Andreas Franke
Photographers
BY THE BARKERS
ROSS BROWN
JULIAN CALVERLEY
CRAIG EASTON
NICK HALL
PAUL ROSS JONES
HUBERT KANG
HANNAH MAULE-FFINCH
COREY NICKOLS
NICK ONKEN
ALBERTO OVIEDO
KATE T. PARKER
JAAP
VLIEGENTHART
MATIKA WILBUR
CGI & Post Production
BAD STAR
CURIOUS PRODUCTIONS
The essential guides to the world’s best photographers and digital artists
The 200 best [photographers] Edition 11 and The 200best [digital artists] Edition 6 from Lürzer’s Archive. luerzersarchive.com
Video Director + DP
CGI + VFX + Animation Artists
William Heuberger
Earlier this year, Lürzer’s Archive changed its submission system. The way great work ends up celebrated in our pages, and how it is added to our online Archive, now happens faster and with more extensive credits than ever before. Getting into the world-famous Archive is an honor sought around the world. But unlike most other awards, it is one that you don’t have to pay to enter. Our new platform also welcomes the submission of as wide a range of content as possible. Our objective is to be receptive to all the kinds of creativity that exist in communications. It’s an evolution that has no end, of course. Recognising the different creative disciplines is by no means our challenge alone either. It’s part of a wider discussion. For example, how do we recognize, categorize and assess the emerging skills in AI prompting? We’re working on it. Feel free to share any thoughts you have with us.
One of the implications of the wider intake of content is inevitably that these pages and our online display must also evolve in how they represent the new selections. We have a temporary section in these pages that reflects a little of the work beyond traditional print and film but there is much more online. It is an interim solution because, as of the next issue, we will do away with the separate sections and represent content simply within industry categories. We will no longer divide work by the simplistic media descriptions that we have in many ways moved beyond, given the integration of multiple media on so many campaigns.
That said, we will be finding new ways to further strengthen our emphasis on the power of great writing, great image-making, great filmcraft, and so on. And, of course, finding ways to celebrate and analyze the nature of the big original ideas that drive the work forward. So keep it all coming, filled with all the amazing new crafts that are emerging and the old crafts that we continue to advance. Any questions as to what is eligible, or how to present it – just contact us.
By the time this issue hits the newsstand or arrives in the mail, we expect to have launched our long-awaited Profiles feature. Please be sure to check it out online. Many of you will already be there, in name at least! If you have a creative credit on our site, individually or as a company, you are invited to adopt your profile and update your information. Help us – and yourself – have the best possible version of your creative status at Lürzer’s Archive. We can now work even more closely together to build this great creative community.
And if for some reason you don’t yet have a credit and want to build a profile on the world’s leading resource for creatives and creativity, or if you don’t feel your best work is yet in the Archive … Well, now’s definitely the time to test our new system with some fresh work!
Lewis Blackwell, Director
LÜRZER’S ARCHIVE Issue 227 2/2024
ISSN 0893 - 0260
ISBN 978 - 3 - 903909 - 12 - 0
Cover:
Client KFC
Agency Mother, London
Curator
Michael Weinzettl
Managing Editor
Christian Hrdlicka
Art Director
Christine Thierry
Brand and Design Direction
SIX
Contributing Editor
Maeve O’Sullivan
Editorial Research
Josh Lambie
Ad Sales USA
Claudia Coffman
Ad Sales International
Kate Brown
Sheila King
Online Editor
Rosie Haine
Database Coordinator
Ovidiu Cristea
Marketing
Rachel Dennis
Elise Farrow
Operations
Anja Parchet
Website luerzersarchive.com
Ad sales sales@lurzersarchive.com
Editorial editor@lurzersarchive.com
Subscriptions and copy sales subs@lurzersarchive.com
Distribution/Retail latrade@lurzersarchive.com
All other inquiries, check website or email help@lurzersarchive.com
Published by Lürzer International Ltd. 151 Wardour Street London W1F 8WE United Kingdom
Director Lewis Blackwell
Printed by Print Alliance HAV Produktions GmbH Druckhausstr. 1 2540 Bad Vöslau Austria printalliance.at
Contents © 2024 Lürzer International Ltd. All rights reserved
The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher, Lürzer International Ltd. Lürzer’s Archive is a trademark of Lürzer International Ltd, London.
Submissions
We welcome published work, as individual or campaigns. Please submit at luerzersarchive.com
The submitter must have the authority to grant Lürzer’s Archive the rights and permission to reproduce, edit, comment editorially on the submission and to use the submission in print, online and in any marketing material for Lürzer’s Archive. All work is featured free of charge. We accept no responsibility to return unsolicited material and reserve the right to accept or reject any material for any reason.
PECF Certified
PEFC/06-39-10
This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources www.pecf.at
would you like to put in an ad that never usually gets seen?
AXEL SPENDLINGWIMMER
Creative Director
Wien Nord Serviceplan, Vienna
Easter eggs – hidden treasures, messages, jokes, or secrets. Simply the non-obvious, rewarding everyone who discovers them. They give us the opportunity to add additional depth and engaging elements that are not only fun for us to implement but also especially entertaining for the audience. Happy hiding!
SANDRINE LE GOFF
Creative Director
LePub, Amsterdam
Breaking convention is most satisfying. This portrait breaks a taboo around women and their vaginas, whose representation in culture is stuck between medical and porn; it breaks the silence about endometriosis, which afflicts 10% of women with nameless pain; it breaks the idea that pain is ugly. And yet we can’t break the rule of airing it anywhere.
CAROLINE ANDERSSON
Art Director
Åkestam Holst, Stockholm
It’s not what you put in the ad, it’s about how you do it. And I miss dark humor. Let’s bring back the tickling darkness that makes you look behind your shoulder before you know it’s safe to laugh.
ANDREA BISTANY
Vice President / Group Creative Director
Klick Health, New York
A diverse population of powerful women showcasing the strength in their bodies and in their sexuality. In all phases of life. You know all the content that continues to get censored for being ‘inappropriate’? Let’s celebrate the power of femininity, instead of being afraid of it.
ANA-MARIJA MATIC Senior Designer
Zulu Alpha Kilo, Toronto
Encouraging sustainable living, inclusivity, and community engagement is vital, but pushing creative boundaries further can inspire actionable impact as well as positive social and environmental change.
LIVIO GROSSI Group ECD
Dentsu Creative Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City
Imagine advertising without attempting to sell anything. This poster should stand out amidst other advertisements by offering a pure, uncluttered moment, interrupting the usual barrage of marketing messages.
JAIME CUETO CEO / VP Creative Soda Tres, Barcelona
I would make a law so the consumer knows that advertising will be broadcast in one minute. This already happens in many countries, but not worldwide, and consumers have the right to choose whether they want to see advertising or not.
XAVIER SOLÉ
Founder / Creative Director
Honest, Barcelona
Irreverence. Irreverence is increasingly difficult to find in advertising. Almost everything is boring and flat. In a world full of repetitive messages, boldness and daring stand out. We need more irreverence to break molds, challenge norms, and emotionally connect with audiences saturated with the mundane.
REES STEEL Creative Director BMF Australia, Pyrmont
Ugly insects. Not CG ones, or ones that can talk. No bees, butterflies or beetles. I want uncharismatic little buggers. Arthropods, annelids or hell, I’d even settle for a nematode. As the dominant lifeforms by biomass, I reckon it’s only fair. They’re everywhere! Just not in ads.
DIMITRA
ANDRIKOPOULOU Associate Creative Director Wunderman Thompson, Athens
I’d have to go with fourth-wallbreaking characters, inspired by real events, funny stories and cats. We already see them in ads, but we need more of them. I would also really love to put something small and unnoticeable in each work –an inside joke for me and my team, to remind us of the time we created it.
MIA SELAND PETERSEN & MIKE DINESEN PETERSEN
Creative Team
Jung von Matt, Stuttgart
A person with working hands who can’t carry anything, a funeral on land for a blue whale, a man with a literal heart of gold — no heartbeat comes from him, but he lives a pretty good life. An ad for a quantum computer only talking about the calculator, and shampoo for animals.
JOÃO SOARES
Copywriter
Ogilvy Brasil, São Paulo
Books display authors’ names on the covers. Film posters have credits. Even video games give a nod to their developers. So, how come TV and other ads shy away from credits? I say, let’s (subtly) insert our agency names in our creations. Who knows? The public might enjoy the transparency.
CLAUS COLLSTRUP
Creative Director & Partner &Co. / NoA, Copenhagen
Something real. At a time when artificial and fake is the norm and everything is controlled by data, it gets more and more rare to see a real photograph, a real person, a real ad.
GARY FAWCETT
Executive Creative Director
TBWA, Manchester
My mum. The ad would be honest and likable, and the product would sell. There isn’t enough honesty from brands and people are crying out for it. They are also crying out for my mum in an ad. They just don’t know it yet.
DANIELLE HAYTHORNE & ALLISON CHAMBERS Creative Director & Associate Creative Director Will, Vancouver
We want to see more of the kind of stuff you’re not ‘supposed’ to show. The stuff that represents what’s going on in the real world. The topics that are culturally relevant and important outside of advertising, but are seen as too edgy for advertising.
ISABELA
LOURENÇO Art Director
AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
I would introduce more realism, with ordinary people conveying real emotions and products being shown as they really are. Advertising must reflect the plurality and reality of the world to be true and effective.
Earlier this year, Chris Beresford-Hill took on the storied role of global CCO of BBDO, where the heritage is massive and the expectations are high. What might change and what might stay remains to be seen. We do know what he plans to say to a few people soon, though …
FAVORITE RECENT WORK FROM BBDO:
1: Pedigree, Adoptable (case study). Simon Vicars and the team at Colenso are geniuses. There, I said it! Feed the Good is a 10 year plus platform that gets better and better.
2: AT&T, Sleep with Rainn (case study). Matt Miller and the team at BBDO LA took a small business brief and went back to the clients and suggested starting a small business instead. Now that’s thinking big.
3: AICP, Museum-Worthy (film). When you get a free shot on goal, like the team in NY, you want to say something profound. This call for entry made its way around the globe, and was even played on the main stage at the TED conference.
4: Volkswagen, 70 years (case study). Almap is and always has been an explosion of creativity. This piece hits on scale, craft and impact, in all the best ways.
5: UN Women, Child Wedding Cards (case study). Ali Rez and the team at Impact BBDO always live up to the name “Impact”. Their work is incredible.
L[A] How did you start out?
Chris Beresford-Hill As a child I was a bad student, probably with a number of undiagnosed learning disabilities. But on the other side of things, I could always come up with a lot of ideas quickly. I don’t exactly know how I learned that ad people needed to do things like that, but I did, and so advertising was the only career I ever considered. When I was finishing college, I called every ad agency in the phone book. The only one that let me in the door, especially without a portfolio, was a brand new startup, which happened to be founded by Lance Jensen, one of the greatest ad writers of all time. That was the first of my many strokes of luck.
L[A] It is amazing how one crossing of paths can so change you.
CB-H Yes, Lance wrote the line, ‘On the road of life there are passengers and drivers. Drivers Wanted.’ for VW. He also did a VW ad called Pink Moon, which is one of the greatest of all time. Lance had, and still has, the insane ability to write or tell a story about any product in a way that makes it sound or feel like some brand-new thing you’ve never encountered before, but that can change your life. And I’ve said before, you have to work for people with great taste early on, so you learn and understand how they discern. Good taste is the best thing you can find in an early boss.
L[A] What was it about advertising that appealed to you?
CB-H I love it, and I have to do it, because I also fall for great advertising – hard. To this day I only wear Nike sneakers, and only buy Nike gym clothes, all because of one Michael Jordan ad called Frozen Moment, which I saw on television about 35 years ago. That one ad, which beautifully dramatized how time literally slowed down every time Jordan touched the ball, blew my mind and affected my choices for the better part of my life. And, by the way, we need to figure out how to measure that value. It would do a lot for our industry if we could. All of us have those brands and products that were sold brilliantly to us one time.
L[A] And what do you think it is about advertising that appeals to the next generation?
CB-H Well, it’s not getting much easier. There are far more options for them, in terms of creating and publishing your own content. But I do think our industry is the only one where creativity can be a team sport, where groups of people can do creative things together, and that is still rare and appealing.
L[A] How do you feel about the state of the industry today?
CB-H My partner Nancy Reyes, CEO of the Americas, always says there’s never been an industry more obsessed with its own death and demise. This is one of many things we fiercely agree on. Real industries don’t do all this self-flagellating, they get on with getting ideas in front of consumers. New tech and platforms
are not the solution, they are the vessel. Brands need great ideas to connect with consumers or they won’t be chosen. Great agencies do this better than anyone.
L[A] And how does BBDO differentiate on this?
CB-H Twenty years ago, when my predecessor David Lubars first walked into BBDO, he talked about ‘populist advertising’, which really captured, and defined what BBDO does best; those brilliant ideas designed to appeal to the masses. Today, when audiences’ attention is all over the place, we believe the world needs populist ideas more than ever because they make a larger emotional connection, they tap into our humanity, and we know how to deliver them in modern ecosystems. Today our expertise is creating mass ideas for divided audiences. Instead of a Super Bowl spot, our campaign might kick off with an influencer on TikTok.
L[A] Starting with a TikTok video can actually be an amazingly big thing to kick off with.
CB-H Someone told me, and now I hope it is true, that the average video by YouTube creator MrBeast has a bigger audience than the Super Bowl. Anything can strike it big on a social media platform. And anything can be a drop in the ocean. A couple of decades ago, there was a certainty to people around the world being glued to their television screens – when you knew you were going to get 500,000 people paying attention. Now, when you
take it to social media, you may have zero people interested or a billion. I think that puts more onus on bigger, better ideas.
L[A] So what else is changing and what’s staying?
CB-H Beyond our evolution from populist advertising to mass ideas for fragmented audiences, BBDO will always be about greatness. Big brands, big work, the best talent. Sometimes you have to be here, go away, and then come back with some perspective. Any agency would kill for our talent and client roster. I want to remind everyone here how fucking great they really are.
L[A] You worked here in this office?
CB-H I was at BBDO New York from 2009 to 2017. They were the happiest years of my career. For eight years, no one ever asked me to do anything but the best work possible. There was never, ‘just make the meeting’ or, ‘don’t lose this project’, there was no fear. To me that is what it feels like to be in pursuit of greatness.
L[A] What does a very good year feel like for BBDO? What makes you say : ‘Wow, we’ve knocked it out of the park this year’?
CB-H I don’t know if there is an easy metric, it’s not just about awards anymore. They have a role, but I think a decreasing one. This might sound hippie-ish but success is creating the condi -
CHRIS’ OWN FAVORITE PIECES OF WORK:
1: CeraVe Skincare, Michael CeraVe (film). When I did something that felt like me, and other people actually liked it.
2: Adidas, Billie Jean King Your Shoes (film). A small team threading the needle of legal, client concerns, and technical practicalities, and making it to the other side.
3: Foot Locker, six-year case film (case study). Over 100 commercials, and tens of billions of organic impressions. This was six-years of pure fun for me and my partner Dan Lucey.
4: Guinness, Wheelchair Basketball (film). My first foray into emotional storytelling. You can make a lot of people laugh, but if you get it right, you can make 10 times more people cry.
5: No on Prop8, Devin & Glenn (film). Something I wrote very quickly, the stars aligned, and then I ended up spending a week making it with some of my best friends in the world.
5
tions where as many people as possible feel like they are getting closer and closer to the peak of their abilities. Are we in an environment that pushes for high standards with what we bring forward, are we backing it completely, are our clients demanding our best, are we selling it? When we are, everyone is growing, and momentum kicks in.
L[A] And how do you create momentum at a global scale?
CB-H BBDO is a network of powerhouses, and because there has been so much strength, there has not always been much dependence on each other. You have very distinct and excellent cultures: AMV BBDO in the UK, Colenso in Auckland, Clemenger in Australia, Almap in São Paulo, Impact in the Middle East, and so on. We have the best creative leaders in the world helming each one. The opportunity is to intersect these super-teams, opening
our borders on pitches and key work, and unleashing our combined force – really, for the first time ever.
L[A] How will you stay close to the work?
CB-H I don’t know how not to. I love every aspect of making it happen. There is joy in lining up the right talent and letting them loose, priming a client for something really ambitious, or helping find a way to sell or pull off the work from a production standpoint. All of that is creatively satisfying. I know how to support and get out of the way but there are enough pitches, crunches, and stray opportunities, that I feel like I’m always flexing my creative brain … thank God.
L[A] What are your day-to-day priorities?
FILM AND TV REFERENCES THAT CELEBRATE THE HARD WORK OF CREATIVITY:
1: Conan O’Brien, Can’t Stop. Nothing quite captures the high, and low, and high, and low and high of creativity for pay, like this documentary.
2: Metallica, Some Kind of Monster. Watching the pain and challenges of “team creativity” in an iconic band, and seeing how their connection and talent perseveres.
3: South Park, 6 Days to Air. A true celebration of the hard work, grit and fortitude it takes to meet a creative deadline.
4: The Last Dance. Striving for greatness, and leading creatively, by the NBA Zen Master, Phil Jackson.
5: The Beatles, Get Back. Watching Paul write Get Back. Seeing the love between him and John. Being a fly on the wall, before there were fly-on-the-wall films.
CB-H The most important things I can do right now are to get New York dialed-in and to make sure our global community is feeling connected and open, both of which will take a bit of time. As far as the day-to-day – and I’m imagining a day where nothing is on fire and there is nothing demanding urgent attention – on that day, I would only focus on talent, growth, and our creative output. If that day ever comes, I’ll let you know.
L[A] One piece of work you were involved with in a big way has been in the news and the awards this year in a big way: I’m thinking of CeraVe, which was just about the last thing you worked on as NA creative head at Ogilvy.
CB-H It’s probably my favorite piece of work. It was done by an incredibly small team, which I really believe is the best way to do something great. On the creative end it was myself and two
great creatives, Alex and Avi. We also had some healthy tension along the way, too. I’m remembering a lot of late-night phone calls between President of PR & Social Charlie Tansill and I, debating how to use influencers. In the end, it turns out I had more to learn than anyone, which I also love. But above all, the idea is simple as hell, it’s a prank, we came up with it in two minutes, and that feels great, when you let an idea fly, and it lands big.
L[A] We’re getting to the last question, which was for you to tell us something interesting that we wouldn’t know to ask about.
CB-H This has nothing to do with advertising, but lately I’ve started saying ‘I love you’ at the end of every conversation with close friends. And, I’m serious, it has made me a happier person. I hope everyone tries it.
Agency
HOY, by HAVAS, Buenos Aires, Republica Havas, Miami
Creative Direction
Maria Luján Donaire, Tony Waissmann, Federico Ientilezza, Mariela Pettinati, Hernan Damilano
Art Direction
Sofia Fernandez
Photographer
Gonzalo Lopez
Agency
Havas HOY, Mexico City Creative Direction
Jairo Lezaca, Pablo Naval Art Direction
Photographer
Agency
Anita & Vega, Buenos Aires
Creative Direction
Sebastián Espósito, Damián Izquierdo
Art Direction
Nacho Lopez Nieves
Copywriter
Jose Pereira Torres
Photographer
Martin Sigal
Digital Artist
Diego Salas
Campaign
In your New Thaoe fits 24 hrs., and everything you want to do with them. … With the best largest panoramic roof in its category.
Agency
C&P Bolivia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Creative Direction
Mauro Sanjinés, Victor Mora
Art Direction
Mauro Sanjinés, Victor Mora, Javier Serrano
Copywriter
Victor Mora
Digital Artist
Victor Mora
BMW Campaign
Top: (This is what your electric BMW sounds like) April 22nd Earth day. Listen to Earth.
Bottom: (This is what your electric BMW Motorrad sounds like) – April 22nd Earth day. Listen to Earth.
Agency
MullenLowe SSP3, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Jaime Duque
Art Direction
Jaime Duque, Alejandro Mosquera
Copywriter
Eduardo Vargas, Francisco Mosquera
Agency
Paradais DDB, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Creative Direction
Agustín Febres-Cordero
Art Direction
Nathalia Navarro, Tyto Garcés Custode, Christian Cayambe
Copywriter Andres Celis, Xavier Vinueza, Ana Jibaja
Top: We were the first to use the Lambda sensor® to reduce harmful emissions by up to 90%.
Bottom: We started repairing gearboxes with remanufactured exchange parts.
Agency
Havas Group Peru, Lima
Creative Direction
Mauricio FernandezMaldonado, Renzo Viacava
Art Direction
Daniel Alvan, Jeanpeare Villena
Copywriter
Paulo Ballón
Agency
BBA, Quito
Creative Direction
Bryan Recalde, Luis Barrera
Art Direction
Juan Francisco Torres
Copywriter
Paula Rivadeneira, Carlos David Rivas
Digital Artist
Iván Terán
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Agency
Brandtok, Leioa, Spain
Creative Direction
Alfonso Serrano Vreugde
Art Direction
Alfonso Serrano Vreugde
Copywriter
Alfonso Serrano Vreugde
Agency
Serviceplan Middle East, Dubai
Creative Direction
Saleh El Ghatit
Art Direction
Oussama Founi
Copywriter
Sameer Suri
Digital Artist
Carioca
Agency
Delirio & Twain, Madrid
Creative Direction
Andres Mejia, Eva Santos, Mauricio Rocha
Art Direction
Andres Mejia
Copywriter
Mauricio Rocha
Photographer
Mauricio Cifuentes
Illustrator
Andres Mejia
Typographer
Andres Mejia
Digital Artist
Andres Mejia
Agency
WILD FI, Montevideo
Creative Direction
Gastón Garrido, Bruno Spagnuolo
Art Direction
Agustina Mantovani
Copywriter
Maite Spinelli, Juan Sebastián Vallejo, Marcos Mateo, Gonzalo Montes
Copywriter
Creative Direction
Todd Blevins
Art Direction
Brad Connell
Copywriter
Andrew Payne
Agency
Mullenlowe Delta, Quito
Creative Direction
Marco Tapia, Javier Galfre, Alexandra Vaca
Art Direction
Javier Galfre, Fabian Vazquez, Sebastian Echeverria
Copywriter
Alejandra Santander, Paula Jacome, Ana Lucia del Hierro
Digital Artist Daniel Benavidez
Agency La Facultad, Quito
Creative Direction
Miguel
Art Direction
Esteban
Copywriter
Esteban
Agency
David, New York
Creative Direction
André Toledo, Linus Oura, Sebastien Rouviere
Art Direction
Linus Oura
Copywriter Guilherme Pinheiro
Photographer
Gabriel de Moura
Creative Direction
Kohei Morikami
Art Direction
Takeshi Fujimoto
Copywriter
Kohei Morikami
Photographer Koji Kuruma
Digital Artist
Takeshi Fujimoto
Creative Direction
Kohei Morikami
Art Direction
Takeshi Fujimoto
Illustrator
Takeshi Fujimoto
3 PEAKS NATURAL SPRING WATER Campaign to raise awareness of situations when it is time to move (out).
Agency Engine Group, Brisbane, Australia
Creative Direction
Mike Fritz
Art Direction
Liam Marsden
Copywriter
Aiken Hutcheson
Photographer
Liam Marsden
Agency
Wings the Agency, Caracas
Creative Direction
Demian Campos
Art Direction
Demian Campos, Alana Vitrian
Copywriter
Demian Campos
Illustrator
Demian Campos
Digital Artist
Demian Campos
COCA COLA Campaign
To inspire people to enjoy more meals together, special frames were created to celebrate real connections during mealtime, highlighting real people’s magic.
Agency
David The Agency,
Miami
Creative Direction
Joana Plautz
Art Direction
Joao Corazza
Copywriter
Bruno Reis
Photographer
Lucila Blumencweig
Illustrator
Joao Corazza
Typographer
Joao Corazza
Digital Artist
Moreira Estudio
LABORATOIRE NIHEL
This Mother’s Day campaign is a tribute to the love of mothers for their daughters; a love that may not always be the most pleasant but certainly, always the purest.
Love comes in all forms. You’re amazing, mum.
Agency
3SG BBDO, Tunis
Creative Direction
Racem Mtimet
Art Direction
Aziza Ben Jeddi
Copywriter Mouna Guedria
Agency
DDB Latina Puerto Rico, Guaynabo
Creative Direction
Mauricio Cortés, Enrique Renta, Juan Fernandez
Art Direction
Mauricio Cortés, Liliana Peña, Hernando Torres
Copywriter
Enrique Renta, Frances Guzmán
Photographer
Owen Acevedo
Campaign
Agency
Geeks Ecuador, Guiayaqui
Creative Direction
Stalin Segovia, André Farra
Art Direction
Stalin Segovia, Luis del Pozo, Jean Carlos Paredes
Copywriter Alejandra Soto
Digital Artist
Stalin Segovia
Campaign
Agency
Publicis One Touch, Dubai
Creative Direction
Sebastien Boutebel, Rodrigo Leal Rodrigues, Rita Harbie
Art Direction
Leonida Pires
Copywriter
Hadi Afif
Photographer Rodrigo Stefanus
Campaign
AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida
Art Direction
Isabela Lourenco, Mozar Gudim, Rafael Gil
Copywriter Rodrigo Almeida
Photographer
Raphael Lucena
DESIERTO VESTIDO, FASHION REVOLUTION Campaign
Turning Trash into Fashion was the theme of the Atacama Fashion Week in Chile, which raised awareness of the international fashion industry’s waste of resources and environmental pollution.
Agency
Artplan, São Paulo Creative Direction
Marcello Noronha, Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida Art Direction
Marcello Noronha, Rafael Gil, Mariana Villela, Gustavo “Guives” Leal
Copywriter
Thomas Davini, Pedro Maneschy
Photographer
Mauricio Nahas
Digital Artist Rafael Gil
Creative
Agency
Scholz & Friends, Hamburg
Creative Direction
Jens-Petter Waernes
Art Direction
Hannes Hansen, Matteo Pozzi, Wanslez Quaresma, Martin Keipert, Matthias Spaetgens
Copywriter Jost Kähler, Paolo Bartalucci
Digital Artist
Nicola Cafantaris, Cornelius Steffan
Campaign
Agency
Scholz & Friends, Hamburg
Creative Direction
Jens-Petter Waernes
Art Direction
Cornelius Hafemeister, Matthias Spaetgens
Copywriter
Cornelius Reimers
Photographer
Calle Hackenberg
Agency
T&P powered by Mirum, Curitiba, Brazil
Creative Direction
Filipe Matiazi
Art Direction
Filipe Matiazi, Victor Keiti
Copywriter Thiago Gabardo, Filipe Matiazi, Victor Keiti
Campaign
Agency Yoband, Guangzhou, China
Creative Direction
Liu Yiping, Liu Yuandong, Ego Wang
Art Direction
Liu Yiping, Carlos Chen, Haiwei Qiu
Copywriter
Ego Wang, Kimmoe Mo, Sophia Huo, Eurus Zhao
Illustrator
Liu Yuandong
ANFÍBIO Campaign
Anfíbio (“amphibian” in Portuguese) is a food ecosystem in Lisbon’s riverside that comprises three kiosks and a restaurant with a kitchen below the water level.
Agency
Judas, Lisbon
Creative Direction
Pedro Lima, Vasco Thomaz, Pedro Duarte
Copywriter
Sara Vitorino
Illustrator
Sandro Rybak
Campaign
Agency
Fitzroy, Amsterdam
Creative Direction
Marlon von Franquemont, Reinier Gorissen
Art Direction
Thomas van Driel
Copywriter
Marten Meijboom
Photographer
Arthur Mebius
Digital Artist
Jan Daniël Wolters
Agency
Leo Burnett, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Juan Romero, Mauricio Sarmiento
Art Direction
Juan Romero
Copywriter
Mauricio Sarmiento
Photographer
Leyther Orozco
Illustrator
Black Thunder Studio
Digital Artist
Juan Romero
NOBEL Campaign
Agency
Mullen Lintas, Gurgaon, India
Creative Direction
Sarab Jit Singh, Nisheeth Shrivastav, Ram Cobain
Art Direction
Sarab Jit Singh, Aastha Gupta
Copywriter
Johns Joy
Digital Artist
CDL Design
Creative Direction
Agency
HOLD Self Storage, in-house, London
Creative Direction
Alexander McGhee
Art Direction
Alexander McGhee
Copywriter
Alexander McGhee
Typographer
Adrian Harrison
Digital Artist
Adrian Harrison
Agency
Fosbury, Cascavel, Brazil
Creative Direction
Leticia Barros
Art Direction
Eduardo Refati
Copywriter
Waldir Haoach Jr.
Agency
Win Sports, in-house, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Duvan Villegas
Art Direction
Andrew Lopez
Copywriter Oscar Castañeda
Digital Artist
Andrew Lopez
WIN SPORTS Campaign
Celebrate Tree Day with your wooden footballer friends. For each time you share this message … we will plant a tree with the Tree Network Foundation.
Agency
Peop&Gio, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Giovanni Martínez
González, Hugo Corredor Vanegas
Art Direction
Giovanni Martínez
González
Copywriter
Hugo Corredor Vanegas
Photographer
Mario Ruiz, Juana Obregozo
HISTORY MUSEUM IN HO CHI MINH CITY Campaign
In the Year of the Dragon, the Ho Chi Minh History Museum has adopted the tradition of picking spring buds during the Tet holiday to wish each other an auspicious new year.
Agency
Zám, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Creative Direction
Thuy Vy Nguyen
Copywriter Jerry Nhan
Illustrator Khanh Nhu Nguyen, Hien My Nguyen, Thu Uyen Vu
Agency
Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Creative Direction
Marques Gartrell
Art Direction
Macaihah Broussard
Copywriter
Monica Roebuck
Photographer
Agency
Innocean Worldwide, Berlin
Creative Direction
Gabriel Mattar, Ricardo Wolff, Maso Correa Heck
Art Direction
Maso Correa Heck, Ailton Henriques, Luis García-Purriños
Copywriter Axel Fonteyne
Photographer Robert Capa
Inspired by Apples “Shot on iPhone” this campaign shows pictures that had not been shot but instead drawn with Faber-Castell pencils.
Campaign
Agency
Wings the Agency, Caracas
Creative Direction
Demian Campos
Art Direction
Demian Campos
Copywriter
Demian Campos
Digital Artist
Demian Campos
Campaign for Centrum Men, a daily multivitamin supplement packed with essential nutrients.
Agency
Amel Eid GSK
Mojo Creative Studio, Cairo
Creative Direction
Ramy Mohamed
Art Direction
Ramy Mohamed
Copywriter
Agency
TRUTH., Vilnius
Creative Direction
Ugnius Miksta
Art Direction
Saule Jasiunaite
Copywriter
Ana Luisa Monse
Illustrator
Viktorija Matakaite
Typographer
Deimante Daunyte
UKRAINIAN PAVILION AT THE 60TH INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION
Campaign showing the bomb shelter map of Venice, reminding the world about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Agency
Bickerstaff.734, Kyiv
Creative Direction
Ilia Anufrienko, Veronika Selega
Art Direction
Katalina Maievska
Copywriter
Kateryna Barbalat, Dima Liutyi
Creative Direction
Roman Cihalik
Art Direction
Katerina Sysova
Copywriter
Roman Cihalik
Photographer Katerina Sysova
SITUATION STHLM Campaign
Situation Sthlm is a street paper sold in Stockholm by homeless people.
Agency
T&Pm, Stockholm
Creative Direction
Timo Orre
Art Direction
Olle Dahlqvist
Copywriter
Niklas Hertzberg
Digital Artist
Crosby
Agency
Amén McCann, Montevideo
Creative Direction
Nacho Vallejo
Art Direction
Mathias Gamarra
Copywriter
Carolina Gelfont
Illustrator
Leonardo Estrada
Digital Artist
Leonardo Estrada
Agency
AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida, Marco Giannelli Pernil
Art Direction
Mateus Palermo, Rafael Gil
Copywriter
Felipe Cirino
Digital Artist
Mateus Palermo
Agency
CAZAR Publicidad, Santo Domingo
Creative Direction
Salvador Lister Marin, Freddy Montero Galva, Carlos J. Núñez Báez
Art Direction
Paola Cabrera, Marcos Zorrilla, Stephany Peña
Copywriter
Salvador Lister Marin, Freddy Montero Galva
Illustrator
Paola Cabrera
Digital Artist
Paola Cabrera, Stephany Peña
UNQUIET TRAVEL MAGAZINE Campaign
Top: The surreal lakes of the Apuseni Mountains in Romania – are the result of tons of cyanide and highly toxic waste dumped by a copper mine.
Bottom: Barbados, a turquoise blue paradise – contaminated by the foul-smelling sargassum seaweed, which proliferates uncontrollably with glogal warming.
Pay-off: It’s time to unexplore our planet.
Agency
Tech&Soul, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Flavio Waiteman
Art Direction
Guga Dias da Costa
Copywriter
Daniel Magri
Illustrator
Arie Studio
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG Campaign
There is always a brilliant mind behind it.
Margot Friedländer, Holocaust witness
Agency
Scholz & Friends, Berlin
Creative Direction
Philipp Weber, Mirko Derpmann, Felix John
Art Direction
Philipp Weber, Matthias Spaetgens
Photographer
Wim Wenders
Agency
Sancho BBDO, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Daniel Alvarez, Diego Julian Rodríguez, Juan Diego Rivera Pineda
Art Direction
Diego Julian Rodríguez, Juan Camilo Sánchez
Copywriter
Juan Diego Rivera Pineda, Diana Sánchez
SOUNDSATIONS
Campaign for an independent, small chain of record stores.
Agency
Imperactive, Los Angeles
Creative Direction
Luis Camano, Enrique Ahumada
Art Direction
Luis Camano, Enrique Ahumada
Copywriter
Enrique Ahumada, Luis Camano
BBDO CA, Almaty
Creative Direction
Kolya Shkoda
Art Direction
Elena Nikulushkina
Copywriter
Ersultan Karanov
Creative Direction
Mattia Girardi
Art Direction
Mattia Girardi
Copywriter Nicola Ludovici
Campaign for Google Cloud, highlighting the capacity to store any type of information.
Agency
The Usual Group, Dubai
Creative Direction
Camilo Garzon
Art Direction
Camilo Garzon, Sina Tehran, Pitchy Kwen
Copywriter
Camilo Garzon
Illustrator
Pitchy Kwen
Digital Artist
Pitchy Kwen
Agency
BBDO, Mexico City
Creative Direction
Daniel
Copywriter
Digital Artist
Natalia
Agency
Inbrax, Santiago de Chile
Creative Direction
Pancho González, Cristián Chávez
Art Direction
Cristián Chávez
Copywriter
Pancho González
Agency
Ogilvy Greece, Athens
Creative Direction
George Pytharoulis
Art Direction
George Pytharoulis
Copywriter
Konstantinos Zarnaris
Illustrator
Till Noon
Agency
Camisa 10, Rio de Janeiro
Creative Direction
Bruno Richter, Victor Vicente
Art Direction
Bruno Richter
Copywriter
Victor Vicente
UNIVERSITÉ DE GENEVE
Campaign to fight against racism, violence, sexism, homophobia.
Taglines from top left to bottom right: Sexist? It’s not our style. Here discrimination is excluded.
Here we fight for a violence-free university.
Here we can share the same table without sharing the same opinion.
Agency
Baston, Vevey, Switzerland
Art Direction
Gaelle Valentini
Copywriter
Loris Scaglia
Illustrator
Marylou Faure
RENT A CAR Campaign
Agency
Dentsu Creative, Medellín, Colombia
Creative Direction
Pipe Ruiz Pineda, Oscar Martinez Marin
Art Direction
Wilmar Daza, Sebastian Cano, Bryan Jara
Copywriter Jhon Jaimes, Felipe Miranda, Hamilton Peña, Juan Pablo Valencia Escobar
Agency
Mass Digital, Bogotá
Creative Direction
David Patino, Pablo Camacho, Nicolas Clavijo
Art Direction
Pablo Camacho, Tabares Nicolle
Copywriter Gabriela Vivas
Illustrator
Pablo Camacho
AMES FOUNDATION
Campaign for the AMES Foundation (Africa’s Most Endangered Species).
Agency
HeimatTBWA, Berlin
Creative Direction
Felix Karges, Fabio Almeida da Silva
Art Direction
Diogo Brandao, Alexandra Froschauer
Copywriter
Timo Zwiesigk
PINKPONILO CREATIVE STUDIO
Agency
Mediator Group, Budapest
Creative Direction
Dániel Csirke, Zoltán Barát
Art Direction
Zoltán Barát, Péter Jakab
Copywriter
Dániel Csirke
Photographer
Péter Kósa
Digital Artist
Zénó Farkas
Agency
Media.Monks, Paris
Creative Direction
Ibrahim Seck
Art Direction
Van Yen Meunier
Copywriter
Thelma Cherpin
Photographer
Roman Jehanno
Top: He is not having a kickabout with his cousins. He is one of 145,000 teenagers fooled into joining the family with the highest number of adoptions in Mexico. The criminal family.
Bottom: He is not getting his first driving lesson with dad. SAVE THE CHILDREN Campaign
Agency
Grey, Mexico City
Creative Direction
Alexis Ospina, Mauricio Guerrero, Rodrigo Melgar, Mauricio Sanchez, Mario Berber
Art Direction
Mauricio Sanchez, MarioBerber, Marco Oseguera
Copywriter Rodrigo Melgar, Rodrigo Montoya, Cesar Medina
Photographer Ram Whisky
Agency
VMLY&R, Mexico City
Creative Direction
Daniel de León
Art Direction
Jose Alarcon
Copywriter
Alejandro Escarcega
Photographer
Artemio Nadyozhin
Agency
Fire Comunicação
e Marketing, Vitória, Brazil
Creative Direction
Rodrigo Pegoretti
Art Direction
Daniel Galvao
Copywriter
Daniel Galvao, Rodrigo Pegoretti
Illustrator
Daniel Galvao
Typographer
Daniel Galvao
Agency
Casanova // McCann, Costa Mesa, California
Creative Direction
Angelica Portillo
Art Direction
Francisca Del Basto, Adalia Vazquez
Copywriter Marlene Venero
Photographer Diego Flores
Agency
Ogilvy Bolivia, La Paz
Creative Direction
Henry Medina, El Turco Medina
Copywriter Gerson Irazabal
OPEN MIND Campaign
Anhedonia:
Inability to experience pleasure … When someone is experiencing depression, only assistance can help them raise their head.
Agency
Delirio & Twain, Madrid
Creative Direction
Andres Mejia, Mauricio Rocha,
Eva Santos
Art Direction
Andres Mejia
Copywriter
Andres Mejia
Photographer
Andres Mejia
Illustrator
Andres Mejia
Typographer
Andres Mejia
Digital Artist
Andres Mejia
Agency
Ogilvy Greece, Athens
Creative Direction
Panos Sambrakos, Aggeliki Kornelatou, Katerina Androuli, Katerina Dimitrakopoulou
Art Direction
Manos Vitoratos, Vicky Kalafati, Gabriela Mousouraki
Copywriter Niove Sfyri
FREEDOM4ANIMALS
Campaign
Creative Direction
Glenn Batkin, Nick Goodey
Art Direction
Glenn Batkin
Copywriter
Nick Goodey
Typographer
Glenn Batkin
Digital Artist
Glenn Batkin
The image below shows a detail from the ad above.
Agency
Abbott Mead Vickers (AMV) BBDO, London
Creative Direction
Copywriter
Sean Freeman, Eve Steben CENTRAL OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEREST (COPI) Campaign
Laurens Grainger, Alicia Cliffe
Typographer
George Hackforth-Jones, Jack Smedley
Art Direction
Mario Kerkstra
Agency
Sohosquare, Athens
Creative Direction
Christina Kafetzi
Art Direction
Giorgos Papastathopoulos
Copywriter
Vivi Kardatou
Illustrator
Konstantinos Fragoulis
Client
WIN SPORTS
The Holy Grail of Cabalas
Faith. Religion. Superstition. Relics. Guessing. Colombian football is not just football. Win Sports, the official broadcaster of Colombian football, has summarized all these rituals in a 284-page book, and these are some of the best designs.
Agency Win Sports, in-house, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Duvan Villegas
Art Direction
Andrew Lopez, Mateo Guerrero
Copywriter Oscar Castañeda León, Omar Arango
ŠKODA Mystery Trips
In 2023, Škoda underwent its biggest rebranding in 30 years with the slogan, Let’s Explore. To reinforce this new image, Škoda Mystery Trips was launched, where an AI generates unique Norwegian itinerary combinations for drivers. To convey a real sense of exploration, the final destination remains a mystery until arrival.
Agency
Try, Oslo
Art Direction
Mathias Sandvik
Copywriter
Hallvard Vaaland
Photographer
Mathias Sandvik
Digital Artist
Magnus Snickars
Production Company TRY Film
ASTRAZENECA, MERCK
Mapping the Tumor 2.0
Biomarker-guided treatment decisions are crucial today, but oncologists are struggling to keep up with the information overload of relevant developments. As a result, 52% of practicing oncologists do not use biomarker testing to support their treatment.
Director
Mathias Sandvik
Post Production TRY Film
Mapping the Tumor was developed to simplify this complex data by using a simple metaphor to highlight the importance of biomarker testing, better inform healthcare practitioners and provide patients with the personalized treatment they need.
Agency
BRADESCO SEGUROS Black Light Book
Creative Direction
Copywriter
Over the years, many Black individuals have been erased from history simply because they were not white. To recover the remarkable contributions these people have made to humanity, AlmapBBDO created a special book. At first glance, the content appears to have missing sections. However, when used with a black light, all the details of these personalities are revealed, along with the entire cultural richness of the Black community.
Agency
AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Creative Direction Pernil, Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida, Iron Brito, Deborah Vasques
Art Direction
Rafael Gil, Iron Brito
Copywriter
Yael Sullyvan, Mateus Souza
Illustrator
Dialeto
Typographer
Rafael Gil
Digital Artist
Isabela Lourenco
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MOVEMENT #SavedFlags
In order to offer the Indigenous population of Brazil more visibility in the public eye, this campaign involved “hacking” the Save button – which happens to be in the shape of a flag – from Instagram. With the help of influencers, people rallied behind the cause and raised 2,100% support for the Indigenous population compared to the previous month. And all thanks to a simple save – the metric that increases engagement the most in the Instagram algorithm.
Agency Ogilvy Brasil, São Paulo
Creative Direction Rubens Casanova, Alexander Davidson (Big), Sergio Mugnaini, Samir Mesquita
Art Direction
Pedro Minari Felippe, Caio Almeida, Joao Fialho, Danilo Kykuta, Ariel Saraiva
Copywriter Joao Soares, Gustavo Nassar, Talita Sztokbant
Photographer Giuliana Mendes, Wauto Oro Waram, Rafael Rodrigues, Vherá Xunú
CLOCKWORK
Drunk Drivers Stay for Free
Funny campaign against drink driving. In collaboration with Daddy’s Deals, a booking site for cheap holiday deals, Clockwork marketed prison cells as bespoke “deals” disguised as accommodation.
Agency Clockwork, in-house, Johannesburg
Creative Direction Jacques Shalom, Marc De La Querra, Gregory Walker
Art Direction
Marc De La Querra, Kat Lutge
Copywriter Gregory Walker Production Company Clockwork
UZBEKISTAN CULTURE AND ART FOUNDATION, PAYME
Mosaic Vertising
Tashkent is known for its extraordinary mosaics, which are deeply embedded in the cultural and historical fabric of Uzbekistan and cover the facades of buildings. Recognising their cultural significance, payment app Payme rented all of the advertising space on buildings adorned with these historic works of art. They removed the advertising banners obscuring the mosaics (above) and returned these cultural landmarks to their former glory (top).
Agency
Locals Central Asia, Tashkent
Creative Direction
Shaha Saliyev
Art Direction
Doniyor Mamanov, Dmitriy Semenov, Victoriya Sharafutdinova, Farukh Gaziev, Stanislav Babic
Copywriter Said Nazrillayev, Amaliya Tareniyazova
Photographer Kirill Tsybenko
Production Company
Shoom Production
KIMBERLY-CLARK
#LaMejorVersiónDeMamá
FRIENDS OF KANT AND KÖNIGSBERG
Kant l
Only the innocence, love and imagination of a child can recognise the best version of their mother. This AI campaign for Huggies created motifs for postcards that emphasize the beauty and magic of mothers, who are only seen by a few.
Agency
Buentipo Anchor, Bogotá
AIDS-FONDET
PrEP a New Generation
Creative Direction
Joffre Carmona, Christian Tufano, Juan Herrera, Daniella Pedraza
Art Direction
Santiago Cepeda
Copywriter
Daniela Medina
To mark the 300th birthday of the philosopher Immanuel Kant this year, Jung von Matt Creators has resurrected the master of Enlightenment as the young, hip AI influencer Manu, who addresses the young people of Generation Z as @manumanukant to give them good vibes and deep thoughts.
Agency Jung von Matt, Hamburg
Creative Direction
Robert Andersen
Art Direction
Christian Schumann
Copywriter Dana Schönefeld
A campaign by the Danish non-profit organization AIDS-Fondet to raise awareness about the benefits of PrEP, a pill that effectively prevents the transmission of HIV. To prevent censorship on various channels, each advert was adapted just enough to bypass the algorithm of the respective media platform – and leave the rest to the imagination.
Agency Ogilvy Denmark, Copenhagen
HENKEL, SCHWARZKOPF Icons of You
For over 100 years, the world-famous Schwarzkopf logo has stood for perfect hair. But doesn’t a diverse world need more than one definition of perfect? With Icons of You, Schwarzkopf encourages people to tell their personal hair stories and create their own silhouettes using a special filter. The result: more than just a logo. Perfect hair doesn’t just have one style, it has billions.
Agency
HeimatTBWA, Berlin
Creative Direction
Sebastian Kollat, Monder Jiyawi
Art Direction
Hannah Gumpert, Joana Vinheiro, Ilona Neubauer, Andy Cruz
Copywriter
Naomi Kölbel, Gianna Nicolosi, Daniel Guiu
MCDONALD’S SWEDEN Deal With the Trash
Last year McDonald’s Sweden introduced a new feature in its app which allows guests to scan takeaway packaging when it’s been thrown away in the right place (ie the trash bin) and get rewarded with a good deal. Now even the packaging from local competitors Burger King and Max Burgers can be scanned as well.
Agency
Nord DDB, Stockholm
Creative Direction
Joel Ekstrand, Petter Dixelius
Art Direction
Sofia Nordström
Copywriter
Martin Hovnor
Production Company
Diktator
Director
Tim Erem
MAKRO COLOMBIA Life Extending Stickers
Overripe fruit is often thrown away prematurely – even though it can still be enjoyed and is particularly tasty when it is ripe. In this campaign, which was run in 22 macro markets in Colombia, stickers were developed with recipe suggestions based on the degree of fruit and vegetable ripeness. Result: 70 tonnes of food waste per week could be avoided.
Agency
VML Colombia, Bogotá, Grey Colombia, Bogotá
Creative Direction
Andrés Nuñez
Art Direction
Juan Jose Posada, Vanesa Sánchez
Copywriter
Juliana Daza
Photographer
German Rojas
Director
Jorge El Mono Velez
Music
Camilo Lucena
GELSON’S Ask Gelson’s
Integrated campaign for Gelson’s newest location in West LA, highlighting the expertise and quality Gelson’s offers by encouraging those who are “epicurious”, ie curious about food, to visit. Especially those wishing to try new dishes and cuisines.
Agency
The Miller Group, Los Angeles
Creative Direction
Greg Bokor
Art Direction
Greg Bokor
Who’s under-rated? What’s the best morning ritual? Can the spirit of Southeast Asia be defined?
With a storied career in creative management – agency-side, client-side, and across the region, Valerie Madon answers these questions and more as she also shares her must-see top spots.
VALERIE’S INSPIRATIONS FROM OTHER AGENCIES :
Top left: The Last Barf Bag. Client: Dramamine, Agency: FCB Chicago. Entertaining work can happen even in the most ‘serious categories’.
Left: The Last Ever Issue. Client: Gazeta.pl, BNP Paribas, Mastercard, Agency: VMLY&R Poland. Changing society by changing the business.
Above: The Moldy Whopper. Client: Burger King, Agency: DAVID Miami / INGO Stockholm / Publicis Bucharest. Disrupting the category
L[A] What was the last work that you saw that stunned you?
Valerie Madon The Last Barf Bag for Dramamine by FCB Chicago. It’s inspiring to see entertaining work done for a ‘serious’ category like Health & Wellness. The idea was so unexpected, yet delightfully surprising, for a brief to establish brand superiority in nausea control.
L[A] With wide-ranging experience in the Southeast Asian hub, what would you say are the specific creative qualities of that region which make it unique?
VM The diverse and colorful cultures that spark interesting storytelling (like Thailand’s Sammakorn Not Sanpakorn) and craft for the world to enjoy, but also meaningful solutions carefully curated for unique problems that only exist in a specific country. For example, the work by our Indian office – Dabba Savings Account – that got shortlisted for the Glass Lion at Cannes this year.
L[A] What are some key moments and memories you have from your career that you could share with us?
VM Creating and launching The Guardian Angel for Aware, a wearable technology to keep women safe, which got featured on The Queen Latifah Show and we subsequently received orders for it from all around the world.
An extremely successful year at Cannes, in 2023, when we won multiple trophies including the Health & Wellness Grand Prix for The Killer Pack with my team in India. The highlight wasn’t so much about collecting trophies, but more about the sense of fulfillment and validation for the team’s effort and working with an exceptionally hungry team who stops at nothing to make great work happen. Teamwork with rare talents is the most satisfying feeling.
L[A] As a judge at all major creative award shows, what is the main quality that you are looking for in new work?
VM Something that catches me by surprise creatively and has meaningful real-world impact, like the recent work by our London office for Microsoft called The Everyday Tactician. It’s a great reminder that creativity can cross boundaries and there are many more ideas waiting in corners of our world for us to uncover.
L[A] At one point, you moved away from creative advertising to become director of Meta’s Creative Shop for SEA and emerging markets. What enticed you back to agency work?
VM I realize my greatest joy comes from making work happen. Seeing a project through from start to finish and creating something I’ve not done before is what gives me job satisfaction. Regardless of the stress and pain, the end product makes all of that worthwhile and gives me a sense of purpose.
L[A] The word “innovative” is often used (or overused) in the advertising community. What does that word mean to you and how would you define innovation?
VM One thing for sure is that it doesn’t always have to involve technology. It can be an ingenious way of using existing material and human skills, such as our Indian project called Fit My Feet that recently won a Gold Lion at Cannes.
L[A] You have talked before about how the metaverse can act as a new canvas for people to explore and experiment with.
Can you elaborate on the strengths that the metaverse can potentially offer as opposed to traditional media?
VM The metaverse has many definitions. VR, AR, gaming and mixed realities are all part of it. One key dimension that the metaverse has over traditional media is the power to transport you from your current position. It can put you into a mixed reality space with other imaginary elements or connect you with people and your connections in various ways. The ability to transport you beyond your current position opens new avenues of creativity, like the Wendy’s Fortnite campaign.
L[A] How do you balance the needs and expectations of a client with your own creative vision?
VM What we do must be led by what serves our clients’ needs best. Their objectives drive our creativity, but that also means we must leverage our gift to provide a solution that is the least expected and helps to create exponential effectiveness. The value of creativity is to generate earned media, beyond making paid media effective. Without creativity, none of the above will be achieved.
FAVORITE RECENT WORK FROM MCCANN: Top left: The Everyday Tactician. Client: Xbox, Agency: McCann London. Meaningful creativity that changes the game. Above: Dumb Ways to Die. Client: Metro Trains, Agency: McCann Melbourne. Entertaining creativity that became culture, L[A] 1/2013.
Left: Fearless Girl. Client: State Street Global Advisors, Agency: McCann New York. Iconic creativity that has an impact on society, L[A] 4/2017.
L[A] You have talked before about the necessity and benefit of diversity in advertising. How do you incorporate diverse perspectives and backgrounds into your creative work?
VM As we recognize that creativity tailor-made for markets is more effective than one-size-fits-all ideas, we also must operate using the same principles. Having diverse team members is critical for tapping into their experience and knowledge of their cultures because no one can understand a culture better than its locals. Hence today, I always strive to get creatives from key markets as part of my team for any brief. That can only happen with agencies that have a strong network and established partnerships with their international offices.
L[A] Where do you go when you need to get into a creative headspace?
VM Anywhere outside of the office because inspiration exists in life. Thinking out-of-the-box is thinking out-of-the-office for me. Even the home is not conducive because we have a pre-set mind state and I find myself wired differently. Instead, going somewhere unusual takes me out of my comfort zone and being displaced unchains me from my typical mindset.
L[A] As an observer of developing technology, what regulations (if any) should be put in place with AI?
VM Currently, we use it for internal purposes and conceptual presentations. We have a global team in McCann Worldgroup that advises us on the usage of AI and we follow their advice closely. Only certain tools are allowed after strict assessment by our global team.
L[A] What’s an unpopular opinion that you have?
VM Senior or ‘gray-haired’ creatives are under-rated and under-valued in our industry. We are probably the only business in the creative and craft industry that silently penalizes people with experience. Compare us with the fashion or music industry where older professionals are idolized instead of being questioned for their relevance. Young musicians today would pay homage to musicians like Bob Dylan whereas our ‘older’ creatives are perceived as too traditional and their experience, which they have honed for years in craft, such as copywriting and art direction, is dismissed.
L[A] Is there a trend or habit that you would like to see the end of in the next five years?
VM Over-emphasis of scaled work that devalues bespoke creativity, which is the core of what creative agencies stand for and what differentiates one brand from another.
L[A] What are the top three qualities that you admire in others?
Above: Adlam. Client: Microsoft, Agency: McCann North America. Creative partnership with clients that can change the world at scale.
Client: Pop-Tarts, Agency: Weber Shandwick. Creativity that challenges
Right: Valerie Madon.
VM Calmness to articulate thoughts clearly in stressful situations. Fearlessness to procrastinate less. Arrogance that’s just enough to help me stay on course with my vision.
L[A] What is your favorite ritual?
VM Walking my dog at 5am, when I can be completely in the moment with him.
L[A] You have had a love of fine art from a young age. Is there a piece of art that has had a large impact on you that you can recommend?
VM Not sure why, but it would have to be The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. Guess it’s my feminine side connecting with the image and there’s something very spiritual about the painting. It’s probably why I prefer creativity that has a touch of magic and surrealism but is still solving a client’s problem, like Fearless Girl.
L[A] Has your definition of success changed over time?
VM Yes. I started out as a digital-native creative coming from pure-play digital agencies building websites and apps, etc. My satisfaction then was creating usable and effective solutions that were often very logical and lacking in magic and artistry.
Today, I strive to reach the heart first, more than the mind, because I believe most of us buy with our hearts first and then use our minds to justify it. Not the other way around.
L[A] Finally, as well as creative advertising and painting, you have also ventured into artisan ice cream, with your own business (Licktionary). Are there any comparable qualities that your two seemingly unrelated jobs have?
VM Absolutely and, in fact, it probably takes creativity a step further because now the experience doesn’t stop at just satisfying the eyes and mind, it has to ultimately satisfy our taste buds. Creating Licktionary was creating a brand of my own, so everything I knew about advertising went into the process. From coming up with the concept of ice-cream flavors based on words to the name, logo design, store design and eventually marketing, I worked on it with my husband, Farrokh Madon, who is also in our industry. Launching and running Licktionary placed us in the shoes of our clients and the responsibilities they have to handle beyond communication. We were fully responsible for the whole experience including product safety for our customers. Unfortunately, due to COVID we had to wind the business down but running it for 3 years was a priceless experience and learning journey.
Valerie Madon is Chief Creative Officer at APAC, McCann Worldgroup.
CITROËN
The Revolution Has Begun
In this whimsical, epic campaign a daring group of rebels storm an ultraluxurious garden party to commandeer a fleet of ë-C3s from a gaggle of wig-wearing, pie-eating elites. Against the backdrop of David Bowie’s Suffragette City, the rebels go through a series of absurd security measures, while the elites desperately try to keep the electric cars out of the hands of the masses.
Agency
BETC, Paris
Creative Direction
Nick Bakshi
Art Direction Abi Stephenson
Copywriter Matt Jones
MERCEDES-BENZ
The Benz-Effect
Production Company
Stink Films, La Pac Director
Fredrik Bond
Things Are Not Like Before
This campaign was created for the launch of the new Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota’s most legendary vehicle. The objective is to narrate how this car is still being manufactured with the same quality as its predecessors, doing justice to the Land Cruiser’s legacy.
Agency
AmazeInc Studio, Bogotá
Creative Direction Mauricio Cifuentes
Production Company
AmazeInc Studio Director Mauricio Cifuentes
Flock
In Thailand, the nickname “Benz” symbolizes success and happiness – over 100,000 people have the name Benz. Mercedes-Benz capitalized on this cultural connection with a humorous commercial, featuring people with the name Benz talking about their connection to the brand.
Agency
TeamXThailand, Bangkok
Creative Direction
Thasorn Boonyanate, Pratchya Vilaipol
Art Direction
Peera Liangjai
Copywriter Prame Poosoontornsri
Production Company
Salmon House Director
Thanachart (Benz)
Siripatrachai
Filled with 70’s espionage cinema tropes and a dollop of Hitchcock’s The Birds, Apple’s spot Flock portrays CCTV cameras as avian-like spies. The soaring surveillance cameras self-destruct by the end of the film due to the privacy offered by Apple’s browser Safari.
Agency
TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles
Production Company Smuggler
Director Ivan Zacharias
NESCAFÉ
80 Degrees
Patience is vital in Courage’s campaign for Nescafé which shows people all over the world boiling their water to 80 degrees, the best and most sustainable temperature for making a cup of Nescafé coffee.
Agency Courage, Toronto
Art Direction
Andrea Romanelli
Copywriter
Jon Taylor
Production Company Spy Films Director Omri Cohen
EVIAN Mountain of Youth
Evian’s playful take on the mythical fountain of youth includes a heroic explorer searching the mountain terrains for everlasting life. He is left unaware that the mischievous “Evianers” are toying with him, hiding within the mountain environment. The spot ties in the classic imagery of the natural, pristine French Alps connected with the Evian brand.
Agency
BETC, Paris
Creative Direction
David Martin
Angelus, Antoinette Beatson
In a clever twist, Coca-Cola’s Spills campaign makes the product secondary to real human interaction. The film celebrates spontaneous instances of joy and connection, as people accidentally spill their drink during an embrace, concluding that these moments are worth every spill.
Agency
David, Miami
Creative Direction
Joana Plautz, Edgard Gianesi, Rafa Donato
Art Direction
Seiji Wakabayashi
Copywriter Thomas Nitti
Production Company
Reconcavo Director Nixon Freire
Art Direction
Aurélie Scalabre
Copywriter Olivier Mille
Production Company Wanda Director Henry Scholfield
MIKE’S HARD LEMONADE
Hard Days Deserve a Hard Lemonade
In a series of 30-second spots, various characters are tested by two store clerks to see if their day was hard enough to warrant a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Their haphazard scenarios are told in flashback and explain their desire for a cold bottle of lemonade.
Agency
VCCP, New York
Creative Direction
Gianmaria Schonlieb, Zoe Bell
Art Direction
Michelle Greeley,
Pip Bishop
Copywriter Sean Condrick, Chris Hodgkiss
Production Company
MJZ
Director
The Perlorian
Brothers
JEPPSON’S MALÖRT I Malörted
With a biting satirical edge, Chicago-based spirit brand Jeppson’s Malört campaign includes mock interviewees saying that they “Malörted”, a tongue-in-cheek take on the distaste of the 2024 US presidential election (and a reflection of the spirit’s own bitter flavor).
Agency
Bandolier Media, Austin
Creative Direction
Louis Montemayor, George Ellis, Nick Robalik
Copywriter Reyden Weis
Production Company
Bandolier Media, Wrong Bros Productions
KFC
Believe in Chicken
With a zeitgeist-infused flare, Mother London’s stylish spot for KFC questions the unpredictability of the modern world, from AI to an unstable economy and rising petrol prices. A crowd is suddenly hypnotized into strutting chicken motions as they congregate around an animated rooster, ending with the message that we can still depend on one thing: fried chicken.
Agency Mother, London
Production Company
Business Club
Director Vedran Rupic
BURGER KING
Bald Thru
The follicly challenged are honored in David São Paulo’s quirky campaign for Burger King, where bald customers could claim a free Whopper at drive-throughs (renamed “Bald Thrus”, in this case).
Agency David, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Fabricio Pretto, Rogério Chaves, Renata Leão, Marie Julie Gerbauld
DOVE
When Did 10 Stop Looking Like 10?
Art Direction
Tiago Embrizi
Copywriter
Rafael Barreiros
Production Company
Barry Company Director Berro
BURGER KING
Champi King
Aiming to raise awareness of the worrying increase in the use of inappropriate anti-ageing products by young girls, Dove juxtaposes images of 10-year-old girls from different eras in this spot. It begins with nostalgic shots of carefree girls embracing their youth. As the film progresses, we witness girls of the same age today getting caught up in anti-ageing skincare routines.
Agency
Empedrado, Chile, is known in South America as “The Mushroom Capital”. Here, the trade and life of the inhabitants revolves around growing mushrooms, making them true experts in the field. That’s why Burger King went there to have them try the new Champi King hamburger, and for them to approve it in their own words.
Agency
Wolf BCPP, Santiago de Chile
Creative Direction
Gonzalo Baeza, Arnaldo Gamonal
Art Direction
Max Miranda-Suarez, Camilo Roa, Javier Montoya
Copywriter Benjamín Cancino, Santiago Beya
Production Company
Goodlife Producciones
Director Luis Aguer
PHILADELPHIA
Land of the Cream Cheese
While cream cheese brands are not usually associated with country music, Gut Miami’s campaign for Philadelphia enlisted country star Travis Yee to sing an original song (available on Spotify) as an ode to the spreadable dairy product. Released in time for the Fourth of July, the song is both parodic and patriotic.
Ogilvy UK, London, Ogilvy, Sydney Agency
GUT, Miami
Creative Direction
Alexander Allen, Dean Paradise
Art Direction
Scarlett Maestre
Copywriter
Caroline Webster
LYNX
The Power of a Fragrance
Lola MullenLowe’s pair of spots for Lynx brings a darkly comical edge to the antiperspirant brand. In one film, the allure of the deodorant’s scent on a corpse at a funeral drives one mourner into a frenzy, while the other spot shows a robber’s plans derailed by the overpowering aroma.
Agency
LOLA MullenLowe, Madrid
Creative Direction
Tomás Ostiglia, Jorge Zacher, Dante Zamboni
Art Direction
Pedro Mezzini , Corina Martínez Panés
Copywriter
Augusto Callegari , Lucía Villalva
Production Company
Czar
Director
Lionel Goldstein
MONTBLANC
100 Years of Meisterstück
To celebrate the milestone anniversary of the famed Montblanc Meisterstück pen, legendary filmmaker Wes Anderson directed and starred in a tribute which marries the director’s meticulous trademarks with the intricate reputation of Montblanc’s craftsmanship.
Art Direction
Stephan Gessler
Copywriter
Wes Anderson
Production Company
The Directors Bureau
Director
Wes Anderson
DESIERTO VESTIDO, FASHION REVOLUTION
Turning Trash Into Fashion
The fashion industry is not exactly known for its sustainable production, and the Chilean desert is literally a graveyard of “fast fashion”. The Atacama Fashion Week in Chile was modeled on the well-known international fashion weeks, with an unusual approach – turning the driest desert in the world into a ramp and trash into trends.
Agency
Artplan, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Marcello Noronha, Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida
Art Direction
Marcello Noronha, Rafael Gil, Mariana Villela, Gustavo “Guives” Leal
Copywriter
Thomas Davini, Pedro Maneschy
Production Company
SugarCane
Director
Igor Selingarde
SAMSUNG
Creativity Cannot Be Crushed
In a pointed riposte to Apple’s Crush film, Samsung highlights that simple human creativity will triumph over technological advancements. While their competitor showed how technology will physically crush traditional tools of creativity, Samsung’s spot portrays a young girl salvaging a battered guitar to sing a song.
Agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), New York
Creative Direction
Estefânio Holtz
Art Direction
Sofía Gahn
Production Company
No Face Studio
Director
Zen Pace
CANAL+
Super Canal+
More Popular Than Tubi
MONZO
Money Feels Different on Monzo
“Brevity is the spice of life”, is the message of this short film for French TV channel Canal+. A heroic air traffic controller takes too much time calming a hysterical member of the cabin crew on a flight where the pilots had fallen ill. Will he stop the plane crash? Or is there perhaps a surprising punch line?
Agency
BETC, Paris
Creative Direction
Chrystel Jung
Copywriter
Dario Fau, Chrystel Jung
Production Company Big Productions Director
Dario Fau
TELSTRA
Better With a Better Network
Bear Meets Eagle On Fire’s campaign for Telstra melds dry Australian humor with lovely animation (by acclaimed animation director Tobias Fouracre of Fantastic Mr. Fox fame). The spots show several Australian animals in strange outback scenarios proving that anywhere can be better with a better mobile network.
Agency
Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Sydney
Creative Direction
Cass Jam, Mark Carbone
Production Company Revolver Films Director
Jeff Low, Tobias Fouracre
Tubi’s trademark irreverent style was demonstrated once again by agency Mischief, which proudly shows how the streaming site is more popular than several random things, including divorce, babies and tourist attraction geyser Old Faithful.
Agency Mischief @ no fixed address, New York
Creative Direction
Carl Peterson, Eleanor Rask Director
Andreas Nilsson
Using a keen visual sense of humor, Uncommon’s spots for digital bank Monzo juxtaposes several images to demonstrate the stress of cash versus the simplicity of online banking. These dramatic comparisons include toilets turning into fountains, nails on a chalkboard becoming a harp and boots made of ice turning into fluffy slippers.
Agency Uncommon Creative Studio, London
Production Company RSA Films Director
Marie Schuller
HSBC Dear Customer
David Buenos Aires highlights the increase of cyber-attacks in Argentina by sharply reimagining cybercrime as an actual bank robbery. This film for HSBC shows robbers holding up a bank before reciting the actual methods of cyber criminals, which ends with a note that, as crime evolves, so should personal protection of information.
Agency David, Buenos Aires
Creative Direction
Pancho Cassis, Nicolas Vara, Ignacio Flotta
Production Company argentinacine Director
Augusto Gimenez Zapiola
What If You Can?
Employing a series of creative cuts, Nike’s film focuses on a young schoolgirl who is thinking about becoming an athlete. The campaign continues the brand’s positive encouragement of sports for young people.
Agency Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam
NEW BALANCE
Grey Days
With a slick monochromatic style, American Haiku’s film series for New Balance celebrates the brand’s established connection to the color gray. The slice-of-life vignettes, filmed with a lo-fi indie film flourish, portray several characters as they reminisce about New Balance shoes.
Agency
American Haiku, New York
Creative Direction
Thom Glover, Ben Muckensturm
Art Direction
Ben Muckensturm
LINDEX Made for Play
This film portrays the world through children’s eyes where play is in focus and imagination is limitless. The message aims partly at children’s innate playfulness, and partly at the brand’s garments designed for play. With Lindex clothes as their sidekicks, kids can take on adventures, big and small.
Agency
Lindex, in-house, Gothenburg, Sweden
Creative Direction
Martin Cedergren
Art Direction
Garri Frischer
Copywriter
Noora Faraj
Production Company
Tarot Pictures
Director
Sebastian Sandblad
Underwear for Life
In this campaign for their new underwear concept, Lindex puts women and their needs in the center and shows life with all its twists and turns. The film is directed by Fiona Jane Burgess, known for highlighting the female perspective and sparking meaningful debate.
Agency
Lindex, in-house, Gothenburg, Sweden
Creative Direction
Martin Cedergren
Art Direction
Hanna Löthman
Wickelgren
Copywriter
Linda Nellemo
Production Company
Smuggler
Director
Fiona Jane Burgess
Copywriter
Thom Glover
Production Company
Rascal
Director
Elliott Power
TINDER It Starts With a Swipe
Inspired by some real-life messages from the dating app, Tinder’s It Starts With a Swipe campaign melds romantic comedy-style scenarios with instant messaging jargon to prove that meet-cutes occur all the time online.
Agency Mischief @ no fixed address, New York
Creative Direction
Bianca Guimaraes
Art Direction
Luke Johnson
Copywriter
Alli Walker
Production Company
Smuggler
Director rubberband
PARALYMPIC GAMES
The Paralympic Dream
To drive global viewership for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, this campaign dispels the conventional notion that the Paralympics are primarily about bringing people with disabilities together in joyful sporting harmony, and instead emphasizes all the impressive athletics and exciting competitions that take place during the event.
Agency adam&eveDDB, New York, adam&eveDDB, London
PREFEITURA DE SALVADOR
Pound the Drums
This film promoting Novembro Salvador Capital Afro, a festival of AfroBrazilian culture in Salvador, “the blackest city outside of Africa”, calls for awareness of the country’s historical roots and national identity.
Agency
Usina Creative Company, Salvador
Creative Direction
Rafael Reis
TERRE DES HOMMES
Orphans of Femicide
Femicide is a terrible crime in itself, but there is one thing that makes it even worse: the orphans of femicide, often forgotten victims. This campaign, carried out in collaboration with Terre des Hommes, shows a child playfully drawing something on the ground with chalk, which in the end turns out to be a crime scene sketch.
Agency
ACNE, Milan / Rome
Creative Direction
Monica Carallo, Emanuele Viora, Andrea Jaccarino
Art Direction
Andrea Salemi
Photographer
Andrea Donadoni
Production Company
Apnea Film
Director
Mirko Fasoli
Art Direction
Duardo Costa, Rafael Reis
Copywriter Cauê Azevedo
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Trust the Free Press. Not Pretty Words.
Three films overlay everyday moments from people’s lives, as they listen to the first speeches of Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nicolás Maduro on coming into power. Their liberal promises of safeguarding freedom and democracy are contrasted with what we know today about their ensuing leadership. An important message in 2024, an important election year.
Agency Innocean Worldwide, Berlin
Creative Direction
Ricardo Wolff
Art Direction
Leon Celay
Copywriter
Juan Andres Kebork
Production Company
Stink, Brazil
Director
Giordano Maestrelli
Production Company
Film Fine Art Director
Ilka Cyana, Gabriel Bico
CNN
The Polygraph
Untruths call into question the fundamental norms and values on which institutional legitimacy and political stability depend. It has therefore never been more important to recognise the “real” truth behind every official statement. In this spot, CNN subjects speeches to its version of a lie detector. No matter what people say, CNN shows you the truth.
Agency AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Creative Direction
Rafael Gil, Rodrigo Almeida, Iron Brito, Pernil
Art Direction
Rafael Gil
Copywriter
Rodrigo Almeida
Production Company
The Youth Director
Henrique Bueno
PARKINSON CANADA
It’s Not Parkinson’s. It’s Swagger.
FOXY BINGO
Foxy Moedown
Made for Parkinson Canada as a way of reexamining public perception of the disease, this film features Rob (a man who lives with Parkinson’s) as he walks down the street with confidence. The Find Your Swagger campaign hopes to prove to those who live with the disease that they can be self-assured and still lead a fulfilling life.
Agency Broken Heart Love Affairs, Toronto
Art Direction
Jaimes Zentil
Copywriter
Craig McIntosh
Production Company
Merchant
Director
Tim Godsall
Neverland’s campaign for online bingo site Foxy Bingo revolves around an extravagant countryinspired lasso dance with an added CGI touch, as the lassos come to life from people’s mustaches and ponytails.
Agency Neverland, London
Creative Direction
Jon Forsyth, Richard McGrann, Andy Clough
Art Direction
Lloyd Daniel
Copywriter
Liam Crerar
Production Company
Agile Films
Director
Noah Harris
ISSUEVOTER
Electoral Coins
Coin tosses are still used in many States to resolve an electoral tie, leaving decisions about important topics up to chance. Electoral Coins is a commemorative, limited-edition coin collection that shines a light on an antiquated method that should be corrected. Most importantly, it aims to prove that every single vote matters.
Agency
The Community, New York
Creative Direction
Lucas Bongioanni, Joaquin Molla, Fernando Reis
Art Direction
Maciel Marcelo, Cora Fernandez, Raquel Chávez
Copywriter
Luis Felipe Rios, Federico Díaz
Production Company
World War Seven
Director
Emma Debany
PACIFIC WILD
F*** Off Open-Net Pen Salmon Farms
Doing away with clichéd Canadian pleasantness, acting icon William Shatner gets profane and encourages others to rebel against the Canadian Government’s open-net salmon fishing policy.
Agency Maximum Effort, Santa Monica, California
Production Company Maximum Effort
HEALING THE HEALERS
Ask a Doctor
Healing the Healers is a creative initiative that combines first-hand data with emotional storytelling to help those who help us. Ask a Doctor addresses the hidden challenges and mental health disorders that doctors and healthcare professionals hide in order to keep their jobs and avoid the shame and stigma that comes with speaking out.
Agency
Havas Lynx, Manchester
Creative Direction
Alex Okada , Chris Wellard , Claire Knapp
Art Direction
Bronwynne Evans
Copywriter
Steven Gormley
Production Company
Prose on Pixels
We can connect
We have done an odd thing here and we’re not sure it really works. You can be the judge.
For this special report, we mixed two of the fast-growth areas of advertising creativity together, Sports and Health. Or rather, it turned out that we had to juxtapose them. What we thought in planning would go well together, that were two connected areas, turned out to be disconnected and altogether rather different and as a result, more intriguing in that way than expected.
Let’s backup and explain the (wrong) thinking. On the face of it, doing sport is strongly connected with physical and mental health and strays increasingly into the whole “wellness” area. Meanwhile, health may be strongly associated with big pharmaceutical companies selling medicine but it is also – and increasingly – a more extensive and holistic field, and yes “wellness” is the word that once again crops up. Indeed, big pharma wants a big piece of that space too. Put another way, both sports and health markets are increasingly concerned with messaging and actions that heed the “prevention is better than cure” logic. They are not simply about kicking a ball or popping a pill – they are about creating and supporting better, longer, more satisfying lives.
But while they clearly shade into each other at certain points, for the most part, these are two areas of creativity that are strongly differentiated specialisms in who does it and how it is done. In some ways, as those specialisms grow, fences between the two fields are also developing.
And so over the coming pages, we have a range of commentators who tend to come from one or other of these areas and do not generally ever work across both. And the work we have researched from our archive is then grouped as either one or other, sport or health. And, for the most part, they don’t have a lot in common. Or do they? Again, you be the judge.
Turn the pages, read the analyses and gain, we hope, a little enlightenment and inspiration. Perhaps you can then join the dots, raise some investors, and create the first truly holistic specialist health and sports agency. No, let’s think bigger: make it a global network. It’s there to be done.
TIM TADDER STILLS AND MOTION
Being a leader in radically changing health advertising is not enough for the team at Area 23. What comes next may help redefine how we see health brands, explains the restless Chief Creative Officer Tim Hawkey.
L[A] Did you want to be a creative from a young age?
Tim Hawkey Growing up, I avoided the idea of creativity because my mother [Penny Hawkey] was a creative rock star. She broke new ground for women in advertising in the ‘80s. We had reporters from Forbes, Good Housekeeping and the Wall Street Journal coming to the house to interview the creator of the Coca Cola Mean Joe Greene spot. I don’t know how she did it all. For me, why would I enter into a space where that’s always going to be the comparison? Later on, I was working as a cancer laboratory researcher, and I stumbled across a field of advertising called medical advertising – and that you needed to understand science to do it. Now this is something I would be highly specialized in and good at, and that was attractive. I put some portfolio sketches together and I went into Grey Healthcare Advertising. I pretty much got a job on my mother’s good name! Please can we give some credit to privilege? It’s absolutely a real thing. While my story is an extreme example of it, others are more subtle. There are entire sections of the population that not only don’t have a parent in advertising, but don’t even know that this is a field you can go into, or how to go about it. And that needs to be remembered when evaluating junior candidates or deciding where to spend your very limited mentorship time
L[A] Healthcare advertising wasn’t a sexy area at the time, though, was it?
TH It was an obscure field. In fact, DTC [direct-to-consumer] advertising for drugs did not exist then in the United States. It was only allowed, I think, around 1999. It’s still only the US and New Zealand that fully allow it.
The first 10 years of my career in health advertising, I wouldn’t call a creative time. I would call it foundation building. There was a formulaic and templated approach to brand advertising to doctors or to patients. As a result, my focus was on becoming just the best expert in the sector and the category. I still consider myself to be an expert but I have now transitioned into the creative half of my career, which started around 2011.
L[A] What happened to change it?
TH I was given the opportunity to take the leadership role at Area 23, along with my business partner, Renee [Mellas, Group President of Area 23 and IPG Health Canada] and that’s where the real creative part of my career began. Creativity did not get me the job, but the job got me creativity.
L[A] Why were you and Renee chosen?
TH I was always, I would say, the ambitious upstart. I sort of learned by just spending tons of time with clients and with account leaders and with strategists, learning the business and learning the strategy. I had a facility for talking about the business and driving it. And I had an ambition towards creativity. When I look back at it now, I would say that my actual creative abilities were not great, and I had not had enough real practice at it. But maybe for the time and for the sector at the time, it was a standout.
Why were we paired together? I don’t know, but we were a match made by my boss, Dana Maiman, the CEO of IPG Health. It was brilliant matchmaking. Renee is so important in this. I do not attribute Area 23’s success to myself, I attribute it to our partnership.
5:
She’s from the South Bronx. She’s very street. She’s an incredible negotiator and a salesperson, but she’s also an incredible pessimist and a great counter to the way that I’m an incredible optimist. The relationship allows me to be so focused on opportunity and possibility because she is so focused on the impending doom of everything!
L[A] Would she see it that way?
TH Absolutely. She’s the one that is basically jumping on every crisis every day with clients. I’m there with her in the same way that she’s there with me, but her focus on threats allows me to focus on opportunities. It’s very freeing.
L[A] You are at opposite extremes.
TH It’s not just in our opposite temperament, but in our similarity, that it works. We have the same point of view on almost everything. We’re able to divide and conquer and to share one vision in most situations. But then we are good polar opposites in other complementary ways.
L[A] So, what happened when you initially got paired, how did you set course with Area 23?
TH It was a mission-strategy-tactic-cascade. We said: ‘What kind of agency do we want?’ The agency already existed but it was still early in its lifecycle and it had yet to be truly defined. We decided that it would be really differentiating in the pharma agency space to be all about creativity.
It was a little bit of a ‘if you build it, they will come’ approach. We decided that we were going to be about creativity without one really creative campaign to our name. We then put all of our effort in all of the decisions that we made into making that a reality.
L[A] Why was that not seen as a pretty wild risk?
TH I don’t think that it was a risk for this reason: nobody in the sector was then or now denouncing creativity. In fact, people always liked to talk about creativity. But it’s a matter of how you define creativity. Clients were fairly happy with the work that they were getting back then, and they considered it very creative. So, differentiating on creativity was actually a safe positioning to take.
But I knew we wanted to do things that no client wanted to do, and I knew that it would take probably 10-plus years to get them to do the things that we wanted them to do. So, it was a long-term plan of differentiating on creativity. We started with creating a couple of case studies that allowed us to attract the clients that we wanted to work with, then hoping that success would beget other success over time.
A really important tactic in that strategy is something that we call What If, which we introduced a few years into our stint at Area 23. It came out of realizing that our attempts to get clients to buy the work that we wanted them to buy were unsuccessful 90 out of 100 times, even 99 out of 100 times.
L[A] So, there was a lot of hitting your head against the wall.
TH Yes, a lot of effort with very little return. We theorized that when the clients come asking for something, like an ad for example, they already knew what it was supposed to look like. So, we thought that if we brought clients things that they didn’t ask for, proactively, then we would get them into a better buying mode. And if we brought them things that didn’t have any precedent, that may get them out of the habit of comparing the work to some standard.
A key reason why this model is enticing to our clients is that it allows us to respond to real-time market challenges for our brands. In this industry, we work in the FTE where our clients buy out each team member for the year based on a scope of work that is created, you guessed it, the year prior.
At most agencies, you’re just following this potentially out-ofdate roadmap for an entire year. It does not allow you to respond
to new threats, new situations, and new opportunities, or even to propose a new idea. We recognized that that was a huge deficiency for our clients. So, What If was our answer to that market need. What If gives back a percentage of time to all of the employees in our agency as non-billable time. Essentially, it’s an agency-wide creative R&D budget. We expect people to use that time to come up with proactive strategies and creative ideas for our clients and to bring these to them on a regular basis.
L[A] So, the client’s not being charged for that.
TH That’s right. The client didn’t ask for it and the client didn’t pay for it. It gives us the permission to be extremely bold because we’re not going to piss a client off by showing them something that they didn’t ask or pay for, even if it’s over the top. It creates an important perception for the client that the agency has been investing their own time, so they may be a little more likely to engage. Honestly, over time that has worked. We initiated this in 2014.
L[A] And this was everybody, all departments?
TH This is all departments. I think the majority of the participation does come from the creative department and it’s kind of voluntary/ mandatory. It’s volumandatory!
An amazing proof point in this model is that, right from our first What If Throwdown, two teams presented two ideas that helped put us on the map as an agency.
One was Free Killer Tan, which is a campaign to take on the tanning booth industry because of the risks of melanoma. We set up a fake tanning salon in Times Square; when people went into the back, they found it was their own funeral, and the tanning bed was a coffin. Their picture was on the memorial, there was an organist, pews, everything. This was our first shot out of the gate, and that was proof to us that, OK, we’re doing something right.
L[A] Who would buy that?
TH We pitched it to a very conservative pharmaceutical client of ours, who had a drug for melanoma. The pitch was a sincere one. We noted they made a drug for melanoma, and that they were going to make millions of dollars off of this drug for people who are already sick. Well, we said, what about the people who aren’t sick yet? They had the opportunity to prevent melanoma. They didn’t buy it. So then we called Jack and Maggie Biggane, who had lost their 20-year-old daughter to melanoma, and they’d started Mollie’s Fund.
To this day, 10 years later, they are a flagship NGO pro-bono client and we do creative for them every year. The work brought them into the spotlight and started a long legacy of them doing crazy creative things every year. What it said to the industry was that, ‘Hey, pharma agencies can do this fun stuff.’ It gave the other agencies permission to ask, ‘Why can’t we do it too?’
L[A] You didn’t really win any awards with it, though?
TH Entering awards is an art form in and of itself. If I knew then what I know today, it would have won a ton of stuff. But it definitely put us on the map. To our clients, we used that case study in new business pitches to kind of say, ‘This is the work that we like to do. If you like this kind of work, where bold creativity gets you a disproportionate share of voice, then work with us. If you don’t like this work, don’t work with us.’ We didn’t say that literally, but we said it without saying it.
That was the beginning of the creative portion of our career, where we actually had something and we could build on that success year after year. Since then, it’s really just been about beating our own record and getting better every year.
L[A] Was there a key client or key piece of work that switched the What If creativity from being for an NGO to being with a major commercial project?
TIM’S PICK OF INSPIRATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES:
1: Womb Stories – SCA / Libresse, Bodyform, L[A] 5-2020
2: Animal Alerts
3: Spread Beats, Spotify, 2024
4: Aizome Wastecare, L[A] 1-2024, interview with Alex Schill, Serviceplan
5: Solo: There’s Magic in All of Us – Montefiore-Einstein Hospital , L[A] 4-2023
TH That’s a good probe that touches on the evolution of our strategy. The thing that hasn’t changed has been our commitment to creativity and our commitment to and investment in What If. What has changed is the direction of the output for creativity. We had to partner with NGOs early on because none of our clients were willing to buy that kind of work. As we softened the industry up to it, they became more receptive. So, we were able to partner with a couple of flagship clients to bring that work into the pharmaceutical industry.
The first one that we had a lot of success with was Lilly, back around 2017 … And I see them recommitting to creativity these days. So, we’re excited to sort of rekindle that part of our relationship.
Another was a startup pharmaceutical company with no commercialized product who we partnered with on a number of creative campaigns. We helped build their brand and they helped build our brand. A Thousand Words About NTM [Nontuberculous mycobacteria] was probably the first thing that we did with them that was different, that was not just an ad campaign. What we gave them was more of an activation and something that challenged their creative sensibilities. Instead of telling everybody that a missed diagnosed of this respiratory disease is a bad thing, we would show it to them by listening to patients and collecting a thousand words from each one. A picture tells a thousand words, so we gave those thousand words to different artists around the world and had those artists create pieces that brought that to life.
It’s a formula now in pharma, but at the time, this was something that had never been done. And I think it actually created a kind of category of work that all agencies do now. It stood out for us at the time, and it was the start of a long creative relationship.
More recently, I would pick out our work with another rare disease company that went through an acquisition. They were 100% committed to creativity and enabled us to do a lot of amazing creative things.
In the evolution of What If, we have evolved to a strict adherence to looking for paid client work. We don’t need to practice anymore with NGOs. The practice years are over. Our goal as an agency is to transform the pharmaceutical industry, not to transform the pharma advertising sector. We really are trying to change the way that pharma clients operate.
L[A] Why do you think it needs changing?
TH I think it needs changing for personal reasons and for strategic reasons. For personal reasons, I don’t want to be a part of an industry that just thinks you should do things the way that they’ve always been done. I’d like to be able to have pride in the industry. I’m very excited about science and medicine and I would like the industry to be supported by great creativity as well. Those are my personal reasons. My professional and strategic reasons are that creativity makes sense, period. Creativity is an economic multiplier. Creativity gets people to pay attention to what you want to say and that just makes plain business sense. It’s been demonstrated time and time again. The reason that I think the pharma industry has not adopted a basic principle of marketing is because the products are so differentiated and they’re amazing in and of themselves.
L[A] ‘We’ve got the best, or only, drug for this’ so that’s all they really need to say?
TH Yes, they may have a new drug that is going to save lives in a way that no one has ever been able to do in the past. There’s almost a preconceived notion that being creative on top of that is a disservice to the molecule itself. The message has really been the king in pharma. The product has really been the king in pharma because the products are so good. That’s why I don’t think any pharmaceutical brand can really be called a brand. If we’re really thinking about what brands are, brands are sort of the constellation of feelings, emotions, and associations that you have with a product. But if all of those things are purely transactional, then what you have are only product messages. There’s not a lot of brand affinity whatsoever because we’re selling products.
L[A] But some people would say at this point, that’s a good thing. You don’t have to add all the marketing sophistication … Why spend loads of time and money on that if you don’t need to?
TH In this day and age, just telling somebody that you have the ability to save their life is not enough to get the attention of some -
body whose life needs saving. You need creativity to get people’s attention and to keep their attention and for them to remember what you told them. I firmly believe that the DTC advertising that we all hate so much, the stuff that’s on TV, has saved millions of lives because it has created informed customers who know a lot about their conditions. In some cases, they know more about a product than their physicians know. Patients’ branded requests for a product, which can be annoying to physicians, have actually resulted in a betterment of the health of the nation. I’m not just towing the industry line. I believe these things, and I also believe in the pharmaceutical industry.
L[A] So you are saying the pharma brands generally don’t stand for something? And if they want a better reputation, to be trusted more, then they need to work on really attaching brand values and making an emotional connection – start to really stand for something as brands, not just the seller of very useful products?
TH Yes, I think it’s possible. I do think it’s one of the more ethical industries. For all that there is the occasional and inevitable bad story, this industry is 99% very positive. It has great potential in branding.
L[A] This means moving away from everything being so sales-focused?
TH The opportunity in the pharma industry is a potential shift from sales and product to brand and to affinity.
But a key issue is that the life cycle of a pharmaceutical product in the US is about nine years of marketing. So, you have to start making your return on a billion-dollar investment on day one and maximize that until year nine. There is no 10-year brand building, there is no 100-year Coca-Cola legacy to build on top of. It’s a lot of differentiating your product in the here and now against the competitors.
That said, over the next few years, when you look at the landscape of the big pharmaceutical sectors, there are clear opportunities. For example, the weight loss sector, which is very much in the news. All the GLP-1/GIP agonists, Ozempic, and Zepbound, and everything. In five years, we will have a lot of not very differentiated
products that are slicing a $150 billion pie. There is a huge opportunity to do brand building now. I can see a time when customers will stay on a product or choose a product because of how it makes them feel and because of how much they like it and not because it has a one-point difference on a scale.
That’s an approach that we are taking with some of our clients right now. We call it marketing beyond the molecule. The way I’ve explained it to clients is that it is less about brand building and more about doing the right thing. If we’re going to enter into this very intimate relationship with somebody about them putting the drug into their body, let’s do something beyond just selling them that molecule. Let’s make their life a little better. Let’s do something to improve their community.
An example of that is what we did with Eyedar for Horizon Therapeutics. We built an app for Horizon to help the blind see using echolocation. And for Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, which was launching a drug into the ALS space – the motor neurone disease space – we launched Mind’s Eye, a project to create an AI art generator for people who can’t move a muscle in their body except for their eyes. It was really an accessibility tool. Very early on in AI, I would add. Before the larger population were getting into Midjourney and so on, we had already created a user experience for people to express themselves through art, moving only their eyes.
I can see a future where the client is running a product ad and a brand ad simultaneously. The pharmaceutical ad isn’t going away. We still have to communicate information. But I can see a greater need for brand building.
Want to find out what came next?
A longer version of this conversation is online at luerzersarchive.com
Tim Hawkey is CCO at Area 23 and IPG Health Canada.
Creating educational content that is comprehensive, accurate, and engaging is definitely challenging, particularly for branded and healthcare professional materials, who require scientific language and robust content.
In a highly regulated industry such as pharma, you are not talking to consumers; you are addressing patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Every piece of content must be created through the lens of care, rather than purely for entertainment or sales purposes. Additionally, discussing health conditions that are often serious and life-threatening is hardly entertaining. However, these challenges also give us great opportunities. We need to double down on creativity to reconcile these needs, making the task, in my opinion, even more rewarding.
Emotional storytelling forges a deep, empathetic connection, allowing for more memorable and impactful communication. But pushing for too much emotion might make the message seem insincere, so it’s important for the creative team to be honest about how much sentiment they can actually try to convey. Emotional narratives must also be crafted carefully to be inclusive and respectful of diverse audiences, experiences and perceptions regarding health issues.
AI has the ability to create a hyper-targeted approach and can also assist in the creative process. It’s remarkable how it can customize messages to meet the specific needs and preferences of various audience segments to amplify reach.
And it doesn’t stop there — AI-driven tools can predict trends and refine targeting strategies, helping to engage people on a more personal level. Overall, it significantly improves the outreach and effectiveness of health-related communication efforts.
From a creative perspective, the direction of sports and health advertising is really fascinating right now. First off, there is a strong shift towards inclusivity and diversity when it comes to what our bodies can achieve. We’re seeing athletes and individuals of all ages, body types, and abilities showcased. It’s fantastic because this approach broadens the audience and inspires a wider demographic by reflecting a more inclusive community.
There’s the emphasis on mental health alongside physical health. We’re seeing more and more campaigns highlighting the importance of mindfulness, emotional well- being, and the psychological benefits of sports and physical activity. This holistic view of health really resonates with audiences, especially now, when mental health awareness is at its peak.
1
2
2/2022,
3 L[A] 3/2022, Ogilvy Health, New York
4 L[A] 5/2020, Harrison & Star, New York
5 L[A] 1/2021, Harrison & Star, New York
6 L[A] 1/2018, Rubin Postaer And Associates (RPA), Santa Monica, California
annabelle breakey
shaun fenn
randal ford
sara forrest
will graham
margaret lampert
rj muna
matthew turley
Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer
AbelsonTaylor Group, Chicago
1
2
3
Emotional storytelling is about recognizing the unmet needs of an audience and giving them a vision or glimpse of how a product or service can help meet those needs. By inviting the audience in and helping them imagine their life improved, we have an opportunity to inspire the audience to achieve their goals. The challenge is to avoid overpromising that improvement, minimizing the risks of a product, or downplaying the very real and unique health issues that some people face.
Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director
1 L[A] 5/2019, Syneos Health, in-house, London
2 L[A] 1/2017, Dentsu West Japan, Osaka
3 L[A] 1/2022, Serviceplan Middle East, Dubai
4 L[A] 2/2022, Neon, New York
5 L[A] 1/2022, adam&eveDDB, London
6 L[A] 1/2017, TBWA, Paris
The fight for attention is the same as in every industry but we can truly bring some sort of relief with health and wellness work, even if it’s just by making people laugh and relax a bit. We can create things that truly matter to others.
Storytelling is more than just applying knowledge; it's how you leverage imagination. It helps to open the door, so you can inform, educate, and convince. There’s no previous data on how someone will react to your creative idea, whether it’s a poem or an ad. So, my advice would be: play with it.
The responsibility lies with all of us. I think the future will be what people want it to be, not what companies build, or gurus predict.
There’s an opportunity to bring more humor and levity into the world and handle even more serious issues with a lighter heart. There will be AI tools but ideas are still the most important assets we can have – if we can keep them alive. The hardest, most sophisticated part is making your peers, clients, audience, share the same vision.
engage differently with healthcare professionals and patients.
A new class of agencies will take advantage of AI in creation. Legacy and traditional agencies will rapidly deploy AI tools to harness the collective intelligence resident in the agency’s thought leadership and work history.
AI will disrupt how healthcare agencies create and brands will want agencies to ‘simplify the process’. They will be expecting faster turnaround time and in some cases may sacrifice the bespoke and $$$ for ‘kind of new’ and $.
If a health message aims to prompt action, such as encouraging individuals to see a doctor or consult a healthcare professional, it is vital that these professionals are prepared for an influx of questions or concerned patients. This is akin to ensuring the head knows what the mouth is going to say – something that’s not always the case with a few of us. By ensuring healthcare professionals are ready, we maintain a smooth and effective communication flow.
Adding emotional storytelling to health-related brands is essential. Emotion plays a significant role in areas such as pain management, weight loss, cancer treatments, etc. Even a fungal toenail treatment needs to evoke emotion. While this approach is similar to mainstream marketing, the health sector has additional constraints on what can be communicated and a balance of negative vs positive needs to be considered.
Health-related campaigns do not always have to be overly serious either. During my time at Ogilvy, I led a campaign for the laxative brand Coloxyl where we introduced a character named Stefan the Stool Expert. This character helped to inform and empathize with people, demonstrating that even sensitive health topics can be approached with creativity and relatability.
1
2
3
4
AI and AI-driven technologies are enhancing efficiencies in health campaigns. Tasks ranging from reviewing clinical papers to writing iterations for Google ads or banner ads are increasingly becoming automated. However, effective targeting still requires a deep understanding of your audience. Technology should not be a crutch; it is essential to get off your bum and engage directly with people.
Brands in the health sector can transcend traditional advertising by making a tangible difference to people's lives. For instance, the development of innovative technologies to assist people with disabilities and health issues or creating experiences that foster empathy and understanding of various conditions, is becoming increasingly common.
However, not all brands take this approach. I would like to see high-use treatments and everyday health brands move beyond their standard strategies. By focusing on making a real difference and growing their purpose, these brands can unlock their full creative potential and have a more profound impact.
Agencies want to engage first, then slip in the education part undetected. Brands often want to educate first and then erroneously forget the engagement part. As a consequence of government restrictions, there is also an understandable limit to the hyperbole that can be used – often an important part of engagement. We have a duty to communicate with responsibility but it often comes down to, ‘How can we dramatize a brand's benefit without being too dramatic’?
Many health brands come with plenty of emotion baked in already and it can be argued there isn’t much more important to us in life than our health. Marketers have to work hard to inject emotion into so many brands that are cold by nature, like the services of a bank or office equipment. When health brands fail to capture true emotional storytelling, it’s a bigger fumble.
I can only imagine that AI will multiply our ability to find the people who need to hear our message most (like it’s doing with most everything). An interesting application I’ve seen is creating AI research personas, who accurately reflect our audience’s responses. This allows us to quickly test or optimize the message much more efficiently. In this example, AI didn’t think of the idea but it helps us determine if it’s the right idea.
Because health is so native to the human experience, the sector can reach across many other categories. Health can be health and also retail at the same time. Health can also be entertainment or gaming or music. The benefit is that we keep things fresh creatively … and for me, that means constantly having new stimulation, new ways to think and look at things.
PHOTOGRAPHER: BRETT HEMMINGS
AGENCY: CHISEL PRODUCTIONS
RETOUCHING & CGI: KEN LIU
CLIENT: ASICS AUSTRALIA
Brands have a unique opportunity to unlock the hearts of sports fans, and being a fan is all about irrational emotion. Sports have the power to inspire, bring people together, and as Mandela said, ‘speak to youth in a language they understand.’ As fans, we subject ourselves willingly to pain, suspense, and heartbreak, spending an illogical amount of time, effort, and money towards the teams and athletes we admire.
There are many opportunities to reflect the unique ways different cultures enjoy sports across the world. There are stories to be told that reflect how the Japanese’s love for football grew through manga comics, or how even the most remote places in the Philippines have a basketball court. With all the technology at our fingertips, we have richer data that gives us insights we’ve never had previously, enabling us to tell powerful stories.
The globalization of sport has also made it more democratic. Where football continues to grow in popularity, other sports have also gained major traction. For brands, that allows us to move away from cliches and tell fresher, more relatable stories.
There are challenges with trying to work with one universal idea whilst reflecting all cultural nuances. What works in one place may not necessarily work for another in terms of insight, tech or ad regulations. It helps to have a diverse creative team and work closely with different markets, so ideas are feasible and culturally insightful.
The new technologies of today have completely changed both the way we get data, and how we use it to interact with fans. Through AI and new social listening tools, we can now know exactly where our fans spend the most amount of time and money, who they admire, and where and how they interact with our brands. This lets us tell richer stories, create new tools, update in real time, stage meaningful experiences driven by data and reach people at scale through
The thing to remember is that everyone has access to these tools, and without creativity, the results often feel dry, bland and uninteresting. While tech may continue to develop, let’s not forget craft, nuance, and storytelling – all the magic that the human touch can bring.
There are currently a lot of opportunities for creativity within sports marketing because of challenges such as the lack of equity for professional or grassroots women athletes, despite the rise in popularity for women’s sports,
Beyond the professional pay gap, many countries still lack safe spaces, have undeveloped training programs, or cultural stigmas that exclude girls from the world of sport. By tackling these issues, brands have the chance to bridge any gaps and bring meaningful experiences to a targeted audience.
The fan experience is also different for younger generations. As creatives, we cannot resort to the tools and tricks of the past, as a study by Fanalytics suggests, only 23% of Gen Z are passionate sports fans. We have to find new ways of bringing meaning to their lives, meeting them where they are rather than using the same old approaches that don’t appeal to them.
It’s always a delicate balance for a healthcare brand to be a trusted source of information for the mass public, as well as a reassuring voice for every patient. There are specific formats that work better for direct messaging, and others that support lengthier personal testimonials. Tonally, there can also be a slight range with the way we communicate, so that we’re able to fulfill the clarity certain moments require, while also providing compassion at more relevant touchpoints.
Stories help us make sense of the world, and the world of health is full of things that don’t make sense. The best healthcare brands acknowledge this and act as a source of clarity and hope. By reassuring patients with insightful stories, brands have the power of making them feel they have the information and support to overcome their situation.
The challenge with healthcare is that most patient data is private unless consent is given. This presents an opportunity for anyone mining for insights to connect through a real conversation. We’re not only able to comprehend the complexities of a disease better, we can also gain a better understanding of how patients feel and the kind of emotional support they could use.
The use of AI within healthcare is very sensitive, and healthcare leaders need to ensure they respect patient rights by keeping their data private. It has the power to decode and make sense of everything available – giving us up-to-date information on where sickness is spreading, where air quality is better, and which groups of people require more attention.
But, with AI still in development, there need to be tighter controls around the biases and broad assumptions that are still present with machines. After all, the last thing patients want and need is a lack of humanity.
With tech developing at such a rapid speed, and the quality of data available to us improving, the possibilities for sports and health advertising seem to unfold as we are unlocking each brief. Ideas previously considered crazy are all of a sudden possible. We have never had this many tools available to us, and I think we owe it to ourselves as creatives to try them out.
1 L[A] 4/2018, Y&R, New York
2 L[A] 3/2021, Ogilvy Brasil, São Paulo
3 L[A] 6/2015, Philipp und Keuntje, Hamburg
4 L[A] 1/2023, Mullenlowe Delta, Quito
5 L[A] 4/2018, Area 23, New York
5
JANICE MOSES
When what’s relevant in sports and what’s relevant in culture come together, powerful storytelling emerges. The best in sports advertising drives momentum in both. Sports insights tend to be well-trodden but it’s how these insights are applied to what’s relevant today that drives loyalty.
We see some of the best sports campaigns during global events like the World Cup or Olympics. These huge global moments give birth to some incredible human experience stories through the lens of sports. That said, brands also need to speak directly to diverse cultures through regional advertising, like how women’s professional sports has made huge strides in some parts of the world, compared to others.
Emotional advertising will always be the key driver for awareness in my opinion, but tech innovations like AI or the metaverse open opportunities for brands to drive a deeper connection with consumers through immersive experiences, adaptability, and responsiveness. That said, when brands express their values through technology, the result can be just as emotional and impactful as traditional advertising.
As advertisers, we look to big brands to drive us forward. Whenever a new big sports campaign comes out, we always seem to hear the same thing: ‘Looks like a Nike ad’. Maybe sports brands need to stop living in Nike’s shadow and find their own voice.
So is sports marketing rising or falling? I would never say it’s falling, but there are lulls. I’d love to see more sports brands take a page from an athlete’s playbook and take bigger risks. Why does it always have to be Red Bull? Do you have to be in extreme sports to take a big leap? With the rise of many new athletic brands, I’m hopeful this will happen sometime soon.
Consumers and professionals want to know how the sector is changing and doing things differently with the rise of complex new technology and medical breakthroughs. It is incredibly exciting for society, but incredibly challenging for advertisers. However, no matter who your audience is, emotion reigns supreme.
As treatments become more complex, there will always be the temptation to explain how exciting the technology is. But the last thing a consumer wants is a medical lesson. The key is to focus on a human story first, and the technology, service or product is in service of that. We will learn from brands outside of the health sector to inspire our storytelling.
3
4
5
Like sports brands, healthcare brands need to live their values through technologies like AI and not the other way around. Healthcare is becoming incredibly tailored to the patient, as machine learning and AI has the power to learn detailed information about your genomic makeup and your geographic data. Inside all this AI data lies a powerful story that can take the shape of a big emotional brand film or a hyper-targeted and bespoke one-to-one conversation.
Unlike sports advertising – where brands can tap into the deep emotional connections fans have with their favorite teams –health advertising can be perceived as disruptions and needs to work harder to create brand loyalty. That’s where the power of great storytelling comes in, allowing us to build emotional connections with audiences and create work that doesn’t feel like an interruption.
Some of the most impactful campaigns have come from the intersection of sports and health, leveraging the emotional pull of sports to enhance health stories and inclusivity. Look at Michelob Ultra’s Dreamcaster, which harnessed the power of AI to enable a blind person to commentate an NBA game live on TV for the first time ever. This merging of sports and health advertising illustrates how powerful storytelling – supported by technology – can create content that’s consumed like entertainment, not just advertising.
1 L[A] 1/2024, Klick Health, Philadelphia
2 L[A] 3/2017, The Community, Miami
3 L[A] 2/2018, Extra Credit Projects, Grand Rapids, Michigan
4 L[A] 3/2018, Cactus, Denver
And how was it for you? Having read through the preceding pages, is a business plan developing nicely based on a daydream about how sports and health marketing can co-exist brilliantly, usefully, and lucratively? Can we see our way to a future in which we may perhaps one day expect to see, say, a Nike X Ozempic cross-brand collaboration?
Well, perhaps not that one. A bridge too far. At least for the foreseeable. But our expert commentators have given plenty of stimuli for possible future scenarios that radically develop both sports and health marketing and that, we would argue, could see them overlapping a lot more. Given the nature of modern networks, and the spirit of constant reinvention with start-ups, it’s only a matter of time, surely, before we bring these philosophically connected worlds much closer together in social and business strategies. Perhaps creative output can be the catalyst that helps drive that. The envisaging of things that do not seem possible at first, then become everyday through a series of steps that take in the incredible, the award-winning, and the mildly provocative, until we are dealing with the everyday reality.
With great advertising, it is the emotional truth that moves us and also moves us together. Sports and health, two sides of the same quest for physical and mental well-being, and an eternal quest towards an aspiration for a supremacy of personal and communal well-being. In some ways it begins and ends with what you can express in a great campaign that brings it to life and makes the heart beat faster.
If we can’t see it, perhaps some more creative AI will. Let’s end with a replay of a few words from Alec Vianu’s commentary a few pages back. It turns the light towards the creature in the corner, the elephant with a big brain that may make more of these connections for us:
“A new class of agencies will take advantage of AI in creation. Legacy and traditional agencies will rapidly deploy AI tools to harness the collective intelligence resident in the agency’s thought leadership and work history.”
Yes, we won’t actually have to think about all these possibilities. We can nudge the machine to do it for us, while we work out.
LÜRZER’S ARCHIVE
SPORTS + HEALTH
Client Amgen Agency
GSW, New York
Creative Director
Mike McKeever, Valerie Wagner, Nicholas Capanear
Art Director
Jon Parkinson, Christa Moeller, Sarah Brase
Copywriter Ronald Larson, Taylor Kissinger, Stephanie Alexander
Photographer Ale Burset
Digital Artist Diego Speroni
Published by
Lürzer International Limited 151 Wardour Street
London W1F 8WE United Kingdom
Printed by Print Alliance
HAV Produktions GmbH Druckhausstr 1
2540 Bad Vöslau Austria printalliance.at
Contents © 2024 Lürzer International Ltd. All rights reserved
The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher, Lürzer International Ltd. Lürzer’s Archive is a trademark of Lürzer International Ltd, London.
We welcome published work, as individual or campaigns, in print, OOH, film, digital, experiential and all other marketing categories.
Please submit at luerzersarchive.com
The submitter must have the authority to grant Lürzer’s Archive the rights and permission to reproduce, edit, comment editorially on the submission and to use the submission in print, online and in any marketing material for Lürzer’s Archive. All work is featured free of charge. We accept no responsibility to return unsolicited material and reserve the right to accept or reject any material for any reason.
The Other Pool Day On NFTs
Published by Taschen
Our revisit of beverage ads from Lürzer’s Archive 1999, 25 years ago.
Top: Client Pepsi Agency
Daiko Advertising
Inc., Tokyo
Art Director Hideyuki Tanno
Copywriter Atsushi Yasuji, Jigen Yasutani
Photographer Kengo Sato
Bottom: Client Finlandia Vodka
Agency
DBM Creative, Sydney
Art Director Jason Brooks, Paul Roberts
Copywriter Paul Roberts
Digital Artist Jason Brooks
Top:
Client
Absolut Vodka
Agency
TBWA, Paris
Art Director
Bénédicte Potel
Photographer
Paul Wakefield
Bottom:
Client Perrier
Agency
Ogilvy, Paris
Art Director
Thierry Chiumino, Shaun Severy
Copywriter Frank Rey
Photographer Vincent Dixon
Documentary film
Directed by Gary Hustwit
85 mins, limited release
Brian Eno has had a long fascination with generative processes in art. He’s a pioneer of working with creative technology and methodology since he left art school to be the keyboard guy in Roxy Music, twiddling many knobs and sliders to produce a very distinct contribution to the band’s first two albums. As a solo artist, that difference only grew, including becoming a pioneer of ambient music (an association he hated), and a super-producer and often co-composer with the likes of David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2, Coldplay and many others. Along the way, he may have picked up his most lucrative project, on a dollar per second basis, when commissioned to create the Microsoft 95 startup sound.
And now Gary Hustwit, who made the much-lauded film Helvetica (yes, the typeface), has collaborated with Eno to produce a remarkable film that you may struggle to get to see. You’ll never be able to view the exact version your reviewer saw and we won’t see the same one next time we see it … every time, a new iteration of the composition is generated, drawing on a vast archive of content and assembling it within certain defined rules.
That sounds like a recipe for chaos but it is actually a thoroughly charming, intelligent and understated insight into what makes Eno and his ideas tick. It’s a lot of fun to watch. There are a few stylistic tricks, with obvious cut points where the mix is shuffled, but for all of this, you don’t really think of the generative and unique nature of the film while watching it. As a narrative, it is quite immersive. But it is also in some way more true-to-life, true to the material, in that it quite clearly only gives you one version of an infinite potential, and a selection of what you might see.
In a way, the generative documentary is closer to reality than the rigid edit.
The generative film overtly represents its limitations while also celebrating the infinite potential of what it is working with.
If you like and admire Eno’s output, then you should love this film. If you don’t like his work, it’s perhaps not for you but the process should still intrigue. So try it if you get a chance. (It is unlikely to be something you can get online, though, and perhaps all the better for that.)
Edited by Robert Alice Published by Tish Tosh
336 pages, $29.95
The sub-title of this book – ‘a true story of a ridiculous attempt to make advertising more truthful’ – gives a flavor of the urgent, declamatory text to be found within, where Cohen, a sometime British creative director and now long-time US resident, “tells his truth,” as people like to say now, a truth which in this case is the story about the agency he co-founded and lead in New York in the 1990s, Mad Dogs & Englishmen.
It’s an engaging example of advertising-copywriter-writing that is getting rarer by the day. It is pared back, active and droll … and in bulk can come over like somebody at a party who is at first a brilliant performer but turns out to be trying a little too hard to entertain. Long copy print advertising can be brilliant for a page but for ‘more than 335 pages’, as Cohen describes his book, it becomes exhausting.
That minor carp aside, there’s much to be enjoyed. For a start, the ads. They’re almost all really cheap and edgy, a client list where the Village Voice might count as one of the larger accounts. The tales of how they came about, or just the accumulation of funky factoids on his life and times in advertising back then, are well worth a flip through. Take random chapters and savor … from the agency’s founding in a walled-off part of Cohen’s loft apartment, to how the death in 2003 of the client Dr Atkins (of Atkins’ diet fame) led to a fatal loss of business for the agency, closing in 2005.
Along the way there are some real zingers and some great advice for anybody planning to do something different with their own new agency. It turns out Cohen’s big motivation (and in a way the fuel for his book title) came from reading the results of a Gallup survey in 1990 that placed advertising as a career option on a par with selling insurance or cars, way down the list of credible occupations and holding just “a 7% integrity rating”. At Lürzer’s Archive we would like to commend all to follow what Cohen committed to then: “From now on I will tell only the absolute truth about anything I am advertising. I will not be part of this degradation of public trust!”
by Penguin 300 pages, $15.99
As the author is chair of BBDO Singapore, a regular keynote speaker with a TEDx credit, and has a list of blue chip clients that have listened to his advice, we might expect Collide to be full of tips for those in the business of marketing creativity. While it can serve dutifully in that arena, that’s not the main purpose or target audience: this is a book that seeks to spread creative ideation into a way of problem-solving for the wider community.
In that ambition, and in making creativity more approachable and a life skill for all, Tay’s book sets out to do something akin to offering a life-skill primer. As seems the custom with books produced by advertising experts, they’re not backwards in getting good advertising going for the book itself. This one comes replete with many inspiring prefatory quotes. We rather liked the line by Guan’s network colleague Ali Rez, CCO at Impact BBDO, who claims Collide, “goes beyond thinking outside the box – it’s about inventing an entirely new box.”
In that the title name is itself an acronym for a creative process that Tay outlines, one which harnesses conflict as a key element of creativity, it would be fair to say that hype is true: this is a fresh box of tricks for how we might spark up ideas and take them to practical outcomes.
The book has had a longer gestation than originally planned, in part to take on board the implications of AI. This led to the author doing fresh interviews, including one with ChatGPT. From that research he concludes that the future is to better understand and use AI tools in creativity, not to fight the incredible strengths that the technology already provides for many areas of creative work – and will rapidly develop further.
There is still hope for humans in this, Tay tells us, seeing that creative difference often lies with imperfection. “The imperfection is the key, the mess is the key, the dirt is the key. Because without all those things, it is very imperfect. There’s no soul.” It may take AI a while to master being as complexly imperfect as us. And what it may never master are our individual imperfections, the things that make each of us unique. But we wouldn’t bet on that. In the meantime, we can give AI creativity some competition, or even work better with it, if we apply the thinking in this book.
Nantes, France
In a world of screens, what place for the old-fashioned charms of mechanical entertainment? Actually, quite a big place, if you look at how the provincial city of Nantes has used a large park-cum-gallery of wacky contraptions to put itself on the global tourist trail and also deliver some local cultural and educational value to boot.
In doing so, it provides a provocation for us to realize that screens need content and people’s minds and bodies like to be exercised. Even if most of the encounters with this project may be through social media likes, the reality of ingenious mechanical elephants and giant metal herons, along with all the rest of the weird menagerie and other contraptions, is to say that creativity can do special wonders when it reshapes the world, rather than just the image of the world.
In this very original twist on something that has echoes of 19thcentury fairgrounds, we might see a spur to do a lot more with the “ambient and experiential” media. It’s an inspiration of sorts for brands – and many other locations seeking to reboot themselves – to think bigger. Entertainment parks and rides are not just for Disney or Lego.
Edited by Robert Alice
Published by Taschen
Edition of 600 604 pages, €1,500/$1,750
Now where are we with NFTs?
A while back we were all asking, “What are NFTs?” And then we were saying, “That much?”, when Beeple sold one for, ooh, squillions. Well, $69 million (we had to look that up).
And then, only half-jokingly, we were posing the question, “Are NFTs still a thing?” following one of the many sickening lurches of the crypto market. Not that, by some definition, NFTs are really a thing at all, of course, just the right to the info behind some possible thing.
Or at least that’s the L[A] take today on the subject, which may be different tomorrow. If only because we have better digested something from this truly impressive object, On NFTs, which, among other things, shows there are a multiplicity of possible interpretations of NFTs. Along with a magisterial assembly of historical NFT masterworks and commentaries from and around the NFT space, Alice’s text is enriched and made more entertaining by seeking out various experts to share their complex and contradictory responses to the very first question above, ie “What are NFTs?”
So there’s still no answer to that. Make up your own mind. What we do know is that the somewhat mysterious artist Robert Alice (the self-confessed alias of a UK-based artist) has taken Taschen’s love of creating collectible art books to a new level. There are multiple versions of how you can buy this book, along with various editions of artworks. The “little sumo” version comes in a lovely stainless steel case. And at a handsome price, too. We suspect editions with more accessible prices are to come. Everything about On NFTs is such a long way from the illusory, Emperor’s New Clothesnature of so much that seems to lurk in the NFT and crypto world.
Inside, beyond the object-making, there are 101 highly diverse artists featured and essays by 10 academics who may or may not have something to say on the topic that you can understand.
Let’s end with a topical fact derived from looking at the book: we are now celebrating the 10th anniversary of the NFT, which arguably all began with a work called Quantum by Kevin McCoy, in 2014. McCoy utilized blockchain technology in an original way to demonstrate a way of authenticating digital works. At least he didn’t try to then have a piece of every authentication that utilized that kind of technology. Perhaps that’s the difference between art and business.
