Hostel World: “Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank” (Starts at 0:06) – UK
In 1997, Alan Partridge tried and failed to save his BBC career by suggesting ‘Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank’ as a viable TV format. Eighteen years on, this pitch from hell has finally come to fruition … courtesy of Hostel World. Playing his stately gent persona to the hilt, Eubank examines the comforts and facilities that hostelling can offer.
Agency: Lucky Generals
Director: Kelvin Hutchins
Lenor: “Lovely Skirt” (Starts at 01:03) – Germany
Lenor’s interest may lie in the softening of clothes but – in this German advert – the product steps aside to pay tribute to the humble skirt, which receives a fitting ode. An entertaining montage flits by but it’s the lyrical voiceover by Melkorka Oskarsdottir that really commands the attention.
Agency: Grey (Düsseldorf)
Director: Joe Roberts
Telenet: “Vincent Kompany” (Starts at 02:37) – Belgium
While football fandom can be associated with the very worst behaviour, when you see its endearing side caught as beautifully as it has been in this commercial for Telenet, you feel a warm glow. (If that sentence doesn’t ring true for you, then you might want to look away now as it seems really unlikely that you’re going to ‘get’ this on any level.)
Agency: TBWA (Brussels)
Director: Joe Vanhoutteghem
British Heart Foundation: “Heart Disease is Heartless” (Starts at 04:12) – UK
This astonishingly moving film for the British Heart Foundation establishes a narrative in just a few seconds and leads the audience into a crushing glimpse of an everyday tragedy. The exchange between father and son has a surreal quality from the get-go, and astute viewers will immediately realise what’s happening - but this actually adds to its impact.
Agency: DLKW Lowe
Director: Tom Tagholm
Scouts Association: “Dementia” (Starts at 05:15) – UK
This incredibly tender film about dementia focuses on an elderly couple who, on first impression, seem absolutely fine. They reminisce about how they met, and they smile a lot. She jokes about his big feet. Yet this well-dressed woman can’t manage alone – her illness means she can’t form any short term memories and day-to-day life is impossible without help.
Director: Charlie Thorne
Jason Stone is the editor of David Reviews
