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I think at its worst our industry creates disposable, short shelf-life, wallpaper for brands trying to stay relevant. At its best, it innovates, entertains, creates culture and can fundamentally change how businesses operate. It's just where and how you apply creativity to problems.

What gives me hope for the future of our industry is that the same people who are tasked with creating billboards for a new Low Carb Almond Butter, are also creating things like (Wonderman Thompson, Peru). 15% of the population currently has a disability that restricts them from leading a 'normal' life, even if this innovation is only relevant to a handful of people it is still making an important difference. And while you could argue this is just a prototype and not a broadly available product, I like to think that it will pave the way for further innovations in the space, and encourage other agencies to continue applying creativity to all sorts of business and innovation problems.

2023 for me felt like the year for women and non-binary athletes in sports. Football/soccer, rugby, cricket world cups, basketball, volleyball finals, tennis opens etc. 

I thought it was crafty for W+K / Nike the 2023 season of the National Women’s Soccer League for

What I liked most was the simplicity of reframing, especially in a category that is well-trodden (sports in general) and for a client with high benchmarks - it’s not easy.

This perspective in the work helps combat the perception that sports are less entertaining because of someone’s gender, less action-packed, less drama, less hype, less skill, less everything. Which if you’ve seen any of the NWSL you’d know and back me up on this being the complete opposite.

I’m a huge football fan and also just loved the simple PR twist-hack for the category and for the league itself.

Why wait for new laws when you can create them yourself? That’s the spirit that left me in awe when I saw this remarkable initiative—one that quickly became one of my favourites this year.

Enter the Prêt à Voter campaign by Solar Impulse, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to expediting the battle against climate change. What captivated me about this concept was its audacious approach to tackling the seemingly arduous task of crafting new laws, a process that would typically drag on for years. Yet, they managed to pull it off in just a few months.

Collaborating with legal minds and jurists, they transformed 50 ground-breaking ecological innovations into ready-to-vote draft laws. These were then elegantly compiled into a stunning book. The book, aptly named ‘Ready to Vote’ was hand-delivered to all 577 members of the French National Assembly. Each member received a copy with a straightforward request—to choose one and bring it to a vote.

And they did just that. Three laws were presented to the assembly, all receiving approval, with another nine under review. This idea is brilliant and impresses with its restrained and elegant execution. The design of the book was simple and refined. For me, it is the perfect

example of how a great piece of direct marketing has the power to inspire change for the better—and it delivered.

I’m not a sports guy. In fact, I’d struggle to tell you who the top players in the EPL are right now. Let alone who plays for my hometown, Newcastle United. But that isn’t going to stop me supporting a sports-based spot from a little agency in ‘The Toon’.

I reckon this joyous romp for bet365 is punching well above its creative weight. The sheer scale of the film is impressive. Every frame has something to raise a smile. But it’s the simple insight that really landed for me.

The fast-paced fun that this film brings, is exactly what I get from the product. When I have a little flutter, suddenly the sport (that I am not really interested in) becomes much more exciting to me. I can only imagine what that additional jeopardy would do to true fans of a game.

The concept behind this campaign emphasises that truth; that no matter what game you’re watching, bet365 always maximises the excitement. And it brings it to life with a cheek- ache-inducing joy. Well done to all involved. Or rather, ‘Howay the lads and lasses of Drummond Central!’.

With film close to my heart, this is where I turned my attention when it came to selecting a standout craft piece for 2023. And Hornbach’s ‘Every square meter’ spot from HeimatTBWA gives me a major case of the ‘I wish I’d done that’s’.

Directed by Steve Rogers (Revolver), this is one of those seamless, effortless spots that take a whole lot of effort to pull off. 

It has a level of Gondry-esque magic where deft transitions and detail make for some serious repeat watching. But first and foremost, it’s all grounded in a beautiful insight. With a cost of living crisis at hand, living space is pretty bloody hard to come by. Hornbach acknowledges this in the most elegant of ways, championing the fact that our spaces deserve to be special, even though they may be small. Ultimately, selling an aspirational dream that’s achievable within the realms of our financial reality.

There are so many decisions made that I love. The fact that the home and scenes feel gritty and interesting as opposed to being perfect and manicured. Why have a wall of salad greens when you can have a more memorable mushroom farm? Then there’s the delicate micro touches that add up to so much - particularly the links between shots, such as a game of table tennis in one room matching up to one in another, permitting the camera to cut wide to reveal a rich frame filled with lush layers.

And I haven’t even got to the sheer scale and craft of the set build… Or the integration of the music. Or the line; ‘Every square meter deserves to be the best in the world.’

*Chefs kiss*

I could go on. But I have a word limit. Which I’ve exceeded.

 

Like the main talent at the end, everyone involved in this deserves a standing ovation.

 

Oh, yes. That end-of-year question… "Name a piece of creativity you think was brilliant in 2023." A tough question. Though, my answer is an easy one. 

  

The Lost Voice, for Apple's 'Live Speech' tool for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. 

  

Why? 

  

It is one of the only pieces of creativity that I remember from this year. It moved me. It stayed with me. They didn't sell the feature. They sold the benefit. And that sold the feature. 

  

They got what gets people engaged. They executed in a simple, but very human way. 

They worked hard to create a beautiful and emotional story. They crafted a great combination of whimsy, oddness, and difference. They made sure no corners were cut. From the idea to the execution. They included a little twist at the end, or a rug pull, if you like. 

  

They used brilliant creativity to solve their business challenge. And everything else got out of the way. They made me very envious. And happy that this idea exists. That's why. 

Christmas, gotta love it. Especially over here where you get the two best bits of the year, summer and Christmas, in one sitting.

Back home in Blighty it’s a little less glorious at this time of year.

But what they do do well is a good Christmas ad.

Over the years there have been some belters. John Lewis won nearly every year running until the clever lot over at Havas got the ‘Elf’ into Asda. So who was going to win this Christmas this year? Asda again?Or JD sports with their celebration of its ubiquitous yellow bag and love letter to British youth culture that made me proper miss home.

The one heading for the winner’s podium for me was Tesco’s slightly bizarre film that showed everyone turning a bit Christmas. Well everyone but an angsty teenager who refuses to give into the Christmas spirit but eventually turns into a sparkly Christmas tree, just like his Dad. Mega ahhhhhhhhh.

Then out of nowhere Apple drops its Fuzzy Feelings spot. Could there ever be a more perfectly titled ad?

A four minute masterclass in storytelling with craft eloquently oozing from every frame. The song choice, perfect. The casting, wonderful. The product placement, seamless. Cutting between the beautiful stop frame animation and live action to bring to life the scrooge-esque narrative, reminding us all what we really need this Christmas is a bit of love, had me in bits. It’s funny, charming, heartfelt and human and absolutely made my feelings go all fuzzy. Best Christmas ad. Absolutely. Ad of the year? Gets my vote.

Although we have lots of wonderful work to celebrate from this region, I wanted to steer away from writing about work we are all familiar with and has likely already been dissected at length.

I found this film very powerful, particularly in light of the state of the world in 2023. In this context too, it also feels like a genuinely important piece of work for the year.

The film is called Split Second and reimagines the events that led up to three of the most iconic and influential images in recent human history – images captured by photographers from the non-profit news agency Associated Press.

At face value, this work is undeniably visually striking and poignant, as well as being an elaborately produced piece of filmmaking.

However, what makes this film project utterly exceptional is that it was in fact produced as a graduation film and spec ad by a young director Sinan Sevinç and his fellow students and producers Christopher Behrmann and Marco Henn, from the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Germany. Shooting over a period of five months, between late 2021 and mid 2022, and involving over 300 helpers in front and behind the camera, the film took two years to complete.

Now after a bit more googling and LinkedIn research, I did find out that the film was not only produced by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, but also by Stink Films (Berlin) who provided production support, bringing no doubt invaluable partners onboard to see the project through to completion; explaining how this student film / spec ad looks so incredibly epic on what would have been a non-existent budget.

Deservedly, Split Second won five awards at YDA Awards in Cannes, including the Special Jury Prize and two further awards at Berlin Commercial.

So apparently ‘Battery For Miles’ is the actual name of the Apple spot we’ve been calling ‘Amish Tractor Man with Ginormous Pumpkin ft. Ludacris.’ We’ll go out on a limb here and say that, for us, this is pretty much the perfect TVC. It’s a super simple product demo but they’ve just happened to pick the most incredibly interesting and memorable way to demo it. The parts are totally incongruous which is exactly why it comes together so well. The casting. The music. The edit is great too. We wish there were more TVCs like this. Ivan Zachariáš is ridiculous. 

 

The other bit of work we really loved this year was ‘The Artois Probability’ by GUT Buenos Aires. It’s another example of two unexpected worlds colliding - old oil paintings and data algorithm-y smarts. If you haven’t seen it… the idea took famous renaissance paintings featuring beer drinkers and calculated the likelihood that it was, in fact, Stella they were drinking, based on distribution at the time, proximity to brewery, colour, and even glass shape. It’s always seemed wild that Stella has been brewed since 1366 but this adds some heavy weight to it. It’s such a fresh way to reinforce Stella’s heritage (and premium positioning). It’s pulled off effortlessly and with style. We were hooked, it’s fascinating. It’s a campaign we’ve talked about a lot and it works on so many levels it’s infuriating. We wish we’d done it.

It's not often you can stare at a piece of work, watch it over and over again, and get more and more impressed by it every time you watch it. That's sort of how we feel about the Channel 4 Idents. More than six months later and we're still marvelling at all three and a half minutes of the execution. 

Every single one of the 25 scenes just seem to have been crafted within an inch of their lives; from the blending together of live action, animation and CGI, to the way each scene depicts a different facet of a multicultural society and of course the seamless, mind-bending loops. 

Traditionally, idents are simply a way to brand a channel, and remind you what you are watching. But these are so much more than just logos. Each scene is a mini story reminding the audience of Channel 4's cultural relevance. It's not hard to see how this campaign will keep giving for years to come.