Bestads Top 6 of the Week – reviewed by Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide CD, Ogilvy & Mather, NYC
Best TV: Skittles This ad works for me. It looks fresh from the get-go. The opening shot with two giant clenched fists, with one man inside each fist, is already a funny setting. When was the last time you’ve seen anything like this? The dialogue is sharp and I don’t feel manipulated.
One man says, “So where are we going to get a giant bag of Skittles?” The other guy responds, “I don’t know.” They both laugh nervously. Duh.
It works because it tells you the joke in a very clever way and the product is relevant throughout. Brilliant!
TV Runner up: Pfister Furniture: The Dinner We open on a young man and middle-aged woman having dinner. Teasing French music plays in the background. What does that tell you? She’s having a dream, of course.
When the scene gets saucier, a snoring, chunky bloke in pajamas falls on her date. Poof! Her dream is interrupted and her date disappears in a puff. The voiceover says, “Don’t let your partner interrupt your dreams.” This should have been the end of the commercial. All you need to do is cut to the product shot. But it didn’t.
It would have been a gold, had it not lingered around too long. For heaven’s sake, why bring in a silly man with a beard jumping on a bed?
Best Print: Football Resistance: Sweetheart I’ve heard all kinds of things being shouted at football matches. This is a powerful reminder in print not to shout these expletives in the stadium or anywhere else. This shows that dyspeptic comments that print is dead are simply unfounded.
Print – Runner Up: Pampaverde: Extra big burger. The first rule of any ad is it has to arrest your attention. This ad certainly did. It’s relevant, it has an idea, and it’s well executed.
Best Outdoor: Embratur: Feel the warmth of Brazil. Looking out the window in arctic New York, I felt the warmth of Brazil. What a great idea for outdoor.
Outdoor – Runner Up. No Runner Up.
Best Interactive: IKEA. This was the most interactive of this week’s choices. The narratives are homemade and the filmmaking is amateurish. It may not be necessarily original, but it has a sense of charm and authenticity.
Interactive – Runner Up: No Runner Up.