FCUK for Man. FCUK for Woman.

FCUK's new “For Man” and “For Woman” parallel advertising campaigns by Fallon London are great. I especially like the Man ads which feature, in stunning photography, a 'real' man instead of a pretty boy model. The concept of manliness bodes well to improve what is a stagnating brand, combating current brand perceptions that FCUK is outdated and offers niether feminine or masciline fashion. This brand rejuvenation was long overdue but worth waiting for.

Uniqlo Lucky Counter - Everyone Wins

Super-trendy clothing retailer, Uniqlo recently unleashed the Lucky Counter: You tweet about a product and its price will come down for everybody. Its great incentive for people to shout about the brand online through social interaction. Great for Uni, great for the end consumer - everyone wins!

Tippex's Viral Triumph

This new Youtube viral campaign from Tippex has been impeccably implemented. The video features an interactive choice at the end where you decide what the hunter should do to the bear. Your choice then redirects you to their campaign microsite, and you can interact even further.

This is the most clever unique and interactive use of Youtube I have seen to date. The ‘help erase and rewrite the story’ campaign message fits well with the brand and is entertaining enough to go viral amongst kids - bearing in mind it cleverly coincides with the start of the new US school year.

Old Spice - "the fastest-growing and most popular interactive campaign in history"

The award winning campaign by W+K has now been taken to the next level through personalised video responses on the Old Spice branded Youtube channel, delivered via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Old Spice are churning out over 60 hilarious short clips every day, many of them directed at celebrity Twitter accounts, making it a super-interactive social media campaign which engages with fans by having a direct conversation with them on an intimate level.

This has to be the best social media campaign I have seen to date – and sure Old Spice Bodywash sales are up 107% in the last month. However, I can't help but feel the current up-turn in sales will be short-lived due to the outdated smell of the product. Ultimately this key product design flaw will prevent any long-term success

the Puma and Nike World Cup contrast

This Nike ad must be the most over-hyped ad of the year, if not century. Sure, its got amazing production value and the inclusion of so many stars has led to an incredible amount of online buzz. But my problem with it is that it talks about the consequences of activities on the pitch almost over what is happening on the pitch, adding weight to the notion that football is a sell out to commercialisation. This goes against Nike's image as the 'plucky' under dog against the official World Cup sponsor Addidas.

I think Puma (below) have done a much better of job of connecting with its audience on an emotional level with a world cup campaign which focuses on people's love for the game in a very engaging way. I prefer the Puma ad, however by the sheer number of Youtube views and media coverage for the Nike 'Write The Future' camapign, it is probably clear who the winner is.

nice idea but hard to stomach

These Pantene salt shakers have on them an image of a woman whose hair produces dandruff when used. It's a clever concept which gets the message accross well, but it is also far from appetizing- when we are about to eat a meal the last thing we want to think about is dandruff. For that reason i don't think they will be a hit with the public.

Grey: Germany

Tremors of Creative Genius

I am sure creative advertising will continue to thrive in Chile despite the earthquake devastation. Here is a sample of some brilliance coming from Santiago last month. Different brands but both use great insights aimed at busy mums and health-concious women. I find something slightly disturbing about the child crying though. Agency: Prolam Y&R (top), Lowe (bottom)

Nike gets down with the kids

This iPhone app by Nike develops a relationship between the brand and the audience by encouraging trend-setters to 'make the hidden visible.' It basically allows cool people to tell other cool people where the coolest places are in their city. The campaign targets trendy opinion formers which gives it credibility and fits with Nike's 'urban sheek' credentials. I also love the use of QR codes (my dissertation topic) to make the interaction between the app and the city seamlessly intergrated.
Agency: AKQA

Dixons get competitors to do the dirty work...

This campaign features a well thought-out insight and a very honest response to the changing nature of consumer behaiour. As Dixons shift their operations slowly from our high streets to their online store, they've come up with a great way to turn the footfall of John Lewis and Selfridges into sales on their website.

Wrigley's Extra Time

The Extra 90+ campaign caught my eye last night. It's an inspired use of creativity in media planning which taps into the drama of football by running ads on digital advertising boards during extra time with slogans such as 'added time, added tension - chew through the stress.' This campaign does well to establish credibility amongst football fans and it ties in nicely with Wrigley's Extra being the 'official chewing gum of the Premier League.

Social Work Recriutment

Its a refreshingly bold move to see a recruitment ad without any cheesy people in it (particuarly in the public sector.) From working on a few recruitment accounts myself, I know how tempting and obvious it is to humanise everything during creative development. This campaign manages a strong emotional narrative - which is essential to attract people to a job such as social work.

Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.

lovely bit of ambient work from Mini, these boxes were put out just after Christmas with the city rubbish. I think it was a really super way to highlight Mini's USP of compactness and it fits the fun, playful image of the brand.

Tabasco is on fire

This is a stunning visual metaphor with a clear message. Also the logo looks great curved as though its on a bottle. Any copy would be a discredit to the image, a thousand words? - More I think.

Oglivy South Africa.

Men Belong to Carling

This gem from 2007 is a great example of tribal imagery. The flock of birds mirror the stereotypical behaviour shown by men when they are together, down the pub or watching the football.

Carling's brand ethos of 'belong' epitomises the relationship men have with each other. It must be working for the brand because it is still used today 3 years on, only now more blatently, without the symbolism. Agency: Beattie McGuinness Bungay, UK

Sex Sells - Especially for Lynx

Good old Lynx. This ad from BBH is promoting Lynx's Bullet. Its risque and slightly different from the half-naked women we expect from Lynx, reqiuring more imagination on the part of the audience.

Slightly 'rapey' but on the whole I liked it.

Tulipán Condoms: The bra saves the world. Again.

I like it. Clever way to tapping into swine flu - the world's current hot topic, it was bound to go viral. The sex orintated visual and the strapline 'keep taking care' works well for a condom brand.

Young & Rubicam: Buenos Aires, Argentina. (great creative work coming from S.America at the moment)

Virgin Atlantic '25 years, still red hot' - even during a recession.

Nice example of how nostalgia as an adveritisng genre can be used to great effect during a recession. The ad is packed with references to 1980s Britain, from a yuppie with a giant mobile phone, dodgy haircuts to an Asteroids videogame machine. It cheekily implies that Virgin has always had the sexiest cabin crew of any airline.

The message reinforces how Virgin changed the face of airline travel, becoming the first real challenger to BA. The ad capitalises on Virgin Atlantic's heritage and its controversial, sexy and pioneering spirit, but looks forward. It's fun, sexy and lifts the viewer from the gloomy times of now to position Virgin as the airline of future; when the good times come again.

Pedigree Adoption Drive

This dime was made specifically for the 2009 Super Bowl (it was pricey) I like it because it covers three angles:

1) Its a humorous creative which delivers brand awareness to a mass audience, and I have got to say that they love it on Youtube (1m views +)
2) Corporate Social Responsibility - an adoption drive to help dogs was always bound to make the Pedigree brand look squeaky clean
3) Category leader - so what do they do? create a campaign to increase the number of dog owners who will then buy Pedigree. Let’s face it, the dogs in the kennels will not be eating Pedigree; a premium brand.

Agency: TWBA, USA

Asthma Charity. I want to "Help New Zealand Children Breathe Easier"

Inspired use of polythene as a material to convey the sense of how it feels to be asthmatic. Non-asthametics like myself can really emphasise with that suffacation feeling. Used as a print insert, I would also use this concept on transport and oudoor media e.g bus stops. Good work Oglivy NZ.

Ryvita Limbos

This TV ad promotes a new brand of healthy crisps, and hits the right notes in terms of tone and spokesperson for the target audience of busy housewifes. It plays on health but not overtly and uses all the typical semiotics; green, healthy. I find it boring and predictable, but unfortunately it'll probably scrape the results (tracking and sales figures) to warrant more of the same.