MAR/ARP AD PICKS

Welcome to Ad Picks March/April Edition.

I used to love playing Tony Hawk's games as a kid, I never had good balance so stuck to the game. I like this clever activation playing on skateboarders scratching their boards, in this activation they scratch the board to reveal special hidden prizes.

This new Snickers ad made me laugh, a very awaked moment brought to life very well. A moment that I hope you never experience.

The classic Jeep grill. Using airplane windows this time, even though it's showing travel via planes, the scenes it shows makes you want to drive a Jeep on the other end of your flight. Clever, well done Jeep.

Walking your dog at night can be dangerous for both owner and drivers crossing the roads. I love these high vis fashion outfits for your dog to stand out and be saved.

A clever use of the McDonalds 'M'. this time promoting putting litter in the right place. Macca's bags are always on the streets, so it's great to see them putting a message out there like this.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

JAN/FEB AD PICKS

Hello 2022.

I'm a big fan of Bluey, having watched multiple kids cartoons with my son. It's one of the funniest and most engaging for kids and adults. Air bnb have created the actually house as a listing to stay in, It's more than just advertising, love it.

Sadly it booked up very fast, but it's fun reading the listing check it out here.

Jon Hamm not being on Apple TV and persuading him to be in an ad promoting it and telling you who is on it, well done. It's engaging and putting the product first and foremost throughout the whole ad without feeling forced.

This is going to hurt, is a book you must read. It's the stories of a junior doctor in the UK working 97 hour weeks, from gory to hilarious stories, you won't put it down. 

The BBC in the UK have just put it on our screens, to promote it they have created this billboard with Doctors pagers (I hope not real active ones though).

My favourite Super Bowl ad this year goes to GM Motors bringing back Dr Evil. I love Austin Powers and to bring back the key cast in this way was great to see. 

Sometimes when ads bring back actors replaying previous roles it can feel a bit forced and they've aged a bit too much for it, but this was fun.

I hope you enjoyed it and checked out some ads you may have not seen yet.

NEW WORK - SUNSMART

Taking a completely fresh approach to skin cancer prevention, this campaign is based on the theme ‘Two sides of the Sun’. It leverages the insight that the sun has a positive and nurturing side when the UV is below 3, but when it’s 3 or above, its damaging and destructive side takes over.

Credits

Client: SunSmart

Agency: Gatecrasher Advertising, Perth 

Creative Directors: Adam Barker, Lori Canalini

Senior Art Director: Henry Billington

Copywriter: Adam Barker

Production company: Stir Fry Content Kitchen

Producer: Anouk Ratnawibhushana

Director: Matt Pitcher

DOP: Ross Metcalf

NOV/DEC AD PICKS - CHRISTMAS EDITION

I'm getting my last Ad Picks in for the year before the break. I've picked out my favourite Christmas ads this year (they all seem to come out at the start of November now) and a gaming spot too.

Amazon Prime ads are always worth keeping an eye out for, they're always really engaging, hit insights brilliantly and most of all enjoyable. This is their 2021 Christmas ad 'An unlucky friendship' where a zoo night worker becomes friends with a laughing hyena. 

At first I thought it's a very intresting animal choice, but it's a brilliant decision. I bet it would have been a hard animal to sell into the client.

 

I wasn't a fan of the John Lewis spot this year. Instead I loved this Coca Cola one. It felt a lot more real and in the Christmas spirit. 

I really enjoy making things out of cardboard with my son, the other day using an empty wrapping paper tube to make part of a great race track for a Hot Wheels car. I'll give this a go when I get more boxes next year.

This last spot is the odd one out, but I was worth sharing.

When you play Call of Duty and get peckish, where do you eat with getting shot? Heinz identified hidden spots on the map to snack, if this takes off they won't be safe anymore. Eat with no defeat is a great line too.

Have a great Christmas and New Year. See you next year.

SEPT/OCT AD PICKS

Welcome to Ad Picks. I write these to share ads that have stood out to me and made me laugh, smile or even cry. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Lego are known for their people to have the same sized arms and classic legs forever. The Canadian Paralympic committee have created this expansion pack, 20 custom pieces that suit every set that you can 3D print. I'm surprised this hasn't been done and I'd love to see Lego add this to their sets in the future. It makes everyone feel a lot more equal.

Trying to kill your partner/farther for his life insurance, 100% illegal, but 100% funny and well done.

A simple and clever type print ad I spotted today, that I had to share as it points to one of my favourite sayings 'Keep it simple stupid'.

I remember as a kid doing an activity at Scouts, that you had blindfold yourself to experience what it's like to be blind. It was pretty scary and I remember it well, really struggling to find items. I can't imagine what it's like to go shopping blind. This ad raises awareness in a clever creative pop up store.

I catch you in a couple of months for the last one of this year. Then we'll be in 2022.

NEW WORK - HIF

Bringing to life HIF’s new strategic focus on greater customer ‘choice’, we recently launched a new brand campaign based on the creative theme of ‘What if? The campaign is designed to help establish the new positioning ‘Freedom to choose’ while at the same time creating strong brand linkage to the message, a challenge often faced in the alphabet soup of health insurance brand acronyms.

Credits:

Client: HIF
Agency: Gatecrasher, Perth
Creative Director/Writer: Adam Barker 
Creative Director: Lori Canalini
Senior Art Director: Henry Billington
Account Director: Magda Wood

Production: Stir Fry Content Kitchen
Animation: Cameron Aitkenhead

JULY/AUG AD PICKS

It's Ad Picks time.

Starting this month with a funny spot from Amazon, it's a modern take on Rapunzel and it made me laugh. Nice production values too.

I saw this ad during the Olympics multiple times and its stopped me putting multiple plastic bags in the red waste bin. It's not the most overly creative ad, but it shows advertising works when done well and with one key takeaway message. Save the environment people.

The Wiggles and Simon Cowell the perfect combination finally put together. Being a dad to a 2 and a half year old, listening and watching the Wiggles daily, adding Simon into the mix cracked me right up. The Grey Wiggle. The writing is brilliant, I love the calamari line aimed at Henry the Octopus the best.

I hope you enjoyed it, if there's anything you think I missed out, please send it over or comment below.