Work of the Week: 02/08/24
In this week’s roundup, we’ve handpicked a concoction of work that mixes big names with unexpected players; work that dismantles ignorance and disarms you when you least expect it. Kicking off at top spot, we explore Libresse / Bodyform’s latest ad, ‘Never Just a Period,’ which remains steadfast in continuing the brand’s trailblazing narrative around menstruation – while sparking debate and conversation. Of course, Olympic-related content is aplenty at the moment, so we’ve sifted through to find some of the best. Here, you’ll see gigantic, surrealist work from OMEGA, and something a little different from Montefiore Einstein Hospital. The ad chronicles the history of breakdancing in The Bronx – which is set to debut as an official Olympic sport this year – and converges at an ending that will make you stop and think.
PEDIGREE tugs at the heartstrings with a dreamlike appeal for dog adoption, while Cushelle’s ‘Selfishly Soft’ campaign humorously encourages Brits to cherish their ‘me-time’ with a cheeky koala’s guidance. We’ve also awarded a spot to Drumsheds, London’s iconic venue which went cinematic in a Tokusatsu-inspired ad heradling its biggest season yet.
See all of this top work in full below.
Libresse / Bodyform - Never Just a Period
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This week, femcare brand Libresse, (or Bodyform as it’s known in the UK) shared the latest spot from the brand famed for its against-the-grain platforming of periods. We’ve heard mixed reviews on this campaign with some believing the brand is leaning too heavily on the horror-like portrayal of the monthly visitor. But we can’t expect a single ad to tick all the boxes at once – if anything we’re still sucking in breaths of relief that we aren’t seeing ads telling us how many sports we can do while wearing white on our period…
The campaign is fulfilling the social brief; it’s getting people talking. The ad features reproductive organs animated into a cute, felt…thing? A typecast doctor whose attitude many of us will be familiar with, and an incredible orchestra who guide the viewer through the chaos. Owing to AMV BBDO and SMUGGLER’s Lucy Forbes, the spot attempts to truly understand ‘women+s’ bodies.
Montefiore Einstein Hospital - Spot it Early
Read more.In an unexpected turn, this campaign draws a parallel between sport and cancer. The Montefiore Einstein Cancer Centre in New York partnered with creative agency, MIRIMAR, to make a spot which explores the rise of breakdancing which, like Montiefiore Einstein, is native to The Bronx. In 2024, it will also be making its debut as an Olympic sport.
“It’s all about spotting it early,” the narrator says about talent. The screen then turns black revealing two sentences. “Talent is Best Spotted Early.” Followed by, “So Is Cancer.” It’s one of those pieces that stops you in your tracks. Inserts a pit deep within your stomach after luring you in under the guise of historic sporting joy, full-circling into modern moments. It’s clever, it’s necessary, and it celebrates the rightful rise of this incredible sport while platforming an all too important issue. Gold stars (or medals).
Drumsheds - Big Just Got BIGGER
Drumsheds will be known to many UK-based folk as one of London’s most iconic venues for music and culture. It’s huge, industrial, and has ceilings that’ll make your neck ache to look up at. Teaming up with Stink Films, the spot takes inspiration from Japanese Tokusatsu cinema to create a cheeky metaphor for the venue’s size, and the standard of the acts they host. Introducing names like Jamie Jones, Fatboy Slim and Honey Dijon, the team used the spot to promote what they’re calling their ‘biggest season yet’.
Evoking feelings of nostalgia, the ad follows three party-hungry power rangers who storm the venue, while the roof quite literally lifts off to form an iron warrior who wins over the baddie over a pint of beer.
OMEGA - Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
This spot is post-production to the absolute max. The campaign features a selection of familiar Parisian scenes with a surreal twist; almost Salvador Dalí-like. The twelve athletes who star in the ad are scaled to the size of giants using the city as their Olympic stadium. We witness pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis vaulting over the Sacré-Coeur, while high jump gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi launches over the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a weird watch and the veil of generative AI processes are far from thin, but it’s striking and fitting with the opening-day grandeur.
PEDIGREE - Dream Maker
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Every so often there’s an ad that will travel around the Little Black Book office with a domino effect – this was one of them. There may have even been a few tears. The film follows a child into her dreams where she plays in an ethereal land with a small black and white dog. The grade is comforting and so too are the repetitive piano keys topped with a voice that feels like a lullaby. The final shot shows the dog peacefully asleep, before the colouring turns grey to reveal it is in a dog shelter. The final message reads, “Your dream is their dream too.” Not. A. Dry. Eye.
PEDIGREE as a brand has made a commitment to ending dog homelessness within 20 years. The GoodPoints initiative means that when a dog owner buys a PEDIGREE product, they’ll earn points that can be donated to a dog shelter in need – the spot attempts to show how real this need is.
Cushelle - Selfishly Soft
From Publicis Production comes this campaign which encourages Brits to take advantage of the sacred ‘me-time’ offered to them when they go to do their business. The spot pokes fun at the tropey British tendency to put others first and documents Kenny the Koala – who now has a voice – congratulating toilet-users for taking advantage of their well-deserved alone time.
