Work of the Week: 04/09/26
Coca-Cola Thailand - The World Will Wait
Chosen by Sunna Coleman, reporter, Asia
Directed by revered filmmaker and Factory01 founder, Wuthisak Anarnkaporn (Un), this global Coca-Cola campaign by Ogilvy Singapore and Thailand features distinct Thai humour in two spots encouraging people not to bring work home with them and instead, to be present with loved ones at mealtimes.
In 'The Dentist', we meet the protagonist right in the middle of operating on a patient with tools being handed to him by his assistants. All of a sudden, he is handed an eating utensil instead and when he looks up, his partner has appeared in the room with a bottle of Coke in hand as his patient starts emitting bubbling sounds from his mouth. The scene transforms and the dentist is sat at his dining table with a delicious hotpot and a refreshing glass of Coke in front of him, thoughts of work completely erased.
In 'Cable Guy', a worker is shocked to find his mother sat on top of a pylon as she skillfully pours Coca-Cola from a great height into a glass held up by his sister on the ground. As he takes a refreshing sip, he forgets work and is transported back to the present moment where he is sharing a family picnic by the lake.
Tinder Thailand – The Real Finds the One
Chosen by Cathy Meyer-Funnell, reporter, EMEA
As a perpetual singleton I can fully empathise with the struggles of scrolling through ‘the apps’. But what Tinder Thailand points out in this charming and funny spot is something that is still often forgotten: the only way to find true love is to just be yourself. VML Thailand takes some of the most awkward dating app tropes - short kings, a funky laugh, card collecting fandoms - and proves that it doesn’t matter if you don’t float everyone’s boat, because you’ll always be a winner to the right person.
As group creative director Natkanate Ruengrujmethakul states, it can be hard to feel worthy when surrounded by a load of perfectly curated, aesthetic profiles, but “your raw, unapologetic reality is your greatest dating superpower”. Have faith, keep putting yourself out there and, in time, your efforts will truly be rewarded. Something to keep me smiling as I battle through the trenches out here.
Calvin Klein – Feel the Fit
Chosen by Ben Conway, reporter, Americas
This new series of films and photos is certainly in the Calvin Klein oeuvre - it's not scoring any points for originality. However, there's a combination of factors – on top of its stylish visual aesthetic – that make 'Feel the Fit' particularly zeitgeisty.
The two spots, bursting with magical realism, capture Sadie Sink at something of a turning point in her career, transitioning from 'Stranger Things' up-and-comer into a bona fide Hollywood and Broadway star. And the highly anticipated reveal that she will play Jean Grey in the next X-Men film couldn't have come at a better time for the brand.
Sadie's involvement also blends well with the ongoing wave of nostalgia for '90s and early noughties style and culture - which CK's new jeans are drawing from. The ad leans into this, using Willa Ford’s 2001 hit ‘I Wanna Be Bad’ as a soundtrack and wryly employing vintage music video and rom-com tropes in a cheeky nod to the denim range's old-school vibes and Calvin Klein’s own advertising history.
And if we're zeitgeist-maxxing, who better to direct and photograph all of this domestic bliss than the man of 'The Moment', Aidan Zamiri?
The Object & Animal director is no stranger to capturing ‘vibey’ moments with major stars from the worlds of music and TV, having built up a formidable catalogue of work with British artist and cultural it-girl of the 2020s party scene, Charli xcx. Not to mention his deep background in fashion editorial work. It's a collaboration that works on several, trendy levels, creating an end product that's extremely shareable, if quite predictable.
For all these reasons, and the campaign's obvious tantalising, tongue-in-cheek appeal, it's no surprise this work has been absolutely prolific across our feeds this week.
Samaritans – Donate Your Voicemail
Chosen by Laura Swinton Gupta, editor-in-chief
Sometimes you just need a sympathetic ear, but when that need strikes in the wee small hours of the morning, that call can go unanswered. That’s why Samaritans has been encouraging people in Ireland to ‘donate’ their voicemail reply messages to signpost callers to the 24/7 phoneline.
This campaign from Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, is as low budget as you can get. The team had no money for a traditional media buy, so they figured out a way to hack the one piece of ‘free’ media space sitting in everyone’s phone - and it’s a piece of media that’s perfectly positioned to help people when they need it most. There’s also a great nugget of behavioural and cultural insight underpinning this project; the creative team is from outside of Ireland and they were struck by just how much the Irish still like to phone each other (gen z could never).
The campaign has built momentum with support from local radio stations, music labels, mural artists and more, with the likes of The Corrs and Kodaline lending their voices on social media.
Stella Artois – Are you asking us out?
Chosen by Jordan Won Neufeldt, Canada reporter
This week’s list certainly wouldn’t be complete without the campaign that’s gotten everyone in adland talking. All over LinkedIn, I’ve seen people sharing this concept, coming up with their own variants of it, praising how clever it is, and for good reason!
The thing is, when Häagen-Dazs put up its St. Patrick’s Day OOH with the text ‘Let’s grab a pint’, everyone assumed that was it. The placements did their job, and for months, nothing happened. So, for Stella Artois and Citizen Relations to secure a Toronto billboard right next to one of these ads and respond – months later – with the message, ‘Are you asking us out?’ was both profoundly unexpected, but totally awesome. Not only does it get people talking about the brand, but it’s playful, reactive and relevant, given that Canadians are often looking to enjoy a cold pint as summer draws to a close. The fact that you don’t even need to see it in person to know about it says all you need to know; this initiative is working flawlessly.
Liberty – Head of the Extraordinary
Chosen by Zhenya Tsenzharyk, managing editor, editorial strategy
Summer was only four days ago, so my eyebrow started to rise gently at the first waft of 'Christmas ad'. Then I clicked play on Liberty's newest campaign for its beauty advent calendar and changed my tune, pronto. Directed by Eoin Glaister with production by Stink Films, the campaign announces the appointment of the always-delightful Helena Bonham Carter as ‘Head of the Extraordinary'.
The mockumentary-style film takes us behind the scenes of the historic store and the care that goes into creating a truly extraordinary advent calendar. Featuring iconic make up artists Lisa Eldrige, Bobbi Brown (of Jones Road), and Violette Serrat, the film speaks to true beauty lovers and obsessives while conjuring up a sense of wonder and excitement for the festive season I didn't think was possible when my summer dresses are still hanging in my wardrobe.
Arla – Breakfast Yourself to Victory
Chosen by Paul Monan, head of creative excellence
We've all been there. Picking up the pace to overtake a slow walker before reaching the corner of the street. Beating your mate to the breakfast buffet. Setting a whimsical, totally arbitrary and ultimately meaningless competition for you to win is a genuinely relatable cultural tension.
Arla is tapping into this insight and turning breakfast into Britain's first win of the day in a new campaign from Droga5. Part of its new 'Feed Life' masterbrand platform, 'Breakfast Yourself to Victory' is an integrated campaign that will run in the UK. The stars of this show are two spots helmed by Biscuit's Jeff Low. In the first spot, a yoghurt-fuelled woman finds the motivation to outpace the escalator whilst the other stars a factory worker who, powered by milk, becomes a scanning machine. Simple, fun, with the humour well done.
IKEA – #IKEASwedishTest
Chosen by Adam Bennett, reporter, EMEA
IKEA’s product names have always come with a minor hazard: eventually, someone might ask you to say one out loud.
‘The Swedish Test’, created by Ogilvy Amsterdam for IKEA UAE, takes the pronunciation challenges already doing the rounds on TikTok and fills them with names like LACK, BILLY and the considerably more intimidating SKÄMTSKÅL. Get enough of them right, and you’re in with a chance of winning an IKEA gift card.
It’s a very simple bit of social work, but it’s utterly and uniquely IKEA. The impenetrably Swedish names have been sitting there in plain sight for decades, recognisable enough that you barely even need a logo attached to them, and the campaign finds a new way to make people play with them.
Perhaps most importantly, people apparently are playing: Ogilvy says users are spending an average of more than two minutes interacting with the brand.
Under Armour – Commit
Chosen by Scarlett Sherriff, reporter, EMEA
I’m not sporty at all and yet I found myself relating to a young boy trying to pick which activity to do. Alongside Colenso BBDO, Under Armour showed off an exciting array of possibilities including skateboarding, football, karate, and a rather balletic boxer.
The hero film lasts one minute and thirty seconds and shows a boy attempting to pick his favourite sport, running through the options and cutting to athletes signing up. Impressively, the campaign runs across print, out-of-home and social across the entire APAC region. It’s snappy advertising that has you out of the door and straight to the gym, skatepark or whichever venue is relevant.
Nedbank – What's your Relationship with Money?
Chosen by Olivia Atkins, EMEA Craft Editor
Nedbank’s campaign tells a compelling tale of two possibilities, transforming a standard banking message into a gripping 2.5-minute psychological thriller. Directed by Darling's Zee Ntuli and created via Joe Public, the film adopts a haunting, cinematic narrative that personifies money as a toxic companion, luring the protagonist into a downward spiral before delivering its cautionary message.
Exceptional craft anchors the film with subtle visual cues, like missing mirror reflections, and an inventive score composed from physical coin sounds. The campaign successfully positions Nedbank as an essential resource for financial literacy while encouraging viewers to honestly reflect on their own spending habits.
Jones Coffee Roasters – All Grown Up
Chosen by Alex Reeves, managing editor, EMEA
Every creative has a bank of ideas that never ended up being made. Few of them ever get to see the light of day, but the Dead Ad Society – hungryman’s ‘anti-award show award show’ – has the power to give one of those ideas a second chance each year.
’All Grown Up’ is an idea that Anomaly LA associate creative director Jagger Moore had been sitting on ever since it was rejected by a coffee client years ago. Inspired by how his infant son would constantly ask for sips of coffee, he imagined a world in which a child magically grows up just to have a taste of the adult drink.
From more than 250 submissions for the competition, ‘All Grown Up’ was selected as one of 16 finalists and performed live on stage by a troupe of improv actors before a packed audience at The Mint in Los Angeles last September. A jury of leading creatives deliberated in real time, before naming the script the night’s Gold winner.
The result is a delight. Directed by Lena Beug, it’s a simple absurdist scene that works as a cheeky little spot for Jones Coffee Roasters – a family-owned Southern California coffee company with roots stretching back generations. It’s an encouraging thing that the idea was able to come to life thanks to hungryman’s unique initiative.
DoorDash – DoorDash After Dark
Chosen by Addison Capper, managing editor, Americas
Late-night cravings are real. But the late-night world can be a frightful place full of spit-swapping tongue-kissers and creepy AF herds of cows. Thankfully, these are no match for Canada's valiant DoorDash riders, who, in these spots from Hard Work Club, brave such night-time terrors to deliver our mouths their utmost desires. The campaign is directed by Nick Ball, who has been on a roll in recent months with the kind of delightfully slow-paced, off-the-wall comedy he's treated us to here.
Always – There’s a Reason We’re Not Called ‘Sometimes’
Chosen by Zara Góralczyk, writer, editorial strategy
’There’s a reason we’re not called ‘Sometimes’’ is such a satisfying line from Saatchi & Saatchi London copywriter, Glenn Smith – the kind that elicits a wry smile and makes me think, ‘You know what, you’re right. Always has never let me down’. Plastered across the tunnel walls of Kennington underground station, it has mere seconds to deliver its message before a tube comes rushing through; with no bells or whistles, that’s all it needs.
A final hats off to the team at Always for agreeing to relegate the brand name to the bottom line. The confidence has paid off.
Aquamar – Chickensanity
Chosen by Abi Lightfoot, reporter, Americas
Aquamar’s ‘Chickensanity’ might represent a few of my worst nightmares coming to life. Firstly, being forced to eat bland, unseasoned chicken day after day, and secondly, being confronted by a house full of giant, clucking, clawed creatures. Terrifying. But perhaps that’s what makes this campaign from ONE23WEST for Aquamar so good?
Instead of positioning the brand’s ‘fuss free seafood’ as the only option for weekly dinner times, it’s heralded as a dinner time and sanity-saving alternative from a life of tasteless poultry. Playfully straddling comedy and horror genres, the spot’s use of music and sound paired with dark, oppressive lighting and dramatic performances really help to drive the message of ‘Chickensanity’ home, and inspire audiences to re-think their meal time maladies.
The Fair Treatment – The Fair Treatment Launch Film
Chosen by Tom Loudon, reporter, AUNZ
In Australian commercial creativity, data tells an uncomfortable story.
Research conducted as part of the ‘Fair Treatment’ campaign, launched this week by creatives from Howatson+Company and Good Oil, shows fewer than 15% of commercial director credits go to women, and women account for 22% of directors on production company rosters.
The new initiative proposes a practical tweak, calling on agencies and brands to adopt a blind treatment process, removing identifying information like gender from director pitches before selection.
The call to action is made in a hero film featuring award-winning male directors reading the anonymised words of female directors who have experienced bias firsthand.
Developed with input from ECDs, EPs, and production companies across Australia, The Fair Treatment’s use of male directors to voice the experiences of their female colleagues is a powerful rhetorical move.
By focusing on a specific, actionable change, it forces the industry to confront bias through the voices of its beneficiaries, offering a testable hypothesis with a measurable outcome, with more work to follow later this year.
