National Lottery/Lotto: “Piers Morgan (Extended Version)“ (Starts at 00:06) – UK
Director Jeff Low draws a superb performance from Piers Morgan. The rapacious former tabloid editor supplies self-deprecating hubris in a bid to persuade us that we should buy lottery tickets.
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Director: Jeff Low
Direct Line: “Roger Rabbit” (Starts at 02:09) – UK
This is the edgiest and best of the Direct Line commercials featuring Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe, and it ends on a lovely bit of wordplay. Having discovered a scene of domestic chaos after a baking disaster has destroyed a mobile phone and covered a soft toy with cake mix, Wolfe is on hand to deliver a kicking last line.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Director: Chris Palmer
Pampers: “Pooface” (Starts at 02:45) – UK
Every parent will almost certainly remember the peculiar faces pulled by their babies when filling their nappies and – if they’ve forgotten – they’ll be reminded by this extraordinary video almanac. The perfectly-cast youngsters all possess the look of concentration which marks the passing of a poo to create an unusual piece of nostalgia for mums and dads everwhere.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Director: Olly Blackburn
Toyota: “The Truth” (Starts at 04:05) – Pan-Euro
Toyota have decided that honesty rules the day when it comes to advertising their vehicles and connected comedy actor Regan Burns to a lie detector as he takes their new Auris hybrid for a spin. The cameras keep rolling and Regan lets us in on a few behind-the-scenes revelations that are both funny and surprisingly persuasive.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Director: Martin Granger
Veterans For Peace: “Battlefield Casualties” (Starts at 05:22) – UK
This brilliantly realised spoof of an ad for Action Man stuns you with dark comedy before allowing you to see that it has a deadly serious message about the age of many of those who join the British army. With only a handful of countries around the world still allowing children of 16 to become soldiers, it’s a matter of national shame that we are among them.
Creative: Darren Cullen
Director: Price James
Jason Stone is the editor of David Reviews
