M and M Direct - Start Saving
Quite how a catalogue clothes company manages to use that name, without falling foul of the chocolate people (whose ad we reviewed last week), I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because their ad is so anodyne and dull, the makers of those sweet discs haven't noticed. Nor, I suspect, will anyone else. Apart from the fact the format and excecution in this work are achingly vanilla, the clothes appear to have been selected from a random charity shop. The 'frow' at London Fashion Week, this assuredly is not. In fact, the only proposition seems to be the cheapness of the merchandise. Unfortunately it looks that way.
Virgin Atlantic - Let It Fly
I flew Virgin Atlantic to Florida last year, and I definitely wasn't given a cosy little pod in which to sleep. Then again, I wasn't travelling business class ('Upper Class' on Virgin), and I wasn't soaring into the USA to deliver a world-beating pitch to the UN. This work actually does a very nice job of distinguishing Virgin from its big rival, BA. While the former national carrier is all tied up with notions of pride and old-fashioned service, these guys are all about brash confidence and grungy, cockney voice-overs. And when I say 'guys', I mean 'guys'. Although the passenger curled up in her pod is certainly female, everything else about this spot screams 'lad'. Which is a shame, because otherwise this is energetic, witty and engaging.
Race For Life - Pink Army
Perhaps it's just me, but I really don't like little poems in TV ad scripts. They always feel as though they'd be more effective as prose. That said, this is a cool, swaggering approach to a very sensitive subject, which sensibly avoids tinkling pianos and soft-focus shots of weeping children. Clearly the fight against disease is just that - a fight. And winning a battle requires an army, so there's a powerful rallying cry in this work. Naturally, I wish the charity and all who take part in the event, the best of luck. You have a bold advertisement and I trust you'll have an even more successful day. The Race For Life website is here: http://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org
Durex - Connect
We're a universe away from the days when Durex's marketing relied on stuffy barbers, clearing their throats and asking newly-shorn fellows whether they wanted 'something for the weekend'. That's abundently clear from this long-form spot which has appeared this week. You may have seen the twist (ahem) coming, but I didn't. Indeed, for the first couple of minutes I feared this was going to be an ad for a new app which used the vibrate function on a smart-phone, and required deeply unhygienic practices. I won't spoil it for you, but I'm sure you'll be relieved this isn't the case. I like this work an awful lot. It's playful, amusing and intelligent. It doesn't treat its audience like fools (a bit of rarity these days), but does acknowledge an aspect of bedroom life that is probably crushing intimacy as surely as separate beds. Far and away one of the best campaigns of 2015 so far, I offer my congratulations to all concerned. And if it encourages safe sex in a dangerous world, then I'll consider that an extra bonus.
Magnus Shaw is copywriter and blogger.
