ABOUT

CREATIVE REVIEW, May 2005:
'Utterly bonkers and bound to go down a storm in Cannes, this bizarre ad for home pregnancy kit, Surecheck, features a unit of "stork-soldiers" brandishing huge pregnancy test-sticks, while singing a drill song with lines such as "Test, test, test" and "run and give your man a call, he's the father after all". "Discover the child within", we're urged and who would have the temerity to disobey in the face of such bossiness? But we can't help wondering whether it's entirely appropriate for the matter in hand. May we suggest a little more empathy next time? Maybe an ad with women in it?'

For once, Creative Review did not quite get it right. Inexplicably, the ad did not go to Cannes but it certainly helped Surecheck at a make-or-break moment in its development. The video – and the drill song in particular – became a sensation overnight with both women and men. One could hear the cadence sang anywhere from public transport to stadia terraces but more importantly, even in those pre-Facebook days, online interpretations were mushrooming on video-sharing websites. The brand, which is my longest-standing client, has now been both national and regional market leader for more than ten years.

'Storks' won gold in the Film of the Year and Campaign of the Year categories of the 2005 award show of the Bulgarian Association of Communications Agencies.