Work of the Week: 19/12/25
Telstra - Drums
Chosen by Abi Lightfoot, Americas reporter
Drumroll please… for Telstra’s iPhone 17 product reveal. The spot, created by bespoke agency village +61 and Bear Meets Eagle on Fire unveils Apple’s latest release in the most creative of ways – a single-shot film featuring hordes of percussion instruments playing spontaneously. It’s one of those films that makes you question just how they did it, with Bear Meets Eagle on Fire’s chief creative officer Micah Walker telling LBB’s Tom Loudon that pulling off the one-shot film was “ harder than it looks”, and that’s quite something, as it looks pretty hard to me.
Childhope Philippines - Donate to View
Chosen by Sunna Coleman, Asia reporter
An animated film featuring music by Filipino artist, Ely Buendia, is the centrepiece of Childhope’s Christmas fundraising effort this year. In a first-of-its kind charity film, viewers can unlock the full animated video through a small donation, turning every viewing into direct support.
All proceeds go to the organisation’s Street Education and Protection Program, supporting initiatives such as KalyEskwela (School on the streets), KliniKalye (mobile clinic), and other child welfare services centred on education, healthcare, and psychosocial support.
Tricon Residential - A Life in the Day of Marty
Chosen by Ben Conway, Americas reporter
One of my favourite genres of advertising – if we can call it that – is ‘ads that have no business looking this good’. And this is a superb example. American Haiku has taken a fairly mundane brand – a real estate company – and given it the arthouse treatment, with help from Blackstone’s design consultancy, FundamentalCo, directors Max and Joe Weiland, and DoP Norm Li.
While the creative idea itself is pleasingly simple – an almost intimate portrayal of care from an employee who does their job very well – it’s the inventiveness and vibrancy of the visuals that made me stop in my tracks. The lighting is exquisite; the shot framing is experimental; even the sound and music is tranquil and inviting, perfectly matching the campaign’s stolid maintenance man, Marty.
All four films have the cinematic softness that’s only achieved by shooting on 16mm film – helped along by a rich grade from Company 3 colourist Simon Bourne – and I just can’t get over the feeling of ‘they didn’t need to do all that’. But they did. And thank heavens for that. Just look at the coffee steam rising into the amber light in ‘Heavy Lifting’, or the leafblower shot in ‘Visible Numbers’, or the sandwich sequence of ‘Cutting Corners’. There are too many moments to mention; remarkable filmmaking that’s somehow endeared me to a real estate company. That’s a turn-up for the books.
Uber Eats - Get Almost, Almost Everything
Chosen by Zara Naseer, EMEA reporter
A painfully slow track. Morose faces. A half-hearted side step into a sluggish twirl. If it’s a mild salsa that you want, it’s a mild salsa you can get on Uber Eats. Just not that kind.
The brand has expanded its ‘Get Almost, Almost Anything’ platform with a series of delightfully odd films that turn grocery items into puns. In addition to mild salsa, Pirate’s Booty puffs transform into a twerking swashbuckler; Jolly Ranchers come to life as merry farmers; and passion fruit is reimagined as an amorous banana and grape pair.
We have Special US to thank for the concept, and MJZ’s Nick Ball for the cinematic direction. Weird is always welcome here!
Nike Football - Show Dem
Chosen by Addison Capper, managing editor, Americas
As a consumer of some form of football/soccer most days holds a season ticket at my local club, I by no means think 'the game is gone'. But I’ll be damned if football doesn’t feel, at the very least, a little less fun than it used to. Endless – and often incorrect – video assistant referee decisions. Flair replaced by rigid systems. Rivalries that no longer feel very rivalrous. It all adds up. Apparently, Nike Football agrees. And it has the perfect antidote: African football – more specifically, the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. And who better to lay down the gauntlet than one of the continent’s greatest ever showmen, Nigeria legend – and Nike’s unofficial chief flair officer – Jay-Jay Okocha.
Joris Poggioli – Per Quelli Che Volano
Chosen by Zhenya Tsenzharyk, UK editor
Opening any story with a quote from Plato can, most often than not, come off pretentiously. In 'Per Quelli Che Volano', a short film by designer Joris Poggioli directed by Henry's Bleu Désert, it somehow works. Shot on 35mm over five days on location on the island of Lanzarote during specific ‘blue hours’ of dusk and dawn, the film creates a conversation between objects – part furniture, part art – and natural materials, bringing poetry to all. The images are beautiful and ever so slightly strange as the shots emphasise the island’s alien, volcanic terrain. Audio post production brings all the elements together adding wind gusts, stone cracks, and a subtle score to elevate the otherworldly ambience. And the film uses AI in select shots to achieve rotation of objects, demonstrating how, in the measured hands of filmmakers, it really can be a supportive tool that doesn’t undermine filmmaking principles.
So, is it an art film or a furniture ad? I don’t think it matters when form and content coexist harmoniously.
Canal+ – Tango
Chosen by Tará McKerr
From television channel Canal+, comes a brand campaign entirely dedicated to French cinema. Visually, it's a spectacle. The choreography is enchanting, the camera work is wonderfully dizzying, and there’s a glut of emotion rammed in for such a short film.
Made to support the brand’s new message that ’A great film is never made alone’, the duo dances the tango, representing the symbiotic relationship between studio and filmmaker, agency and client. From BETC Paris, it was created “the old-fashioned way”, intentionally positioned as an act of defiance against automation and AI. A welcome, refreshing piece of work.
PowerBeats - The Master of Speed and Stability
Chosen by Olivia Atkins, EMEA News Editor
Beats’ latest short film starring YouTube sensation IShowSpeed is a stylistic masterclass in cinematic craft. Directed by Daniel Wolfe with MIRIMAR, the film combines beautifully composed visuals, dynamic pacing, and a playful, almost fantastical energy that elevates the story beyond a typical product tie-in. Watching Speed train with kung fu master Paco Yick, a long-time member of Jackie Chan’s stunt crew, feels magical, turning everyday action into something larger-than-life – while capturing the freedom of movement and joy that comes with wearing Beats headphones.
Sleaford Mods - ‘No Touch’
It was this time last year that I watched Andrea Arnold’s ‘Bird’. It is not exactly your typical holiday watch, but it is full of the filmmaker’s signature realism and bursting with tenderness. Starring Barry Keoghan and Nykiya Adams, the film was shot in Dartford, which is where Andrea returned to for this collaboration with post-punk duo, Sleaford Mods.
