Bestads Top 6 of the Week – reviewed by David Guerrero, chairman/CCO, BBDO Guerrero, Manila

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Screen shot 2011-02-17 at 6.37.46 AM.jpgSometimes an idea doesn’t have to be new to be fresh.

We’ve got a number of familiar themes this week. But some are none the worse for it.

The Word has a classic volkswagen-y feel about it. They’ve also managed to cram in the entire range and numerous attributes from affordability to spaciousness. A tour de force without feeling forced. (As they don’t say in Germany.) The ‘Life on Mars’ era ‘woman driver’ joke ruins it a bit for me but otherwise it’s pretty timeless.

A nod to Coke’s Border Guard thing. I know it’s a curious cousin of the 8am whisky spot from India but actually felt like it was going into Stella Artois territory. In a good way.

Nokia, London Underground and others have been there before with ‘isolating one small bit of the city by removing the rest’. But the inception reference for Batelco and the link to the product lift it up. Not to mention the ridiculous levels of craft. A nod too to Mercedes for a fresh take on ‘Mother Nature pays you back/forward for doing the right thing/not doing the wrong thing.’

In Outdoor we’ve got a giant tube of glue holding a huge block suspended from a crane. I’ve seen a wallpaper commercial a million years ago with a bloke stuck with paste to a wall suspended in a similar fashion. Not to mention Araldite sticking the car to the wall. And yet, the Pattex glue idea is the biggest execution of the week – and thus gets the vote. A nod to Fair Trade Bananas and the directed audio – just wonder if the copy could have been quicker when you were in the zone.

Interactive should be new by definition. I liked the ‘Shortland Street’ facebook promo. It’s the kind of thing that could end up being more interesting than the show itself. The first facebook soap. Now there’s an idea. A nod to Havana for having the world’s slowest loading site. I have no idea whether it’s any good or not. But after three hours, I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.

So there you go. If you can’t be new, be relevant. It’s fresher than you might think.