The Thinkboxes Shortlist - Jan/Feb 2010
A great selection of ads from this month's shortlist connect us with a wide rang of emotions. Cravendale takes a trip through time; IKEA sends its kitchen squad into battle; Renault slips into drag; and Visa evolves towards the World Cup. The winner, voted for by members of the Thinkbox Academy, will be announced in Marketing later this month. In the meantime, you can check out the ads yourself and find out more about those who made them here.
Previous Winners
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The brief to ad agency WCRS was to make people fall in love with the brand again, which certainly seems to have been the case amongst Thinkbox's Creative Academy of ad industry experts, who voted Weetabix's Steeplechase as the Thinkboxes winner for November/December 2009. This comedy epic emerged triumphant from an impressive shortlist. Second place went to Barnardo's Turn around, which uses a striking "palindromic" structure to illustrate the point that vicious cycles can be reversed. Third place went to John Lewis's The Feeling which reminds us of our childlike delight in receiving presents. You can watch all these great ads, and find out who made them, right here. -
"It's everything a great TV ad can be: engaging, insightful and gently persuasive," said Laurence Green, chairman of Fallon and Thinkbox Academy member. "Here's a brand that not only knows its audience but likes it too." He was talking about 'Passing by', of course, from McDonald's and Leo Burnett, which picked up the Thinkboxes award for September/ October. Second place, amongst an impressive shortlist went to the Department for Communities and Local Government's Fire Safety ad, 'Breathe', whilst Tesco Mobile's comedic parody 'Freedom' came in a close third. You can watch all these great ads, and find out who made them, right here. -
It was neck and neck to the finish, but Hula Hoops edged ahead of an unfailingly upbeat selection of shortlisted ads to pick up the Thinkboxes award for July/August. Their DJ hand character, complete with Hula Hoop decks and sunglasses, pipped Budweiser’s ‘Lyrics’ into second place, whilst Virgin Media’s ‘Backlot’ came in a close third. You can spin those decks, sing along to Altogether Now or enter a dreamlike world of discovery, just by following this link, for this is the place to watch these brilliant ads and find out who made them.
Useful Tools
The Thinkboxes
The thinkboxes are the first awards to celebrate the UK's world-beating TV ad creativity, in all its forms, at regular way-points throughout the year. Created in association with Haymarket Brand Media (Campaign, Marketing and Brand Republic), these bi-monthly awards are judged by the Thinkbox Creative Academy; made up of over 300 advertising luminaries with Simon Clift of Unilever and Leon Jaume of WCRS as joint Academy Presidents.
Associated content
VW and its ad agency DDB celebrated an anniversary last year: 40 years together. It's a unique relationship, not just for its longevity but also for its consistency. Whether it's Paula Hamilton throwing her jewels down the drain; a Jack Russell singing "I'm a man", or Gene Kelly doing a bit of break dancing in the rain, we've all got our favourites. So here's a "Just VW" gallery for you, to pique the memory and cast a spotlight on just a few compelling and effective TV ads from an extraordinary canon of work. Congratulations to both VW and DDB and thanks for all the great telly.