My Favourite Advert Of 2013

Hi,

As some of you may know I work in Advertising and did my degree in Advertising, so it's safe to say I always keep an eye out for good adverts, and 2013 was a fantastic year for adverts.

A lot of you seemed to like my 'Favourite Advert Of All Time' post, in fact it's the most viewed post of my entire blog. So I hope you enjoy my favourite of 2013!

This was a HARD choice, but I chose the one that I probably watched the most, shared with the most people and which really captured my heart.

So... My Favourite Advert of 2013 is Chipotle's -  'The Scarecrow'

Stats
Views: 11,802,315

Published: Sept 11, 2013

Likes: 61, 103

What It's About
This advert is for the Mexican restaurant 'Chipotle' and primarily promoting their restaurant and new app 'The Scarecrow.' The advert promotes a healthier lifestyle and how Chipotle only use natural ingredients/sources for their food. It follows the story of a Scarecrow working for 'Crow Foods' who source their ingredients unfairly whilst hiding the truth & he wants to make a change.

Style
The style of the advert is quite unique. It is almost a short animated film which follows a journey and you are entranced right until the very end. It's funny how you can feel emotions for animated characters. The one part that gets me every time is that poor cow, the look in his eyes is heartbreaking.


Why I Like It
Firstly I think the music is incredible. The Fiona Apple Cover of 'Pure Imagination' is haunting & fits with this PERFECTLY. It's so creepy and emotive & even has the little up beat part of the song where the healthy food starts to kick in.

Another thing I like is the message. I myself am vegetarian, for no other reasons apart from the fact I don't like the taste of meat.. but even so.. it puts the restaurant in a good light. They do things differently which I like.

I like the fact it's animated, it's not so much a shouty message as it would be with real life animals, people & factories.  It's such a powerful message they are trying to portray; that we don't know what is going on behind closed doors, and it is done so cleverly. It in no way seems like it is shoving a message down your throat or preaching something. It is done with style that really makes you think.


I shared this advert AS SOON as I saw it and everyone loved it just as much.

Chipotle was honoured to see I chose them as you can see below:

So were the animation studio who made the advert:

So that's my favourite advert of 2013. What do you think?

Do you like it? What's your favourite advert of 2013?

Cya x

John Lewis Christmas Advert

Hi All,

So, the wait is over. The John Lewis Christmas advert is here.

I wait all year for the Christmas adverts, it is the one time of year that retailers know they have to get right and pull out all the stops to outdo their competitors. John Lewis have held the top spot for a while in the UK, and their adverts have now become almost iconic with people waiting all year for them and waiting to see what emotive advert they produce. I am one of these people. I have loved John Lewis' adverts from the start and throughout the year, not even around christmas time, I find myself searching for all of the adverts on YouTube and watching them from beginning.

So, if you are wondering why I am writing this blog post when it isn't even Christmas yet, it is because John Lewis have released their christmas advert. Yes people, it's been released!! It is due to be released on TV during the X Factor on Saturday night, however it has been released online for all of us searching for it prior. John Lewis have actually bought out the entire advert break during X Factor, which the agreement of Simon Cowell, to make sure their advert is memorable and everyone is talking about. Which I'm sure they will. Watch the new 2013 John Lewis Christmas advert below:

The advert tells the story of a bear and a hare around Christmas time. The advert is animated so is quite different to anything they have done before. It shows the bear not in the Christmas spirit, whereas his best friend the hare is trying his very hardest to get his best friend in the spirit so they can enjoy it together. The advert shows all the other animals enjoying decorating the tree etc but the bear yawning. It is soon clear the bear is going into hibernation, and will always miss christmas due to his sleeping patterns and is therefore not aware of how enjoyable christmas can be.

The advert really pulls on your heartstrings when the hare is looking at all the other animals enjoying christmas day and he is so upset his best friend can't be there. The next thing, the bear comes along with a huge smile on his face after receiving the hare's present of an alarm clock to wake him up just in time for Christmas. And they all live happily ever after. Of course.

The advert cost a whopping 7 million so I do hope they sell a lot of those alarm clocks!

Something I think John Lewis do perfectly with their adverts is the music choices, this again is a perfect choice and I'm sure this cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We know' by Lily Allen will be a hit, as all the other iconic, slowed down, covers are. The music is so emotive and beautifully fits with the story. The music for last year's snowman advert particularly stood out to me because it was so entrancing, it made the advert.

Their adverts are so iconic, and are always known for being a tearjerking and emotional. They could be criticised for being very repetitive and following the same story, which is some cases they do. A lot of John Lewis christmas adverts follow the same story for finding the perfect christmas gift for your love ones, which this new advert follows too. However, John Lewis know if they feature products in their adverts, people will buy them, which is exactly what happens. This alarm clock will now be on everyones Christmas list.

As much as I do love this advert, and think the animation and disney like style really sets it apart from anything they have done before, I do prefer some of their other christmas adverts. My all time favourite one (and this is a hard choice) is 'The Long Wait' and I know this is a similar view of many others. The advert shows the boy impatiently waiting for Christmas and when the day is finally here, he cannot wait a minute longer. You assume he is waiting for Christmas all the time, but in fact he is waiting to give his parents the present he has bought him. It is such an emotive advert I do remember I did actually shed a tear at this one, because it is unexpected. Watch it below:

There have been many other brilliant John Lewis Christmas adverts and another favourite of mine is the Sweet Child Of Mine 2009 advert, I absolutely love the transition at the end, it works perfectly. Here are their 2008, 2010 and 2012 adverts for you to have a look, and probably cry at.

I'm sure there will be many more Christmas adverts I will love and I'll make sure to share the best ones with you! So that's it, another long year of waiting for the John Lewis Christmas advert is upon us.

And remember, give someone a Christmas present they'll never forget!


Cya x

Friday's Viral Video

As you may know, I love a good Viral Video and this one does not disappoint. I don't know how I haven't seen this advert until this week, and some of you may already have seen it, but if you haven't I highly recommend you watching it. This advert for 'True Move H' is just beautiful and very touching. The story follows how an act of kindness can have an effect many years later. It is a very emotional advert, so get your tissues out if you are going to watch it, with the last line reading 'Giving is the best communication.'

The advert was an instant success and it has already been viewed over 12 million times on YouTube, with numerous articles and tweets about the infamous tearjerking video.

Anyway I am going to stop talking now and just let the advert speak for itself. Below I will be posting links which talk further about the advert. Enoy!

Stats

Views: 12,047,071

Likes: 108,946

Posted: Sept 11, 2013

Campaign's view on the Advert

Brand Republic's view on the Advert

Ad Week's view on the Advert
Mashable's view on the Advert
Huffington Post's view on the Advert
Daily Mail's view on the Advert

The Mirror's view on the Advert 

The Telegraphs's view on the Advert


Cya x

Social Media Week

On Monday, I was lucky enough to go to Social Media Week's Opening Party. If you don't know what Social Media Week is, it is a week long event which takes place around the world, holding events, guest talks and lectures revolving the world of social media. For more information, check out their website HERE. The opening party is a great way to get a flavour for the week and a fantastic chance to network so I was very excited to go. For all of you that couldn't make it, I will be including photos of the night, so you all can see.

The first thing that took me by surprise was the giant red carpet outside we had to walk down! As well as this, around 20 photographers were snapping my photograph! I didn't have a clue where to look it was very surreal, but what a fantastic welcome. Upon entering there was also a lobster van which was serving various food throughout the night that went as quickly as you could even say the word lobster.

The inside of the party was decorated beautifully and the lights and effects around the room did look really good. As you can see from my photos, it was quite dark but there were a lot of strobe lights which heightened the atmosphere.

The night itself was good, there were various stalls and stands showcasing brands, but by far the best was the Duck DJ stall. When the ducks and blocks moved around the square, the beat changed and it was almost like a DJ deck. Very fascinating.

At the party there was also a great graffiti battle in which a white blank wall was covered in graffiti, it was great to see this progress and it was done only using a pen, great to see! Although I don't know what the image on the left is meant to be, eggs?

As well as this there were Nokia stands, lots and cupcakes and blue wine. The Nokia stands were showing the various new Nokia phones, which had some great new features and the cupcakes even had Nokia logos printed on them. To top this off and promote Nokia just that little bit more, the wine was blue, blue wine!

Overall I had a good night, although I would suggest more hubs next time, apart from networking there wasn't as many stands or focal points as I imagined there would be. It was a great event and I can't wait to keep updated on the rest of Social Media Week. If you would like to keep updated with Tweets about Social Media Week, take a look at their Twitter page HERE.

Cya x

Favourite Advert Of All Time

Hi All,

This is a question I am always asked, so I thought I would share my favourite advert of all time with you. This is an incredibly hard choice as there so many brilliant adverts and campaigns out there, especially at the moment.

After much deliberation I have decided and I actually have two, one is a TV advert and the other is a Viral Video. If you haven't seen these adverts before then I highly recommend you watching them in the links below.

Honda- The Cog

This advert by Honda has always been one of my favourites. I remember the first time I watched this advert and I was amazed by it. The advert was released in 2003, making me only 11, but I still remember seeing it and being fascinated by how clever it was. The concept it based on a Rube Goldberg machine which includes various car parts with them all connecting and linking together, showing the process of how a Honda is built. The advert flows so well and you are entranced right until the very end. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius and the thought process behind each movement must have been huge. The campaign itself was very successful and was broadcast on TV and in Cinemas. Cinema advertising is my all-time favourite type of advertising but I will talk about this in a later blog. I believe this advert is a classic, and whenever anyone asks me what my favourite advert is, I will always respond with this. The music at the end of the advert also makes it for me, as it is the only music throughout; it really stands out and tops it off perfectly. Watch it below.

Stats

Views: 5,286,488

Likes: 21,423

Posted: Jul 29, 2009

Dove- Evolution

My other favourite advert is Dove's Evolution Viral Video. I was introduced to this video during University by one of my lecturers as they recommending watching it and I thought it was amazing. The message of this advert is so strong and so cleverly put together, it really sticks in your mind. The campaign shows the photoshop altering of a women's face before and after it is retouched as it is for magazines and TV in todays society. This message is such a controversial and talked about subject and Dove have handled it really well, making you question society and indeed, beauty. The last line of this advert reads 'No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.' As someone who regularly uses photoshop it is incredible to see the difference it can make to everyday images and faces. The sheer speed of the video and how quickly it changes amazes me. As well as the Evolution advert, Dove have also produced another more recent campaign in which others see your beauty even when you don't by the use of sketches. It has more views in total than both of the adverts I have shown you today and was understandably widely successful. This advert is truly touching and I will leave a link below if you want to check it out. 

Stats

Views: 16,347,365

Likes: 27,965

Posted: Oct 6, 2006

So there you have it, my favourite adverts of all time for you. The two adverts I have chosen haven't been picked because they are necessary the best quality, biggest production value or funniest; I have chosen the adverts which have stuck in my mind over the years and that I find myself going back to YouTube to watch over and over again. Those are the successful adverts in my mind, the ones that still have the reach even when the campaign is over. 

If you liked these adverts or have favourites of your own leave them in the comments section below or Tweet me. 

Click HERE to see the other Dove- 'Beauty Sketches' video I talked about earlier.

Cya x

My Top Ad's Of The Week

Now, because I only started this blog on Saturday, this is effectively last weeks top Adverts. Normally my blog posts like these will be posted on Fridays to sum up the week, but today it's a bit different. I personally love viral videos, I believe they can be so powerful and their reach can be extraordinary. I will share both viral videos and adverts with you as I think a viral video done well can have as much influence as any advert could.

LG Ultra Reality
The first video which caught my eye this week was LG's Ultra Reality meteor prank. I found this video so entertaining and hilarious I shared it around the office and with my Twitter followers. If you haven't seen the video yet, check it out below, a very clever way to advertise the new product. I can't imagine what was going through people's minds when it was happening! There is a lot of hype about this video being a set up, but either way LG have pulled it off as everyone is talking about it.

Stats

Views: 7,468,523

Likes: 43,250

Published: Sept 3, 2013

Guinness- Made Of More

The next advert which was brought to my attention was Guinness' 'Made of More' which features men in wheelchairs playing basketball. I actually found this through a link via Twitter on Friday and when I watched it, it has around 100,000 views. Today it has 3,687,743 views, showing the sheer power the internet can have. This advert has a very heartfelt and touching message that really sums up the last line of the advert 'Made Of More.' The advert itself is quite basic and very simple, but that's what makes it so great, it's all about the message, no gimmicks or fancy lights, just the important and underlying message. The music in the background- 'To Build A Home' is also one of my favourite songs. Definitely worth a watch and share.

Stats

Views: 3,687,743

Likes: 20,845

Published: Sept 3, 2013

Nike- Possibilities
I actually saw the shortened version of this advert for the first time on TV last night and decided to go to YouTube to find the longer version. Again, this is a powerful advert with a strong message of your possibilities running through it. The way this advert blends and is put together is brilliant and it does make you think you could be doing more with your potential. Spot the famous faces in here too! Check it out below.

Stats

Views: 10,367,690

Likes: 25,538

Published: Aug 21, 2013

Twerk Fail
Now this is a funny one. This viral video has been circling my social channels constantly! I first found this video via Twitter and went on Facebook a minute later and it will over my Timeline. The video features a girl recording herself doing the latest dance craze 'Twerking' but ultimately failing in the most unfortunate way. I do not know if this video is real or fake but it is hilarious either way and definitely worth a watch!

Stats

Views: 8,353,278

Likes: 36,091

Posted: Sept 3, 2013

So that's it, my Top Ads/Virals of the week. Hope you enjoyed them! Let me know what your favourites were and if you have any great Ad's you've seen this week, share them with me.

Cya x