Work of the Week: 24/07/26
BBC – What Has the BBC Ever Done for Me?
Chosen by Cathy Meyer-Funnell, reporter, EMEA
The question ‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ was first posed back in 1985 by John Cleese, and over 40 years on it’s time for another reminder of just how much our public service broadcaster has given back to its licence fee payers over the last century. The film, made by the in-house BBC Creative team and directed by Blink’s Dougal Wilson, is not only a fun game of ‘Spot the Celebrity’, with highlights including Mr Tumble being admitted to Holby General and Claudia Winkleman pulling pints at the Queen Vic accompanied by her Traitors, but also points out all the services the BBC provides us with. BBC News is the most used and trusted news source in the country. The BBC World Service reaches over half a billion people across the globe, some of them in countries with much more restricted press freedoms. BBC Bitesize, CBBC and CBeebies all exist to educate and entertain children. It’s never been an easy ride for the Beeb but it turns out they do rather a lot for us.
Cadbury Malaysia - Made To Share Café
Chosen by Sunna Coleman, reporter, Asia
Cadbury and Ogilvy Malaysia bring a new dimension to the brand's well-loved ‘Made to Share’ packaging through live performance. Incorporating an animated LED screen onto a Kuala Lumpur café front, the tech worked alongside actors to tell a story celebrating small acts of generosity between friends.
With the performance needing to be meticulously timed and presented to sync up with the LED grid, the act required great precision. Set up in the heart of buzzing Petaling Street, the performance drew in unsuspecting passers-by with four acts put on through the day. A lovely way to surprise and delight.
The campaign was supported by a full 360 campaign including social media teasers and on-ground activation giving people the chance to create bespoke 'Made to Share' bars.
Zevia – Real Talk Interpreter
Chosen by Zara Góralczyk, writer, editorial strategy
Put Cardi B in more ads. Her charisma makes these spots from drinks brand Zevia and creative studio DE-YAN, as she quietly slides into frame to decode what we really mean when we’re being polite. ‘You look comfortable’ means ‘your shirt’s ugly’; ‘your son is still finding his footing academically’ means ‘your son is stupid’; and ‘bless your heart’? Well that doesn’t bear repeating.
Between noisy slurps of Zevia, the rapper naturally delivers her performance with just the right amount of sass – naturally, because she’s really just playing Cardi B, not a foreign character constructed by adfolk. A wise choice, given that it’s that personality that’s charmed so many of her fans. DE-YAN CCO, Jason Kreher even said the goal on set was simply to get out of Cardi's way: "I've never been so happy to throw away scripted dialogue in favour of the gold that she just naturally spits when saying what she really thinks.” Kudos to the brand, which prides itself on real ingredients, for being cool with her realness.
Honda – Your Dreams Engineered
Chosen by Laura Swinton Gupta, editor-in-chief
In Pablo London’s first project for Honda, they take the brand’s Power of Dreams ethos in a tactile new direction. The pan-European campaign revolves around the delicious visual metaphor for creativity, as an idea starts of amorphous and unknown only to reveal itself through experimentation and play. There’s a Michaelangelo quote that goes: “I saw the angel in the marble, and carved until I set him free”, only here instead of a block of marble, we’ve got a squishy, huggable balloon cloud. It feels a bit Big Hero Six, irresistibly soft - and that’s not a sensation often connected to the automotive space. Together with Ryan Chun’s lightly playful direction and the ponderous piano soundtrack courtesy of The Hogan, that quirky softness makes this an appealingly human story about innovation and technology.
The Globe and Mail – Redesign
Chosen by Jordan Won Neufeldt, Canada reporter
The Globe and Mail is older than Canada itself. But age isn’t necessarily a guarantee of market dominance – a lesson that the publication and creative agency VML Canada were quickly learning locally. So, to tackle the matter, they turned the journalistic institution’s legendary masthead into an ownable typeface.
While this is undeniably clever – both from a storytelling and marketing lens – what’s truly impressive is that the creative team only started with the letters in the words ‘The Globe and Mail’. For every letter not included, VML had to closely examine the proportion and aesthetic details of what already existed, in order to extrapolate the remaining characters. From my point of view, the result is seamless and tasteful, but above all else, I’m impressed by the creative insight to leverage the masthead in the first place. It’s great to see such an iconic publication receive new life!
Beefeater – Virtual Insanity
Chosen by Alex Reeves, managing editor, EMEA
There are few music videos that have imprinted themselves on the British public’s mind’s eye like Jamiroquai’s ‘Virtual Insanity’, directed by the legendary Jonathan Glazer. It’s one of those ‘making of’s that’s so famous it’s become common knowledge. You can’t shock people in the pub by saying “did you know, it looks like the floor was moving but it was actually the walls on wheels?” What is shocking to anyone who was there the first time round, is that the video is now 30 years old. Time is relentless and cruel.
To mark this anniversary along with a much more moderation-oriented Jay Kay, Beefeater 0.0 alcohol-free gin has teamed up with Lucky Generals and Magna Studios directors Julien & Quentin to remake the video. Only this time, we “go beyond” the four walls of the 1996 version and see more rooms and – crucially – more hats. The Jamiroquai frontman’s dance moves remain singularly impressive and the visual spectacle lives up to the thrill of the original. As a cultural moment, I can see this being a win for Beefeater.
Plato's Closet – Find the Fit That Fits You
Chosen by Ben Conway, reporter, Americas
Tombras has created the first national brand campaign for Plato’s Closet, giving five real teens a confidence boost in the process. Ahead of the return to school, the thrift store chain developed an immersive in-store experience that simulated the ‘back to school’ corridor moment with a purpose-built set and crew of actors.
The surprise experience allowed the kids to ‘test drive’ their new outfits and overcome first day nerves, also directly prompting the participants to make a purchase with their newfound confidence. However, the experience also served as an excellent ‘content engine’ (read more about that here) for videos across CTV, OLV, digital and social. It’s a sweet and uplifting piece of experiential, while being an effective retail activation with wider reach in multiple channels. A great start for Tombras’ first creative campaign for the brand.
The Marie Keating Foundation – Mole Maps
Chosen by Scarlett Sherriff, reporter, EMEA
Ireland is known for its verdant landscapes, there because they are blessed by the rain more frequently than the sun. However, the Emerald island has one of the highest skin cancer rates in all of the world. This campaign from the Marie Keating foundation uses photographs of moles shaped like the Irish counties to highlight this message: “You’re as likely to get skin cancer in Carlow, as you are in Corfu.”
As we endure some of the hottest summers ever recorded, this campaign is a clever visceral and visual depiction of just how important sun protection is… for people Ireland, just as much as those in the Mediterranean.
Paddy Power – Wheel Clamps
Chosen by Olivia Atkins, EMEA Craft Editor
It's the sheer simplicity behind this BBH Dublin campaign for Paddy Power that makes it so brilliant. By hijacking clamped cars and taking inspiration from the universal sting of getting clamped, this experience flips the experience into an unexpected, high-impact joke, guaranteeing attention and turning a frustrating situation into an excellent use of media space. This hyper-local and low-cost campaign is innovative, rewarding victims with free tickets to the comedy festival, while staying true to Paddy Power’s disruptive and beloved cheeky brand identity.
Design Institute of Australia – Write DESIGNER
Chosen by Tom Loudon, AUNZ reporter
Despite contributing an estimated AUD$67.5 billion annually to the economy, designers have never been reliably counted in the Census.
The 60-second film features the voice of N'fa Jones -- as well as contributions from Marc Newson, Romance Was Born, Ludo Studio (Bluey), RØDE Microphones, and dozens more -- and moves from the intimacy of hearing aids and defibrillators to the grandeur of trucks, coral reefs, and towering buildings, to demonstrate the breadth of a profession that has long operated in the background.
The campaign's urgency is simple: without accurate data, design cannot advocate for itself. By reframing a checkbox on a form as a moment of professional pride and collective action, ‘Write DESIGNER’ transforms the Census from a bureaucratic exercise into a political statement about recognition.
In assembling such an impressive roster of Australian design talent, Clemenger BBDO has made the invisible visible in a way that feels celebratory rather than defensive, and the powerful script reminds viewers design is not decoration, but essential infrastructure.
