And the winner is…
With the opening of the Olympics ceremony starting tomorrow, Matt Painter, Copywriter at McCann Bristol, hands out medals for advertising campaigns that have really stood out…
And the winner is . . .
So the event of the year is almost upon us. The world’s biggest sporting festival is here and you can feel the excitement building around the country. In fact, even the sun’s come out, so it must be pretty special.
Over recent months we’ve seen our tellyboxes, magazines and outdoor spaces gradually filling up with advertising trying to piggyback onto the spectacle. So in true Olympic style, I thought I’d hand out some medals for the campaigns that, in my opinion, have won the day.
Bronze – P&G – Proud Sponsors of Mums
I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of this when it first came out. As one of the earliest Olympic ads to break cover, I thought it was a little sappy and sentimental. But it’s their follow up that’s turned me around. I’m not a parent. And I very rarely find children ‘cute’. But P&G’s ‘Kids’ advert even got to me. It’s just beautiful, and the thought ‘To their mums, they’ll always be kids’ is brilliant.
The ‘Raising an Olympian’ stories on their website are also a nice touch and you can write or record a message to say thank you to your own mum. Even I can’t argue with a campaign that celebrates mums, so congrats W&K for changing my mind!
Silver – Adidas – Take The Stage
In a sea of advertising using cliché-filled montages of our Olympic athletes, Adidas is one of the few brands to do something original with them. ‘Take The Stage’ gives us 60 seconds of athletes preparing for their event, brilliantly intercut with gritty, yet beautifully shot imagery using the East London setting to its fullest.
And rather than going for a huge flag waving, triumphalist approach, Adidas’ restrained effort is what gives it its power. It’s not all about gold and glory. And it’s the editing that really steals the show. Expertly paced to draw us in, it tells a story and paints an evocative picture before delivering us to a pulse-raising crescendo. It gives me tingles of excitement. And the press campaign is a model of beautiful simplicity. Well done Sid Lee.
Gold – BA – Don’t Fly
BA had a bit of a problem. They were a London 2012 Official Partner, yet the Games coincided with one of their busiest times of the year. Famous for their grand, big budget numbers, BA pulled another one out of the bag – by putting their massive production values into convincing people not to fly. And as a message I thought it was inspired.
I, along with many of us in this sceptered isle, am a fan of self-effacement. And this BA ad has it in spades. Of course it’s beautifully crafted, but it’s the guts of the agency and the client to ask people to not fly abroad, but rather stay at home and support Team GB, that puts it on the top step of the podium for me. Add in their digital version that allows you to take a BA jet down your street and for me, it’s a winner. BBH once again, shows us how it should be done.