From the pulpit
The Editor’s introduction
Issue 25 | December 2012
The trouble with this job, editing Directory, is I have become accustomed to looking at great work. It’s like a drug. It’s not just that I need more but that I need the ideas to be bigger, bolder and more innovative if I’m to be impressed.
We received more submissions for this issue than for any previous Directory. Way over two hundred campaigns, which agencies have thought well enough of to send them our way before sending them off to awards shows.
Yet I found myself wondering where the exceptional pieces were and was mildly dissatisfied with work that was merely very, very good.
So I went to Argentina for a week, to give a keynote at the Argentine Direct Marketing Association conference. A week away in the spring sunshine of Buenos Aires – and I came back refreshed to see that we do, after all, have some seriously interesting and inspiring work for you in Issue 25.
Highlights for me are Leo Burnett London’s Direct Mail campaign for the IPA, the Lego branding changed to Ego. 1
Also from Leo Burnett, but Brazil this time, is a genius idea for Hemoba, the Bahia blood donor service. The local football team’s strip was usually red and black. But they played in white and black for a couple of months, the red returning to their shirts as and when more blood was given. 2
Two new innovations on Facebook we liked a lot were Colenso BBDO’s work for Amnesty (pages x-x), an app that scans your Facebook timeline and reveals how your innocent comments could get you imprisoned or worse in countries elsewhere; and CP+B’s app for Grey Poupon (on pages x-x), which rejects requests to be Friends with the brand.
Heart warming is “Christmas in September” for Tamanna by DraftFCB Beirut (pages x-x) and rib-tickling is Barnes Catmur’s “Pizza Roulette” idea (on pages xx-xx), Clemenger BBDO’s integrated campaign for NAB “Stand-Ins” (pages xx-xx) and Mercer Bell’s “Fist of Fusion” work for Maggi Australia.
Ideas that fell by the wayside
Some extremely good work has failed to make it into the magazine this month. This is not because we didn’t think it was good enough but simply because we did not have the space.
We try to select case studies that span the gamut from Mail through to the big budget integrated campaigns so we are looking for breadth as well as quality. For some reason there were a very high number of outdoor events sent to us this time round.
Campaigns I feel badly about include:
- Shackleton’s brilliant “Share Experiment”, which ran exactly a year ago and which we felt was not recent enough for Directory. (Check it out in English at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbyXOUbuYAg)
- Taproot India’s “Day in the Life of India” for the Times of India – for the same reason.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BluMybWjBJE
- BBH’s innovative use of Pinterest for AMREF – the story online at;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5y26qKltzs - Harder, perhaps, is to get people to think about pensions. But Ogilvy Amsterdam have done a great job with a stunt selling hotdogs. Teeny-weeny hotdogs. 3
- M&C Saatchi Sydney’s “Build with Chrome”, which has been winning awards left, right and centre. 4
Actually, at least 20 other campaigns were up to scratch. 303 Lowe Australia, Proximity Colombia, BMF, Iris Australia, Lida, Ogilvy South Africa and BBDO Stockholm have good reason to gripe.
But please, don’t stop sending us your work. Higher standards end up rewarding us all.
New look
You may have noticed the new look and feel to Directory. This is the work of gifted young designer James Henderson at Brilliant Path.
But what do you think? A big, medium-sized or a small improvement? Please email me, [email protected] and let me know your views about our changes. And any suggestions you have to help us make Directory even better are, as always, gratefully received.
- Lego models of famous advertising people such as Sir Martin Sorrell, Sir John Hegarty and, here, Graham Fink were mailed to agency HR Directors.
- Vitória changed from red and black to white and black strip. The more blood the fans gave to Hemoba, the more red was returned to the shirts.
- When people bought Giant Hotdogs, they were shocked to be given miniature dogs. The paper plate explained their pensions might also be less than they’d expect.
- Google Maps was combined with LEGO to demonstrate the power of Google Chrome to enable 3D graphics within your browser.
The peak of your career
A yellow pencil sitting on a shelf in your office tells all those who pop by that you are at the very top of your game. One of a select few.
Cannes awarded over 1000 Lions in 2012. But pencils are scarcer because they’re harder to win.
If you’ve had work published in Directory this year, then don’t be afraid to enter it into the D&AD 2013 Awards.
The deadline for entries is Wednesday 30th January.
There are Direct categories for TV, Radio, Press & Poster, Digital, Ambient and Integrated not to mention Direct Mail and Writing for Direct and Art Direction for Direct.
Win and we lesser mortals will have to look up to you.
