West Coast ad agencies are renowned for their world class advertising – must be something in the air. We wanted to check up on life in Lotus Land, so we asked a few Vancouverites to be our eyes and ears. What’s hot? Among other things: adultery, cheerleaders and theft.
What’s this?
The TV spot for Coast Capital Savings from Rethink, where a woman opens an envelope, and asks her husband ‘What’s this?!?’ The husband, assuming she’s ‘busted’ him for some illicit affair proceeds to apologize for ‘being weak.’ Turns out, what she meant was ‘What’s this…no charges for chequing.” It’s a very memorable way of getting a great selling point out, and utterly surprising for a category as dull as banking.
Marc Stoiber, VP/ECD, Grey Worldwide Canada, Vancouver
Thirsty camels
The radio spots by Saatchi & Saatchi Drum for a new Hefeweizen beer from Granville Island Brewing. The premise is that German comedians, beat poets and cheerleaders are sent out to spread the word from pub to pub. The radio campaign has great casting, excellent production values and is cleverly scripted. ‘Beat Poet’ is my favourite with wonderful timing and lines like ‘A camel it walks in the desert, thirsty it dreams of beer.’
Alan Russell, CD, DDB Canada, Vancouver
Don’t smoke
The anti-smoking campaign that DDB Vancouver did a while ago is quite good. The juxtaposition of Mark Gilbert’s bleak hospital photographs with smokers’ thoughts about their love for smoking go a long way in communicating the absurdity of smoking.
Brent Wheeler, senior copywriter, TBWAVancouver
Sledgehammer proof
The 3M bus shelter ad for Scotchshield, a see-through film that when applied to glass becomes bulletproof. Rethink filled the space between the panes of glass with stacks of money. The fact that someone was laying into the ad with a sledgehammer and the product was standing up to its promise and creating a live memory experience was stellar.
Darcy Taylor, VP, IMG, Vancouver
