Ad of the Week: Dove

Here it comes.

Although this ad, which ran after the more popular Dove Evolution, is part of an older campaign I feel that it is one of the rare concepts that will stand the test of time and have a strong punch for quite awhile. The concept itself, women being overwhelmed with beauty messaging, isn't dramatically new, the way in which the message was delivered raised it to an entirely new level.

Through the usage of rapidly moving beauty ads, that foster the idea that to be pretty you have to change, interspersed with depictions of woman dangerously changing their bodies through eating disorders and plastic surgery gives a strong impact. And the overriding message, of talking to your daughter before the industry does, helps reinforce the brand attributes that Dove is using to differentiate itself, they are the brand for real beauty.

Agency: Ogilvy London

Art Directors: Stuart Campbell, Mike Kirkland & Sharon Lee Pan

Copywriter: Tim Piper

Song: La Breeze by Simian

My Super Bowl Ad Picks

The Super Bowl is, in comparison, the British Television Advertising Awards for the U.S. It has historically held some of the best advertising in the current market.

I would agree with the common sentiment that this year, due to the economic climate and waning interest, the ads didn't live up to the usual glory; but, there were still none the less some gems in the mix. Here are my picks for the 2010 Super Bowl:

1. Dove: Journey to Comfort/////Ogilvy

Although I felt the voice over was a little off, it had a relatively original, funny approach to selling a men's skin care product without making men appear to be unintelligent. I also love the reference to the scene in A Clockwork Orange with the use of music, content and cuts.

2. Cars.com: With Knowledge Comes Confidence/////DDB Chicago

Rarely does a serious ad seem to hit the mark on the Super Bowl; but, this in one of two that really did. It wasn't too preachy and had just enough dry humor to make it memorable. The best part though, it drove home it's main selling point, be confident with the knowledge you get from cars.com.

3. Google: Paris/////???

Again I was surprised with how memorable this simple ad was. It was one of the more innovative concepts, to tell a story through a simple search box and it seemed to target the 40% of female viewers that most ads ignored or openly offended.

4. Motorola: Megan Fox/////Anomaly

Although most ads featuring a half naked woman tend to be mindless and forget to talk about the product, this is one of the rare few that was very funny, sexy and left you with a clear idea of the product motorola blur.

5. Intel: Jeffrey the Robot/////Venables Bell & Partners

The first sweet and funny ad I've seen that is part of the larger excellent re-branding efforts of intel (putting faces to the name). I also feel that this is another great ad that was talking to the 40% of female viewers that most of the ads ignored.

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Worst Ad of the Super Bowl

Boost Mobile: Shuffle Dance/////180 Los Angeles

I would have to say this ad was terrible from the post production of trying to make it look dated, to the terrible copywriting and finally the horrible editing that destroyed the jokes. The worst part, everyone was so distracted with what was going on that they completely missed the message of the Boost Mobile's cheap rates.

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Best Social Media Ads

Brand Bowl///// Mullen & Radian 6

The sixth highest trending topic on twitter and a great way to stay on top of the winners on twitter in real time.

Squawq/////Colle+McVoy

Beautifully designed and a great analysis of the brand winners on all of twitter.

That wraps up the 2010 Super Bowl Ads. The biggest surprise this year, for me, was how memorable and well done the serious ads were over the funny ones.

Death of Copywriting

Will there be a day when the copywriter is obsolete?

With the rise of digital advertising and social media it seems that copywriting should become increasingly important; however, it appears that the exact opposite is occurring. Due to the everyday person taking on the self ascribed job of spreading their thoughts on blogs, twitter and more, novice writing is becoming the norm.

On top of that, the level of copywriting that was incredibly strong during the 50s and 60s seems to have taken a gradual decline throughout the years as our culture has become dramatically more visually driven.

Yet with the rule of thumb in advertising being to “cut through the clutter” (by doing things differently) will the next big movement be the revival of great copywriting in advertising and design? Or will we become so used to trivial writing that we won’t even recognize it when it returns?