Thinkbox
Mark Shanley likes to make provocative work – work that makes you feel something. He wants you to like his ads, but he would much rather you hated them than ignored them.
As Executive Creative Director at adam&eveDDB, he has put this into practice for a diverse range of brands including Puma, Pot Noodle,The V&A Museum and more.
For 20 years, Mark has made many ads and won many awards for those ads. Yet he has only won two Thinkboxes Awards – that’s an average of one every ten years.
He hopes doing this will increase his chances of winning a third.
Shanley’s choice
IKEA “Lamp” (2002)
This tale of a woman who abandons her old lamp on the street in the rain after buying a new IKEA lamp is directed by Spike Jonze. How it’s lit, the point of view of the lamp outside looking up and in, the music – the strongest lever to make people feel something – it’s all there. Until sentimental music plays and a Swedish man breaks the mood, flipping the narrative by telling viewers they’re "crazy" for feeling bad as the new lamp is simply better.
A really silly rug pull that makes you laugh.
- Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
- Client: IKEA
- Creative Team: Alex Bogusky, Paul Keister, Ari Merkin, Mark Taylor, Steve Mapp, Rupert Samuel
- Production company: Moron/Jankel/Zander (MJZ)
- Director: Spike Jonze
Volvo “The Epic Split feat. Van Damme” (2013)
Volvo’s The Epic Split showcases the stability of its trucks by showing Jean-Claude Van Damme performing a split between two reversing vehicles. A trade ad, for people who buy trucks, it’s beautifully shot with a serious performance and great music – and all real. Filmed in one take at sunrise in Spain’s Ciudad Real Airport, the ad combined precise choreography, Enya’s Only Time, and bold creativity to create an unforgettable moment in advertising.
With no tricks or twists, it’s the ultimate product demo.
- Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
- Creative Team: Anders Eklind, Sophia Lindholm, Bjorn Engstrom, Martin Ringqvist, Jerry Wass, Joi Persson
- Client: Volvo Trucks
- Production company: Folke Film
- Director: Andreas Nilsson
Value City Furniture “Old Table” (2015)
In this short but hilarious ad, a couple adore their new couch but recoil in disgust at their old coffee table – to the extent that when they look at the table, they gag. The idea that a piece of stylish new furniture makes old furniture look outdated is simple, with millions of ways you could write it. The comedy – pitch-perfect, so controlled when they are gagging, and with few cuts – showcases it beautifully in an amusing way.
It's all about the performances.
- Agency: Translation
- Creative Team: Eric Kallman, Jay Berry, Marc d' Avignon, John Norman, Steve Stout, Katherine O’Brien, Kasia Haupt Canning, Chad Howitt, Kevin Stein
- Client: Value City Furniture
- Production company: dummy
- Director: Harold Einstein
