The showreels from the handful of AOY shortlisted shops are almost as much of a surprise as the winners themselves. Most are hilarious, and they’ve become yet another reason to attend the annual show.
There is no brief for these videos, rather all we ask is that agencies show off their culture and have fun (but mostly, creative shops use this as an opportunity to see who can make the industry laugh the loudest).
Here’s how the shortlisted agencies decided to show off their creativity at Thursday night’s Agency of the Year gala, which took place at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.
Kicking Up Your Feet and Having a Think
Hardly working doesn’t mean you’re not working hard. Or at least that’s what seems to be happening at Taxi. This year, the agency reminds us that while creativity and those big ideas don’t come from out of nowhere, the road to resourcefulness often starts by laying about, or kicking up your feet.
Everybody Loves Advertising, Right?
The general public couldn’t call out an ad agency if they were paid; ads shouldn’t be longer than a TikTok; no one knows who Sid Lee is; and No Fixed Address definitely has an address — these and other ad-industry-ego-deflating facts are just a few of our favourites from NFA’s 2023 AOY showreel.
Pet Insurance
Rethink shows us the industry has really gone to the dogs. No. That’s not right. It’s for the birds? It’s a dog-eat-dog world? Regardless, the agency acknowledges how important our pets are and has decided to do something about it. Our furry (feathered or scaly) friends are always there for us, so Rethink wants to recognize that by making sure every Rethinker’s pet is covered with Pet Insurance.
Living From Work
Forget working from home. Try “living from work™”. Zulu Alpha Kilo’s mock doc features a fictional holdco mandating (“asking”) employees to come back not two, not three, but seven days a week. “No more mortgage. No more commute. No more grocery bills.” Initially met with apprehension, the company president and CEO, Karen Sly, really sells the outrageous return-to-work policy to her team.
Speaking Cossette
Of all the cultural issues French and English Canada disagree upon, language is considered one of the most sensitive. But not at Cossette, where they have strong offices dans les both langue, creating a melange of Anglais and French. Or at least that’s what we think they were saying.
The Heart Doesn’t Like It
Nothing says engaging, heart-felt content like data-driven, AI-powered, well-researched ad concepts, right? Sure, the idea might be bulletproof, but Broken Heart Love Affair’s showreel provides an eery reality check: if the heart doesn’t like it, audiences won’t either.
Free Falling
A lot of thought goes into great creative. Maybe too much, sometimes, according to Sid Lee’s AOY showreel. Remember: A piece of bread falling down can get 60 million views on TikTok. “Cheers to trying hard.”
Russell Oliver the Cash Man
Budgets shrinking? Need to pay rent on your unused office space? Bagels for staff? 123W’s AOY reel features Russell Oliver, the “Cash Man” himself, offering cash money for your old awards. Old Lions, Pencils, Bessies (oh my) — the Cash Man will give you cash, cash, cash.
WRBL
After over 111 years, McCann is staying at the forefront of innovation with its latest division launch. WRBL (pronounced “wearable,” probably) will focus on the latest in branded big-idea wearable advertising, like the double-double sweater (a hoodie with four hoods which is, in no way, “mocking a certain coffee company’s obsession with merch launches, or ours, with branded hoodie campaigns”).
