ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR - Vodafone - 3G Live!
Project: 3G Live!
Client: David Wheldon, global marketing director
Brief: Launch Vodafone 3G Live!
Creative agency: J. Walter Thompson
Writers: Richard Baynham, James Humphreys, Wayne Robinson
Art directors: Ian Gabaldoni, Craig Hunt, Matt Collier
Planner: Marco Rimini
Media agency: OMD
Media planner: Matthew White
Production companies: Outsider, MJZ
Directors: David Lodge, Pedro Romanyi, Nicolai Fuglsig
Editors: Mark and Spencer at Peepshow, Tony at TVC, Leo at Cut & Run
Post-production: VTR, Framestore CFC
Audio post-production: Jungle, Grand Central, Wave
Exposure: TV, cinema
THE LOWDOWN Vodafone is hoping to put some distance between it and its nearest rival Orange with the launch of its new 3G technology. With 13.3 million existing customers, the company commands a 25.2 per cent share of the market, just 0.1 per cent more than Orange.
But Vodafone 3G Live! aims to change that. Technologically minded consumers will soon be able to download music, watch TV, sport and movie clips, send video messages and, for the first time, view made-for-mobile dramas on their phones. The launch will take place in 13 countries throughout Europe and Asia and is backed by a ú15 million budget in the UK alone.
The campaign comprises six new executions, created by J. Walter Thompson, which focus on the superior experiences available to 3G Live! users. The first ad in the series uses David Beckham to advertise the new football results service. Beckham steps out of his house into a large crowd of people all intently staring at something. It soon becomes apparent that the crowd is made up of football fans, all watching games on their phones as if they were there. In another ad, a mother in the lobby of a hotel is able to share bedtime with her daughter thanks to the 3G video-phone service.
Although only 60 per cent of the country is expected to be able to access the features initially, Vodafone has set a target of ten million subscribers by March 2005.
SELFRIDGES - CHRISTMAS STORIES
CREDITS
Project: Christmas stories
Client: Laurence Cante, direct marketing manager, Selfridges & Co
Brief: Take the magic of Selfridges' Christmas stories theme into the
homes of its most valuable cardholders and incentivise them to visit the
store
Creative agency: Claydon Heeley Jones Mason
Writer: Kristian Wheater
Art director: David Morgan
Planners: Louise Barr, Verity Johnston
Exposure: High-value customers on cardholder database
THE LOWDOWN
Selfridges has proved Christmas is a time for generosity by putting its hand in its pocket and splashing out on an extravagant two-tier mailing to its storecard holders. The campaign aims to communicate the "magic of Christmas" theme in Selfridges stores pre-Christmas.
A mailpack, containing a cardboard pop-up diorama depicting a Christmas scene, has been sent to 3,500 storecard holders. On the back is a special Selfridges Christmas poem inviting recipients to visit the store.
Selfridges' 500 top-spending storecard holders will also receive a hardback book of Christmas stories, with contributions from celebrities such as Michael Owen and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. The book is available on sale in-store, with proceeds going to Teenage Cancer Trust.
CITROEN - C4 LAUNCH
CREDITS
Project: Launch the Citroen C4
Client: Mike Ibbett, marketing director, Citroen UK
Brief: Underpin the C4's positioning as alive with technology
Creative agency: Euro RSCG London
Writers: Steve Nichols, Matthew Anderson
Art directors: Steve Nichols, Matthew Anderson
Planner: Ian Hilton
Media agency: OMD
Media planner: Neil Duncan
Production company: Spy Films
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Editor: Neill Blomkamp
Post-production: The Embassy
Exposure: TV in UK and key European markets
THE LOWDOWN
How do you launch into the most fiercely contested sector of the UK car market, one dominated by those mid-range runabouts the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra?
If you're Citroen, it's with the C4 and advertising that reflects the company's reputation for whacky technology. The result: a 30-second spot using the latest animation techniques that turns the C4 into a break- dancing robot.
Launched at the Paris Motor Show in September as a replacement for the uninspiring Xsara, the C4 seeks to distinguish itself from its rivals with innovative features normally found on more expensive cars. The strategy is encapsulated in the ad's endline: "Alive with technology."
The film was brought to life by Justin Timberlake's choreographer, Marty Kudelka, who attached motion sensors placed all over his body to record every move over 30 separate takes.
O2 - X-RANGE
CREDITS
Project: X-range
Client: Richard Murfitt, advertising manager, O2
Brief: Launch X-range products online
Creative agency: Agency Republic
Writer: David Newby
Art director: Nitin Mistry
Planner: Jez Dutton
Media agency: Agency Republic
Media planner: Sam Hicks
Producer: Jay Gelardi
Designer: Andy Ng
Account manager: Alicja Bakinowska
Exposure: Online portals, lifestyle sites, networks
THE LOWDOWN
O2's first range of branded handsets will have a tough job getting noticed in a market that is bursting at the seams with increasingly hi- tech offerings.
This digital campaign, which supports the launch of the X-range of mobile phones, uses a host of interactive tricks to show off the camera, MP3 player and Java features that O2 hopes will gives its handset the edge over its rivals. One expandable banner allows users to plug in and listen to different MP3 tracks using their mouse and there's a skyscraper that turns into a (difficult) game of Tetris. Another banner allows users to take a low-resolution photo that is then blown up full- screen to show the strength of the phone's 1.3 megapixel camera. All the work links to a microsite.
The online executions will run concurrently with a TV and cinema push by Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC - HAVANA, SYDNEY, NASSAU
CREDITS
Project: Havana, Sydney, Nassau route launches
Client: Angus Struthers, head of advertising and communication, Virgin
Atlantic Airways
Brief: Announce the launch of new routes in a way that celebrates the
destination in an inimitably Virgin way
Creative agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
Writer: Mike Boles
Art director: Jerry Hollens
Planner: Charlotte Scales
Media agency: MG OMD
Media planner: Hamish Rickman
Photographer: Dave Stewart
Exposure: Backlit and paper 96-sheet, mega 96-sheet and Golden Squares
in London, for two weeks from 15 November
THE LOWDOWN
Following a bumpy 2003, Virgin Atlantic decided to come out fighting, with ambitions to expand staff numbers and routes by up to 10 per cent per year. These plans included the announcement of three new destinations - Sydney, Havana and Nassau.
Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R has created a series of posters to promote these new services. The first shows a drab London pigeon, which morphs into a bird of paradise as the background transforms from gloomy Britain to a Bahamiam sunset. The second, for Sydney, shows a baby wallaby poking its head out from the safety and comfort of a seat-back pouch. The final poster shows what looks to be a Havana cigar in an aluminium case, which, on closer inspection, turns out to an aircraft.
VICKS - VAPOBATH
CREDITS
Project: Vicks VapoBath
Client: Christopher Staeuble, marketing director, healthcare Europe,
Procter & Gamble
Brief: Position VapoBath as a calming and soothing relief for colds and
flu
Creative agency: Publicis
Writer: Noel Sharman
Art director: Stephen Glenn
Planner: Naomi McGregor
Media agency: Starcom Mediavest
Media planner: Ravi Saksena
Production company: Quiet Storm
Director: Trevor Robinson
Editor: Johnny Bongo at Johnny Bongo Editing
Post-production: Rushes
Exposure: TV, consumer and trade pharmacy press
THE LOWDOWN
The clocks have gone back and the nights are drawing in. Winter is officially on its way, closely followed by colds, flu and an army of cold-fighting product launches.
Vicks, owned by Procter & Gamble, is using an integrated campaign from Publicis to launch its new VapoBath, and remind bunged-up consumers of its existing Sinex and VapoRub lines.
The launch spot for VapoBath features a rubber duck in a bath, which transforms into a swan as it emerges from the water. The second spot, for Sinex, uses moving diagrams from an encyclopaedia to show how the product works by flowing through the body. The third, for VapoRub, is a re-run of last year's "babies" spot, to highlight how the rub helps ease breathing.
The TV work is backed by PR, direct and print ads.
ICELAND - CHRISTMAS ON ICE
CREDITS
Project: Christmas on ice
Client: Nick Canning, marketing director
Brief: Celebrate the joy of Iceland this Christmas
Creative agency: HHCL/Red Cell
Writers: Vicky Ghose, Charlie Johnson
Art directors: Vicky Ghose, Charlie Johnson
Planner: Sid McGath
Media agency: MediaCom
Media planner: Chris Binns
Production company: Therapy Films
Director: Simon Levene
Post-production: Jungle
Exposure: National TV
THE LOWDOWN
All the Christmas ingredients have gone into this ad, which extends Iceland's "Mums are heroes" strategy - from the Andy Williams The Most Wonderful Time of the Year soundtrack to the family going ice- skating.
With weekly transactions rarely reaching the four-million mark of four years ago, Iceland has struggled to find a positioning. Commentators have said that the "mums" concept is at odds with plans to increase the number of convenience outlets. But mum remains the centre of attention in this film where, cast as a fairy, she summons up a perfect Christmas dinner with a wave of her wand.
VAUXHALL - AGILA
CREDITS
Project: Vauxhall Agila
Client: Andy G Jones, marketing database manager, Vauxhall
Brief: Raise awareness of Vauxhall Agila mini people carrier, stimulate
sales and build prospect data pool
Creative agency Draft London
Writer: Andrew Forsythe
Art director: Jake Rusznyak
Planner: Chris Ridd
Exposure: Direct mailing and digital
THE LOWDOWN
Last year, Vauxhall's losses doubled to ú115 million, which prompted 12,000 job losses throughout Europe, including 300 at its only UK factory in Ellesmere Port.
Throughout its troubles, Vauxhall has kept faith with advertising. This mailing from Draft Worldwide focuses on Vauxhall's mini people carrier, the Agila, using the theme: "Small on the outside, big on the inside."
The pack has a sparse blue outer, with a deliberately small picture of the car on it. It then opens out to an A1-sized poster of the car's interior, and the line: "Big on the inside." The mailing is supported by e-mail marketing and online executions.
MINGLES - NEW NEIGHBOURS
CREDITS
Client: Anne Hollamby, head of marketing, Bendicks
Brief: Create awareness of Mingles from Bendicks during the key pre-
Christmas sales period
Creative agency: McCann Erickson, London
Writers: Rob Brown, Gary Marjoram
Art directors: Rob Brown, Gary Marjoram
Media agency: Brand Connection
Media planner: Rob Bellass
Production company: Outsider
Director: David Lodge
Post-production: Peep Show, Framestore CFC, Jungle
Exposure: Cinema and TV
THE LOWDOWN
You know it's getting near Christmas when there's a sudden proliferation of TV ads selling boxes of chocolates.
Bendicks is starting the ball rolling with a single execution for its chocolate mint brand Mingles.
The spot opens with a wealthy middle-aged couple preparing to receive their new neighbours - a footballer and his young, provocatively dressed wife.
Despite their misgivings, the hosts are won over by a gift - a box of Mingles. As the guests leave, the middle-aged man asks the young woman if her fur coat is real. She assumes he is talking about her impressive bust, and assures him that it is.
The ad will debut during cinema screenings of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason before transferring to TV on 1 December. Bendicks will be hoping that the ú1.5 million campaign will help the Mingles brand improve on last year's performance, when it achieved ú9 million in sales, significantly short of its ú12 million target.
