In the new Nescafe campaign we see coffee beans being tortured
until they agree to give up all their flavour. "We get more from the
bean for a great full flavour," the endline gushes. No-one will believe
it, and why should they? If the commercials were more entertaining,
maybe some kind souls would nod along, but the coffee beans' squeals are
indecipherable and the methods of torture - ie. being tickled - are
horrible to witness.
Since the campaign is informing us unequivocally how brilliant the
product tastes, I suspect there may be some happiness at the client end,
but when the effectiveness scores come in I can foresee much shaking of
heads.
Nothing but a B'Stard-like grin should be playing on the lips of the
Virgin Trains client. Rik Mayall is brilliantly funny as the gruesome
jerk who insists on not choosing the train. Dodgy editing on the train
versus plane commercial apart, the campaign is pretty much bang on.
Amazing how a few entertaining, intelligent and, above all, likeable
commercials can make you favourably inclined toward a service that
seldom runs smoothly. "Business brains take Virgin Trains." I'll go with
that.
When the Highbury Northbank chant "We got Dennis Bergkamp", they are, of
course, expressing how chuffed they are to have a world famous asset.
Whether or not the asset is being used properly is irrelevant. The
Rimmel clients will similarly be chanting "We got Kate Moss". Sadly, in
the commercials La Moss saunters, gorgeous but half-asleep, through two
flashily directed non-ideas. In one, a graffiti artist uses Rimmel
lipstick to create a design on her cheek.
In another, she somnambulates through London, and everywhere she turns
there's an ad for Rimmel. The voiceover says: "Rimmel. It's everywhere
you look." Something you wouldn't dream of saying if it was true.
The sweet-scented smell of success is surely wafting around the
Newcastle Brown offices. Their new campaign has a hole-in-one simplicity
that poster sites are mysteriously starved of, and the Sophie Dahl
pastiche, in particular, is outstanding. If your last name was Gripe,
you could say that the idea dramatises "new" at the expense of "cold",
but that Gripe fella has brought many a great idea to its knees, so I'll
stop right there. These posters are great, and they'll work
dambusters.
I could get angry about the Terre des Hommes campaign but, hey, it's
only advertising. Except it's more important than that, isn't it? Kids
being trafficked by evil bastards is a hugely emotive and important
subject, trivialised in this campaign by the tricksy, whoops I thought
you were talking about a cuddly animal conceit. Of course, another
grainy black and white shot of a suffering child may not shake the
world, but an idea that draws attention to the issue, rather than the
cleverness of the creatives, would have made better use of the client's
no doubt limited budget.
The lovely people at Benecol are obsessed with telling the world about
their spread's magical cholesterol-lowering properties. Currently I'm on
three tubs a day. In one of the new commercials a double-glazing
salesman has the misfortune to call on Mr Benecol's house, where,
mid-sell, the tables are turned and the salesman is regaled with a
diatribe about the spread's brilliance. Let's face it, "yellow fats" are
not words to get the pulse racing, and while this idea is not in the
same postal district as great, the excellent casting of Mr Benecol means
agency and client could well have a best-in-category campaign on their
hands.
NESTLE UK
Project: Nescafe Original
Client: Brett Grebert, category product manager
Brief: Communicate that Nescafe Original now gets more from the bean
Agency: McCann-Erickson
Writers: Leighton Ballett, Jason Gill
Art directors: Lee Goulding, Frank Houston
Director: James Haworth
Production company: Therapy Films
Exposure: National TV
COTY UK
Project: Rimmel Exaggerate Hydra Colour Lipstick
Client: Emmanuelle Bonte, marketing director
Brief: Launch Rimmel's new Exaggerate Hydra Colour Lipstick
Agency: J. Walter Thompson
Writer: Jason Berry
Art director: Robin Harvey
Director: Andy Morahan
Production company: Harry Nash
Exposure: TV
BENECOL
Project: Brand relaunch
Client: David Goldsmith, general manager
Brief: Reposition Benecol as experts in reducing cholestrol
Agency: Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy
Writer: Ella Wilson
Art director: Caroline Oliver
Directors: Adam Springfeldt, Henrik Sundgren
Production company: Acne Films
Exposure: National TV
VIRGIN TRAINS
Project: Business Travel
Client: Craig Inglis, marketing director
Brief: Highlight the advantages of business rail travel over cars and
planes
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
Writer: Bill Hartley
Art director: Giles Hepworth
Director: Kirk Jones
Production company: Tomboy Films
Exposure: National TV
TERRE DES HOMMES
Project: Stop child trafficking
Client: Christian Ramm, marketing director
Brief: Raise awareness of the horrors of child trafficking
Agency: Springer & Jacoby UK
Writer: Thomas Chudalla
Art director: Tony Hector
Typographer: Tivy Davies
Photographer: Chris Fraser-Smith
Exposure: Press and posters
NEWCASTLE BROWN
Project: 330ml bottle launch
Client: Cara Chambers, brand director
Brief: Raise awareness of new size bottle and brand being launched on
draught
Agency: Circus
Writer: David Prideaux
Art director: Tim Ashton
Typographer: Chris Wigan
Photographer: John Swannell
Exposure: Manchester only
