This week we welcome the insight of Ibraheem Youssef. The former Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong and most recently Phibious where he was Regional Executive Creative Director based in Ho Chi Minh.
He is now a freelance creative based in Toronto.
Two Ads I Like
Clorets Mints – McCann Erickson Japan
I love this campaign. Produced last summer, I still consider it to be one of my favourite campaigns from the region.
This is a great example of “The medium being the message”. In brief, McCann Japan created a campaign for Clorets mints that consisted of two spots, one by Creative Director Mitsuru Kuramoto, and the other by their new A.I. Creative Director AI-CD ß (A data analysis program that analyzed past award winning Japanese ads, hosted in a quirky robotic body).
Only they didn’t specify who (what) did which ad, and asked the Japanese public to vote on which one was their favorite.
The ads themselves aren’t that amazing really, but the story behind them is. The word of mouth potential for this campaign is brilliant, people not only will talk about the ad and ask others what they think, but they’ll watch again, comparing and then voting.
See if you can guess who did which:
https://youtu.be/wMQ1AHB2XhQ
https://youtu.be/8cWHxd3k4gs
Du mobile – Leo Burnett Dubai
Another I like. This is short, simple and hilarious.
Asking of the wifi password at a cafe or restaurant, we’ve all been there. This brief spot directed by Tameem Youness, tackles the frustration we often experience in a fun and fresh way.
One Ad I Don’t Like
Product placement is big business. It can be done right, and tastefully, creating engaging and memorable stories that people willingly love to share (Seinfeld did it best, watch the Junior Mint episode). However, a lot of times, it’s shoved down our throats as viewers.
Here are a two cringeworthy examples:
Will smith – Converse – i Robot
Open the box, close up on shoes & mention the product name.
No, no & no, stop.
Transformers age of extinction – Beats pill
Besides this film blatantly crow-barring In your face not subtle at all logos every two minutes (Budlight, Goodyear, Chinese credit cards) the most cringeworthy example, is how they tried to be creative and build a Beats by Dr. Dre product placement into the storyline.
MORE: Interview: Ibraheem Youssef – Untethered from the Daily Grind (Feb, 2017)
