At The Drum, we believe great work deserves recognition and that talented creatives should get their share of reverence for the hard work they put in. So each week we will update our hall of fame, celebrating the 10 best ads from our Creative Works section. Welcome, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!
This week, the Paralympic games kicked off in Tokyo, accompanied by what Adam&EveDDB hopes will be the world’s biggest inclusivity movement for people with disabilities. Led by the International Paralympic Committee and the International Disability Alliance, ‘#WeThe15’ is a decade-long drive to improve the lives of 1.2 billion disabled people – 15% of the global population.
Meanwhile, The Voice Newspaper, Britain’s only Black newspaper, has launched a campaign to boost the completion of the Black British Voices Project – the first-ever comprehensive national inquiry into the Black British experience, developed in partnership with the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge and consultancy group I-Cubed. The push was created in collaboration with M&C Saatchi.
And, adding more gems to its collection, Tiffany & Co’s latest campaign ‘Above Love’ features Jay-Z, a Balmain-clad Beyoncé, a rarely seen Jean-Michel Basquiat and a priceless 128-carat yellow diamond. The spot marks the first time a Black woman has been asked by the brand to wear the diamond.
In partnership with Adobe Stock, The Drum’s Creative Works is a handpicked selection of our favorite work from around the globe, covering digital, OOH, print, TV and radio. Each week, The Drum selects the 10 best ads from the section. To submit work, please fill out this online form.
Scotland’s Railway: Onward by The Leith Agency
Scotland’s Railway has launched a new campaign, ’Onwards’, encouraging Scottish commuters back to the railway network. Picking up momentum from their successful 2019 campaign after a year of disruption for travel around the world in 2020, this campaign promotes optimism, progress and certainty.
Created by the Edinburgh-based agency Leith, the campaign promotes the versatility and vitality of Scotland’s Railway as it rebuilds and recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the last 16 months of disruption, halting much that we take for granted, Scotland’s Railway has pushed on; continuing to invest in and improve rail services around the country.
Vote for the work here.
IPG DXTRA: Dear White Parents by Brooklyn Brothers
When children as young as four years old show signs of racial bias and racism, something needs to be done. This is the thinking behind ‘Dear White Parents’ – an awareness campaign by IPG DXTRA, Brooklyn Brothers, the anti-racism education non-profit We Are, the Ad Council and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The film shares an intimate view of some enlightening, sometimes uncomfortable, family discussions focused on parents helping their children understand racism through current events, as well as their own stories about how they first became aware of racism.
Vote for the work here.
#WeThe15 by Adam&EveDDB
Adam&EveDDB has seeded what is hoped will become the world’s biggest inclusivity movement for people with disabilities, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
‘#WeThe15’ is a long-term initiative supported by 20 international organizations including Unesco to ensure the interests of the 1.2 billion people living with a disability are heard loud and clear.
Vote for the work here.
AFC Ajax: Don’t Worry About a Thing by The Midnight Club
Most football fans have a random song attributed to their team, such as the England national team and Sweet Caroline, or Liverpool FC’s You’ll Never Walk Alone. For AFC Ajax, its association with Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds hails back to a pre-season friendly in Cardiff when the song came on the sound system as they waited to leave, with the moment prompting away fans to embrace the pure and true melody as their anthem.
The tribute to Marley, who was a big football fan, was created in collaboration with his family. The film sees a party, where Ajax fans chill and listen to Three Little Birds. Some are in the new kit, as references to Marley and Rastafarian culture play out on screen.
Vote for the work here.
McDonald’s: Fancy a McFlurry? by Leo Burnett
Fans of McDonald’s got their hands on a free McFlurry via a walk-thru billboard in the latest activation to support its new brand platform ‘Fancy a McDonald’s?’
McFlurry fans who passed by the Builder’s Yard, just under Hungerford Bridge, on London’s South Bank were able to get their free McFlurry from a ‘walk-thru’ hatch on a billboard.
Part of the ongoing ‘Fancy a McDonald’s?’ brand platform devised and created by Leo Burnett, the bespoke creation featuring a built-in service window allowed customers to grab themselves a McFlurry, made with soft dairy vanilla ice cream and Oreo toppings.
Vote for the work here.
The Voice Newspaper: Tick it to Change it by M&C Saatchi
The Voice Newspaper, Britain’s only Black newspaper, has launched a campaign to boost the completion of the Black British Voices Project – the first-ever comprehensive national inquiry into the Black British experience, developed in partnership with the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge and consultancy group I-Cubed. The push was created in collaboration with M&C Saatchi.
Vote for the work here.
Vanarama National League: Hollywood-style Wrexham Sign by Dark Horses
For a large market town in North Wales, Wrexham has been receiving a great deal of media attention as of late, thanks to the buyout of its football team Wrexham AFC by A-list actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. So when a mysterious Hollywood-style Wrexham sign turned up on the hill above the town, it was clear who the culprits were.
Only the stunt didn’t actually have the actors’ names on it. The plot thickened when Free Guy star Reynolds tweeted: “I wish I’d thought of that. But if I were to really dig into it, I wish I wasn’t someone who wished they’d thought of that.”
After the mystery of the Wrexham sign caused a stir, it has now been revealed as a stunt by Dark Horses for Vanarama National League, the lowest division in the English football pyramid, which claimed ownership of the stunt with a massive banner above the sign one day before the first game of the season.
Vote for the work here.
Motorway: This is the Motorway by Wonderhood Studios
Motorway has launched a campaign spanning TV, OOH, radio and digital. The campaign is the first piece of work from the brand’s new agency line-up of Wonderhood Studios and MG OMD, highlighting the range of benefits consumers can get by selling their car ‘the Motorway’ way.
The film, directed by Scott Lyon, follows the journey of a Motorway customer enjoying the end-to-end Motorway experience for the first time.
Vote for the work here.
Thinx: ASMR
Thinx, the leader in period underwear, is releasing its most comfortable, breathable, sustainable underwear yet – Modal Cotton.
To help illustrate the softer and more sustainable nature of the Thinx Modal line, the creative team has taken a unique approach to the launch with an ASMR campaign. To be featured across digital and social platforms, ASMR sounds of streams, leaves falling and grass rustling will bring to life the natural fabric and the Thinx technology that allows people to be stress- and leak-free when using its products.
Vote for the work here.
Tiffany & Co: About Love
Adding more gems to its collection, Tiffany & Co’s latest campaign ‘Above Love’ features Jay-Z, a Balmain-clad Beyoncé, a rarely seen Jean-Michel Basquiat and a priceless 128-carat yellow diamond.
Looking to Jay-Z and Beyoncé to help it resonate with a younger audience, the campaign is part of a reinvention strategy to future-proof the brand after it was bought by LVMH earlier this year. The iconic brand hopes the change in creative direction will help redefine Tiffany, with new exec Alexandre Arnault playing around with a number of marketing strategies.
Vote for the work here.
That’s it for this week’s round-up of the 10 best ads from The Drum’s Creative Works. Remember to email nominations to imogen.watson@thedrum.com and to vote for your favorite ad.
