DAVID PRIDEAUX
Joint executive creative director, Iris
London creativity is in intensive care. That famous wit has lost its sparkle, the eyes that shone so bright are dimmed. All the talk is that his days are numbered. So, as family and friends gather round the bedside, let’s take the old fellow’s pulse.
UBER has created an elegant film showing a couple dancing seamlessly through a night out in a stylised urban cityscape. The clever bit is that, instead of being driven from one destination to another, the protagonists simply hop in one side of a car, scramble across the back seat and hop out somewhere completely different. It’s all shot in one take, beautifully styled and makes Uber feel safe and easy to use. The pulse is strong – let’s check the other vital signs.
In AUNT BESSIE’S new ad, regular spokeswomen Margaret and Mabel are coming to terms with a new range of chips made from parsnips and sweet potatoes as opposed to the traditional spud. Good performances and a nice moment when the ad breaks the fourth wall. It’s not a classic but it is a good campaign on a tough brief. Blood pressure’s fine and the patient’s still breathing.
ALDI has some great offers – even better now it has the Brownlee brothers and the theme tune from Superstars. Trouble is, the Brownlees’ best performances are in triathlons, not stage and screen, and they didn’t get a superstar to write the script. Something’s wrong. Nurse, there’s been a downturn. Get the crash cart and call the rapid response team.
KAYAK is a travel-booking site calling on Europeans to film and share “love letters” to a country of their choice. Anything Europe should be perfect for social media. But it’ll take more than a few national stereotypes saying “I love you” to get people involved. It was only a year ago that 52% of this country told our European pen pals to “va te faire
enculer”. Our worst fears are confirmed – we’re losing him. The rapid response team has arrived. Everyone out of the room and charge the defibrillator. Clear!
Finally, we come to E.ON. A film featuring Gorillaz and a thousand dancing toys, all powered by solar energy. It’s a product demo and a celebrity endorsement rolled into one. And it’s really, really good. So many brilliant moments, as soon as it’s finished you have to watch it again. Co-created entertainment that’s part-ad, part-promo, part-live event – and in a notoriously difficult category. It will turn heads, stop thumbs and get shared and talked about everywhere.
What’s that, nurse? The patient is sitting up in bed and cracking jokes? He wants to know what’s for dinner? D’you know what, I think he’s going to make it.