Denver Grass

Cute, isn’t it?

Breeze Excel

This neat idea was to mail a box wrapped in a white t-shirt containing a sample of the product to selected people. The postal service of course did a great job of making the t-shirt very dirty along the way, giving the recipient an opportunity to test Breeze Excel claim: “Confidence to remove stains in one wash”.

Orion Telescopes

What a charming idea. Straight forward, simple and a real surprising way of dramatizing the benefit. I wonder though if most people buy a telescope to gaze at the moon or their neighbours? Click to enlarge (no pun intended).

Comedy Central

In a world where everyone can access comedy online and anyone could be an online comedian, what makes Comedy Central a better alternative? Comedy – they take it seriously.

Durex

Durex – The cheaper alternative.

96.3 Rock Radio

Very charming idea for a rock radio station to promote their launch. I just might get myself one of those air guitars.

Volkswagen

How do you get people the use the stairs? Make it fun! This initiative is from Volkswagen and while I don’t see the immediate link to the product it still makes me smile. More ideas can be seen here.

BBC Local Radio

This beautifully executed idea is close, personal and relevant to the products purpose in people’s lives. The choice of music is fantastic and pulls is all together in a very elegant way. Very impressive dramatization of how people might feel about their local station exemplified though icons.

Allan Gray

18 months in the making this epic little film tells a lot about lost opportunity. Definitely not what you expect from an investment bank until they tie it all together in the end with the tagline “Given more time, imagine the possibilities.”

Inlingua

It doesn’t get much simpler or smarter than this. The benefit dramatized in a way you instantly recognize. Very impressive clarity in conveying something that so easily could have become uninteresting.

Ads that make me nod and smile

The Obvious Made Interesting has been a sleep for a while. The obvious reason for this is that it’s time-consuming to find communication interesting enough to share. Lately though, I’ve come across a lot of inspiring stuff – some new, some old. What ties it all together is the “nod-and-smile” reaction I get when I see it.

In the posts to come I’ll try to find examples of communication that pass both the “nod-and-smile” and “the-obvious-made-interesting” tests. The work I’ll try to find will hopefully be examples of this approach to making advertising:

“Planning should simplify a complicated problem down to a single, powerful thought - creative should exaggerate that simple thought into an impactful message that dominates its environment.”

Google Chrome

The one good thing about PC is Google Chrome. Any one who’s tried it will tell you lack of clutter and intuitive navigation will make you ask yourself why you installed all those dumb Firefox extensions.

Folgers

An appropriate post on a Sunday night – I’m pretty sure I’ll remember the payoff “For mornings less complicated” tomorrow.

Uincef

Simple and funny copywriting gets the point across clearly. These as just two in a very nice series of ads that manages to talk about a difficult and abstract topic in an effective and relevant way.

Eurocamp

Creativity wins.

Unicef

In my opinion ambient communication only really works if it’s set in a relevant context. Lately I’ve seen a slight shift from traditional “interruption marketing” principals being used to make ambient stuff to a more context relevant dramatization that manages to convey the brands role in people lives. This powerful piece of communication - sent to me by a friend – is an example of this perspective.

O.L.F.

I’m lucky enough to work with some of the very talented people that made this site and the TVC that goes with it. More of their work can be found here. The website entices the user to explore the potentially dreary subject matter of oil, in a way that makes the topic truly interesting. Click here for the full experience.

An Absolut World

What a great and seemingly endless creative universe Absolut has made with this concept. I guess the aim is to illustrate what role they want to play in peoples lives, something they pull of with easy here.

Phillips Carousel

Such a beautiful execution and spot on when it comes to answering the question why do people by really big TVs? To watch extravagant action movies of course.

Heineken

Maybe not as virally potent as the first version but it did make me crack a smile.