Ten great creative ads

If that sounds the tiniest bit fluffy or romantic, then it’s important to remember that creativity is not brand vanity, it’s business vitality. After sheer brand size, creativity is the second biggest driver of advertising effectiveness.

As we deal with turbulent economic times, creativity becomes a vital lever to pull. As the price of everything increases, great creativity will give you greater returns. It will de-risk advertising investment, drive huge efficiencies, protect and nurture brands.

The Thinkboxes awards – in association with Campaign – honour the UK’s most creative TV advertising. The winners are chosen by Thinkbox’s Academy of award-winning creatives who know a thing or two about what makes a powerful and effective ad. So let’s look at the ten most recent Thinkboxes winners (at the time of writing) to see what today’s great creativity looks like…

Saatchi & Saatchi for EE

This spot was at the heart of EE’s Hope United 2022 campaign to tackle online sexist hate ahead of the UEFA Women’s European Championship.

It shows the Lionesses battling the problems (and pain) they endure for their sport – such as leg injuries; sleepless nights from childcare; and, even, starting a period while training – then shows them receiving sexist hate online. It ends with England men’s team footballers stepping forward as allies to own the problem of sexism. Women aren’t sending hate to themselves, so they shouldn’t be the ones to tackle it.

This is the tale of an unexpected bond, forged through a shared love for entertainment, between two misfits: Hattie, a bullied hyena who can’t smile, and Carl, a grumpy zookeeper who can’t find any reasons to smile.

“TV is still a very relevant medium. Even more around Christmas as it traditionally brings families together,” says Xuan Pham, Creative Director Europe, Amazon Prime. “Our approach for this campaign was to make a short film, highly crafted and cinematic. There was no doubt for us that big TV screens would provide the right viewing experience for more enjoyment.”

Neverland for what3words

what3words is an app which uses geographic coordinates to pinpoint locations correct to three square metres.

This ad sees a young man having an awkward encounter with an elderly neighbour. She claims no knowledge of his missing parcels, but he spots her husband wearing the things he’d ordered in the background. As she closes the door, he spies the woman herself wearing box-fresh trainers that look suspiciously like the ones he’d bought. Even so, his politeness won’t let him challenge her word.

TV gave what3words “an injection of broad awareness and education”, says Ivan Pols, chief creative officer at what3words. “TV also gives us the time to express our personality and build an emotional connection with our audience.”

Leo Burnett for Disney+

This spot “could have been just another content montage,” said AMV BBDO’s creative partner and Thinkbox Academy member Tim Riley, but, in fact, Leo Burnett created “a minor epic”. Live action and CGI elements were seamlessly blended to change the perceptions of the channel as mainly for kids and families and bring to life the breadth of TV shows and movies available.

“Disney has almost 100 years of rich heritage in setting the bar on storytelling and production – so we’ve brought the same care and craft in bringing this familiar yet surprising House of Disney+ to life,” said Ben Mooge, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe UK, on behalf of Publicis’s Imagine Power of One team that includes Leo Burnett London.

This is the tale of an unexpected bond, forged through a shared love for entertainment, between two misfits: Hattie, a bullied hyena who can’t smile, and Carl, a grumpy zookeeper who can’t find any reasons to smile.

“TV is still a very relevant medium. Even more around Christmas as it traditionally brings families together,” says Xuan Pham, Creative Director Europe, Amazon Prime. “Our approach for this campaign was to make a short film, highly crafted and cinematic. There was no doubt for us that big TV screens would provide the right viewing experience for more enjoyment.”

Mother for IKEA

Home as haven, home as your castle… we’ve seen it portrayed in so many ways in ads over the years. But never with buff teddy bears acting as huge protectors.

“TV is where IKEA set out its strong point of view on everyday life at home and the importance it plays in everyday life,” the Mother London team believe. “It’s where we inspire people to think differently about the home, not just for different’s sake, but because of the big emotional benefits it can bring to their lives. It’s also an opportunity to really revel in the wonder and magic that endears people to the brand.” All of which hangs neatly on the Swedish retailer’s “The wonderful everyday” tagline.

4Creative for Channel 4

The brief was relatively simple: promote the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on Channel 4. But the legacy of two previous, award-winning ads had set the creative bar incredibly high. It was a “daunting challenge,” admits 4Creative’s creative Andy Shrubsole.

It was after long conversations with each of the athletes it became clear that focussing on the “human” part of the “Super. Human.” was the creative direction to take, to show the challenges and complexities of being an elite athlete. “These are real people above all else,” says Shrubsole.

AMV BBDO for Guinness

When people are moved to tears by an ad for a drink, you know you’ve hit the sweet spot.

“Guinness has a real legacy of TV advertising with people genuinely looking forward to our spots” says Neil Shah, Head of Guinness GB at Diageo.

The ad featured a cheeky, creative nod to the Guinness pint’s recognisable silhouette in everyday situations – such as a cat sitting on a compost bin – building on the insight that when you miss something you see it everywhere.

adam&eveDDB for Lucozade Energy

Song and dance is a natural, well-trodden, path to convey energy in an ad. So how can you be original?

Enter “It’s ON” which swaggered its way into our consciousness with a cool hula-hooping guy walking through his neighbourhood to Ini Kamoze’s iconic track Here Comes The Hotstepper.

Ultra-relaxed and powered by the bottle of Lucozade he has just consumed, he doesn’t miss a beat – or drop his hoop, showcasing that positive energy of Lucozade.

(January/February 2021)

AMV BBDO for Macmillan

Compassion is pretty much a byword for Macmillan Cancer Support professionals. Ferociousness, not so much. Changing this perception was the task the charity and agency AMV BBDO set themselves with their latest TV ad, ‘Whatever it takes’.

The ad saw success almost immediately after it was shown on TV, attracting increased donations and positive reception from people living with cancer and Macmillan’s cancer support professionals.

Andrew MacGillivray, Marketing Director at Thinkbox