Ideas. Change. Everything.

Interesting stuff that's happening in the world of advertising and beyond.

Vol.17

John Lewis

It's that time of year again. When Christmas decorations have been up in stores for two months already. And that means we get to feast on the all the Xmas ads. John Lewis has been the brand leading that charge over the last few years. This year marks a departure from what many were saying started to feel like a predictable formula. It features Elton John, who undoubtedly delivers a large dollop of star power to the brand. As for the idea itself, I'm not going to say too much other than don't watch it while you happen to be chopping onions.

Lidl

And just to keep John Lewis honest, this rapid response from Lidl UK is worth a mention from the deluge of rapid responses that weren't. Well played Lidl, well played.

Aldi

Australia has been playing catch up with the UK when it comes to tidings of advertising comfort and joy. But Aldi have been giving it a good shake. This year, the altimeter on Santa's sleigh is on the blink and he crash lands in the middle of the middle of nowhere (Australia). The locals then give him a taste of hard yakka, smoked ham and bush mechanic ingenuity to get him up and running again. Now, if we can open our arms for this red-suited refugee, imagine what we could do for others? Wouldn't be Christmas without a good argument over politics.

Iceland

Speaking of politics, here's an ad that was seemingly deemed too political for TV. It's for UK supermarket chain Iceland and their declaration to remove all palm oil from their own products to help save our orange-haired, 97% shared DNA friends. Apparently, it wasn't approved by the regulators as it was made in partnership with Greenpeace, which is judged to be a political organisation, and political advertising on British television is a no no. Really?! What about not approving it because of Emma Thompson's half-hearted read?

Wrigley's Extra

Right, Christmas is over and now we get to observe the serious side of being an officer in London's Metropolitan Police. I can't imagine what it would be like having to make your first house call to break some heavy news to the people who live there. But this ad goes some way to helping. You may wonder what a chewing gum brand has to do with this raw and emotional moment in a young officer's life, but seeing this will confirm why it makes complete sense. Warning: this may be hard to watch for some people. Less so for others.

RXBar

In 2012, two guys called B.S. on protein bars and decided to make better whole food versions of them from a makeshift kitchen. Fools. Fast forward just six years later, and RXBAR is now running a national outdoor campaign across the US. Of course, you can afford to do ?that when you sell your company to Kellogg's in 2017 for USD600million. Rich fools. The work, created by Wieden + Kennedy, highlights the brand's no B.S. approach with a healthy dose of deadpan anti-ad humour thrown in for good measure. Funny fools too.

Italic

Italic is a member-only marketplace that let's you buy their exclusive product range from the very same factories that produce the really expensive things luxury brands entice you to buy. You can get shoes from the same place as Church's, bags from the same place as Prada and even bedsheets from the same place as the Ritz Carlton. By going direct, you get the same quality craftsmanship for a fraction of the price. Genius. Italic launched this week with $13million in funding. Interesting to see if it can truly disrupt our obsession with brands.