tear apart and use?

Well, this book created by a Brazilian BBQ brand called Tramontina, want you to do exactly that. It's called 'The Bible of Barbecue' with each page made from something different (coil, tin foil etc) that is usefully throughout the BBQ process. It would be ace to own one, even though I bet they only made a couple.

Watch it in YouTube

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I wanted to share these ads, that are very well crafted for the Sunday Times Rich List. They make me smile and I find them pretty amusing every time I look at them. What do you think of them?

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You know those awkard moments when you're watching TV with your parents and they say something really cringe-worthy. Well HBO have picked seven of the best cringe-worthy moments and have created these well casted ads and very funny ads for HBO GO. Just be pleased it's not you in the ad.

This is one of my favourites.

Watch the rest

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This week I wanted to share 'The World's Toughest Job' a FaceTime style interview with some interesting questions that recieve some great reactions. I don't want to give anything away, let me just say it's worth the 4 minute watch.

Watch in YouTube

MY AD OF THE WEEK .63

I wanted to share this press ad by Corona Kitchens, it's not English, but I really like how they have manipulated the newspaper columns to create a 3D kitchen. Nice stuff BBDO Columbia.

MY AD OF THE WEEK .62 APRIL FOOLS EDITION

There have been a lot of April Fools ads going around today, some are pretty poor and quite a few I didn't enjoy enough to watch till to the end. But this one from YouTube made me laugh, announcing some absurd viral trend for 2014. I think you'll enjoy it too.

Watch it in YouTube

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When you think of builders shouting things from their building sites at woman walking past, you wouldn't expect them to shout out these words. It's pretty amusing.

Watch it in YouTube

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Pepsi have created this interactive adshel in London, which surprises people with some cool technology and some of the reactions are priceless. It's worth a watch.

Watch it in YouTube

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How does a clothing brand get 7 million YouTube views in one day? Well Wren (a clothing brand) did exactly that, by getting a load of strangers to kiss each other for the first time, some great awkward moments throughout. It's worth a watch.

Watch it in YouTube

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Save The Children UK have been inspired by 1 second everyday, a project where a man takes a 1 second movie every day and stitches all the footage together to make a movie out of it.

This ad follows the life of a little girl living in London, flashing through 63 1 second shots. Starting with here celebrating her birthday at home with her parents but ending it without a home or farther with the strap line "Just because it isn't happening here, doesn't mean it isn't happening".

Watch it in YouTube.