Lynx: 'Own Monday' (starts at 00:00) - UK
You'd expect any ad that opened with "You have over 4,000 Mondays in your life..." to be a bit of a downer, but not this powerhouse of a commercial from Lynx. "Wanna be the man? No – make him want to be you." With a range of fragrances at your disposal, you can be a winner every day of the week; a player who's tough enough to eat tofu without gagging.
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Director: Jonas and Francois
Got Milk: 'Brave' (starts at 00:59) - US
If you're going to go down the sentimental route then you might as well commit 100% – and that's certainly the case here. Interestingly, this commercial for milk targeting Californians (jointly developed by Goodby Silverstein in San Francisco and Grupo Gallegos in Los Angeles, and whose advertising is aimed at the Hispanic population) is being broadcast in both English and Spanish.
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners (San Francisco) / Grupo Gallegos (LA)
Director: Armando Bo
Kids Company: 'See The Child' (starts at 02:03) - UK
This spot for charity Kids Company is stark, grim and relentless … yet compels you to watch despite yourself. A small girl – unseen – tells us to witness the existence she led, and how its direction was shaped. It puts the suffering of children into context; but even more importantly, manages to suggest a way for people to help that is more involving than setting up a direct debit for a fiver a month.
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Director: Chris Palmer
Kenco: 'Coffee Vs Gangs' (starts at 03:22) - UK
This intriguing piece of work could be described as "Fair Trade Plus". It goes a few steps further than persuading us that farmers are receiving a decent return for their labour as – not only are we being asked to support fair remuneration for those who provide us with coffee - we're being offered the opportunity to support a company aiming to change the futures of youngsters growing up in the troubled regions where coffee is produced.
Agency: JWT London
Director: Johnny Hardstaff
Cyber Clean: 'Steamed Up' (starts at 04:26) - UK
To the strains of Blueberry Hill, a young woman teases the watching audience with her obvious nudity in this cheeky commercial for a product that promises to clean your computer's screen. Indeed, it'll be so spotless after Cyber Clean has done its work that you won't miss one tiny detail of whatever it is you happen to be watching. Just try not to think about how it got mucky in the first place.
Agency: M & C Saatchi
Director: Ben Tonge
Jason Stone is the editor of David Reviews
