So, we’ve heard what the public think with The Drum readers voting for Lovehoney and Brave's 'Fuzzy Buzzy Slinky Kinky' as their Creative Work of the Year, but what do the professionals think?
From Spotifty's amazing thank you to 2016 (yes, it has been weird) to 14-18 Now's stunning 'We're Here' and the arrival of Google Pixel, creative director's from Ogilvy & Mather, 23red, St Luke's and more have shared their top creative picks of 2016.
And if that wasn't enough check out yesterday's choices from J. Walter Thompson London's Russell Ramsey, Tribal's Victoria Buchanan and Anna Carpen of 18 Feet & Rising among others.
Spotify: Spotify ‘Thanks 2016, it’s been weird’
It’s harder than you would imagine to pick a favourite piece of work from 2016.
So rather than over rationalise this I’ve picked the campaign that seems to be the best fit for our times.
Spotify’s campaign uses its own listener data to populate the outdoor with hyper local and humorous messages. Giving rise to headlines such as: “Dear 3,749 people who streamed ‘It’s the End of the World As We Know It’ the day of the Brexit vote. Hang in There.”
It’s a big data masterpiece, beautifully crafted into work that expresses the emotional reflections of the weird year that we’ve just had. - Sean Kinmont, founding partner and creative director, 23red
Ingo Stockholm: Swedish Tourist Association ‘The Swedish Number’
Best work of the last year. Without question, The Swedish Number for the Swedish Tourist Association. It’s a brilliant idea. Dial +46771793336 and some random Swede answers and chats about anything you wants to know about Sweden. Told me better than an ad ever could just how awesome Sweden must be if everyone that lives there wants to tell strangers about it. It’s brave too. The point of it was to offer an entirely unfiltered view of the country. There was no vetting process during sign up and therefore risk was inherent. But its self-selecting nature ensured almost entirely positive results. Barking but brilliant. - Mick Mahoney, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather London
The Cogency: 14-18 Now ‘We’re Here’/Joint London: Amazon Prime ‘Priest and Imam’
Great creativity responds to the mood of its times. The mood of 2016 has been one of rage and division that’s made the world a more dangerous place. Two standout pieces for me: ‘We’re Here’ Jeremy Deller and Rufus Norris’ haunting reminder of the Somme and Amazon Prime’s spot where the Inman and Priest send each other day-glow orthopedic knee-pads – reminding us that we’re all more similar than different and also that there’s nothing Amazon can’t sell us. - Al Young, executive creative director, St Luke’s
World Design Studio MTV International: MTV International ‘I am my MTV’
Earlier this year I was a judge at D&AD. The project which remains stuck in my mind is ‘I am my MTV’. Their collaborative approach to user generated content literally gives their audience full control of MTV's channel branding. Viewers are given access to MTV Bump, a responsive web platform that allows people to create their own branded content. Allowing the brand to constantly evolve from day to day. It’s a dynamic solution which allows fans of the MTV brand to connect with the brand in a way which feels authentic and aligned to the brands fearless creative philosophy. - Adrian Burton, executive creative director, Lambie-Nairn
Lego: The Lego Tweet
Never has it been more important for brands to take a moral stand and taking an ethical stance is now non-negotiable. In fewer than 140 characters, Lego Group did just that and showed that everything they do is effective; more than any strategy document or emotion fuelled TV spot. Having the guts to stand for something is compelling and drives consumer empathy and a sense of belonging.
Lego's stance in removing its advertising spend from the Daily Mail is bold and resonates with the public who have shown support via various social media platforms. Brands that take no action or just sit on the fence have been perceived as weak and I think 2017 will see more of them becoming involved with politics. - Sophie Gibson, founder and client partner, Team Eleven
Framework: Kenzo World ‘My Mutant Brain’
For four minutes, Kenzo World transported me to an imaginative fantasy landscape, an escape from the everyday, which, given the tumultuous year we’ve had in 2016, is something that is very much welcomed from an advertising campaign. With unconventional choreography by Ryan Heffington and spectacular cinematography by Spike Jonze, Kenzo’s brilliant campaign challenges how brands should behave in the perfume space, pushing back against the banality trap into which so many fragrance brands fall. - Kirsty Minns, creative director, The Future Laboratory
WWF UK: WWF UK ‘#iProtectTigers’
Amongst all the Christmas ads that were strangely lacking in emotional pull was this little beauty from WWF. One of the difficulties when asking people to give to animal charities is making the link between the donor and the animal
feel tangible.
It’s usually done with a wall chart and a cuddly toy in your welcome pack. Not anymore. Here an injured and endangered tiger comes to live with an ordinary family in their suburban semi. It stays in the spare room while they patiently nurse it back to health.
It’s beautifully crafted, with little details like the tiger wincing as the mum puts TCP on his wound. Even more importantly, this ad makes the direct link between them and us in an enchantingly powerful way. - Peter Murphy, creative director, Hunterlodge Advertising
Droga 5 New York: Google ‘Life by you, phone by Google’
Who’d have thought that a little white rectangle could hold so much power?
From its opening shot up the noses of two spotty boys to the self-completion towards the end when I realise its turned into a phone - this ad is gripping. All despite my inner rebel wanting to not like anything google puts it billions behind. A mentor once said use the product throughout…somehow Google has put a recognised brand device centre stage and morphed it into its new product. What’s not to love? Not seen it? You know what to do. - James Maxwell, executive creative director, Teamspirit
The Beautiful Meme: D&AD ‘New Blood 2017’
I love the D&ADs current New Blood campaign. Instead of telling the next generation of talent to fit into our industry it asks them to challenge the status quo. Why are so few women creative directors? What do unpaid internships mean for diversity? It’s brutal and thought provoking. With this kind of attitude, I’m hopeful that in the future seeing something like that Kenzo ad by Spike Jonze won’t feel like such as lovely anomaly. - Katherina Tudball, design director, The Partners
Greenhouse PR: Hubbub Foundation: Love your forest
‘We’re the Superhumans’ by 4Creative was an outstanding piece of work and will sweep the board at the 2017 award shows. But that’s not the one I’m going to choose. I’m going for the Love Your Forest pop-up litter shop from the Hubbub Foundation. Placing decades of litter on the shelves of a convenience store, it was a completely different way to raise awareness and shows how a great idea can generate publicity just as effectively as a massive media budget. - Chris Butterworth, executive creative director, Omobono
Sponsor's Choice: Critical Mass: B.C. Children’s Hospital ‘Hope Sticks’
Children’s illness is never a subject to be taken lightly, and Critical Mass along with Canada’s B.C. Children’s Hospital have come up with an innovative and creative way of raising funds – turning kids’ drawings into digital stickers that supporters can send instead of emojis.
Children from the hospital were asked to draw what happy looks like and these drawings were then turned into “Hope Sticks” stickers. The stickers range from colourful rainbows to pink butterflies. Apple also created a new app category for stickers, so when purchasing the $0.99 sticker pack, people don’t just get a download, they give a donation. With funding always required, we hope that this touching campaign helps to raise more funds for all these children. - Jada Balster, marketing director EMEA, Workfront
