The Proper View- December 2024

Jaguar, AI And The Power Of Authenticity

You may be aware that legendary, British car brand Jaguar revealed a rebrand accompanied by a new commercial recently. I mean you couldn′t miss it really could you?

In all the time I′ve been working in this business I don′t think I′ve ever seen so much fuss made over an ad. The colourful collage of fashionistas entreating the viewer to ¨Copy Nothing¨ has been discussed and dissected on virtually every media platform on the planet (I′ve not checked Trout Fishing Weekly but I′m sure they have a point of view.) And boy has the discourse been heated, with the consensus mostly leaning toward the negative.?

With hyperbole typical of modern day, social media led debate this ad will apparently, single handedly destroy the adored Jaguar brand, drive the company out of business and hand the keys of the motor industry over to the mythical “Woke Mob.”

In reality Jaguar have sensibly acknowledged the world has drastically changed, as has their market, while they have stood still and watched sales inexorably sliding into a sinkhole.?

It was a brave move to put a bomb under a tired and irrelevant brand. Unfortunately it seems not enough care was put into how the bomb was detonated.

The problem with the ad isn′t that it′s “too radical” or “ woke” (obviously).

The problem is that it isn′t very good and lacks any sense of authenticity or emotional depth.?

It′s literally a bunch of brightly dressed and disinterested fashion models drifting around cheap sets while some of the most cliched captions to fall out of the “copywriting for dummies” textbook espouse the importance of being original.?

The ad is diversity washing at its most banal and for all its attempts to be bold and inclusive connects with no one and says nothing.

Another brand guilty of foregoing authenticity in search of the new is Coca Cola whose attempt to put a fresh spin on their classic “Holidays Are Coming” Christmas ad by creating it entirely with AI has resulted in a trip to uncanny valley so monstrous it makes The Polar Express look like a documentary.

HolidAIs are coming

Although achingly twee, Coke’s classic Christmas Ad depicting fairy light strewn trucks carrying thousands of cans of soda through snow covered North American towns much to the excitement of children, adults and Polar Bears alike is as much a part of the Christmas season as Twiglets appearing in Tesco and it would seem very difficult to mess up.?

For some reason, whoever is responsible for this latest version was determined to do just this.?

The most surprising thing about Coke′s move is their inability to read the room when it comes to the use of generative AI. Just over a year ago the film and TV industry virtually shut down due to back to back writers and actors strikes at the heart of which were fears that Artificial Intelligence would be leveraged by studios to replace human talent.?

As a Creative Director working in an environment when budgets and timelines are shrinking, AI can be a fantastic tool for visualising concepts for pitches quickly and easily. My team have even leveraged it to create imagery for a client that we simply wouldn′t have had the money for otherwise but it was used very sparingly and heavily worked into by very talented, human designers to get results of a quality we could all be proud of.?

Outside of the ethical implications regarding copyright and the potential for AI making talented craftspeople redundant (something I find very unlikely to happen any time soon if ever) the Coca Cola Christmas Hellscape is proof that technology alone will never be able to create authentic, emotionally engaging moments of wonder. This is principally because Artificial Intelligence by nature is inauthentic, lacks emotional intelligence and is incapable of experiencing wonder.

Authenticity is key

The sheer power of human imagination is driven by unique life experiences that create the most emotional impact.?

This truth is strikingly evident in the latest ad from Shelter which depicts a father creating a fantasy world for his young daughter to distract her from the real world and the impending horror of becoming homeless.

It′s a simple idea, executed flawlessly in juxtaposing the fantasy with grim reality and featuring extraordinarily poignant performances from both the beleaguered, desperate father and the daughter who hangs onto his every word for safety.

At its heart though is human authenticity. The story is built on real insight gathered from genuine experiences of those who have had to fight to create a world of normalcy and safety for young children while battling the reality of losing everything.

The result is a powerful short film that anyone with young children in their lives can relate to.

The genuine comfort to be found in family connections of all kinds is the central theme to my personal favourite of this year`s slew of Christmas ads.

JD Sports has created another winner by once again embracing the genuine spirit of Christmas in a series of vignettes that avoid the usual cliches to get to the heart of what the holiday season really feels like.

The warmth of being with the people who mean the most while doing very little is such an evocative theme and the JD Sports spot manages to evoke that authentic feeling with virtually dialogue free snapshots of scenes filled with people we feel like we already know.

It′s a masterful, beautiful piece of film-making that is at once universal and quintessentially English.

Ultimately there is nothing wrong with a touch of high concept glitz but meaningful audience connection has to come from a place of authentic human experience and truth even if it′s wearing a sparkly coat.?

Written by Creative Director Matt Cole: https://propergoodfilms.com/about-us/

In Other Views

Proper Good Films featured in Charity Comms

Our own Matt Cole has written a piece for the excellent Charity Comms where he puts forward the argument that charity brands need to start tapping new emotions to make an impact with cynical audiences. You can read that here:

https://www.charitycomms.org.uk/about

What we′ve been up to this month

1. Shelter campaign success

We’re delighted to see our recent legacy commercial for Shelter is performing well already, with a digital reach of 1.1m. While video engagement on Shelter’s website is up by 306% year-on-year. In an annual comparison, YouTube views are up by 140% and gifts pledged via Shelter’s online will writing partner, Farewill, are up 79%

https://propergoodfilms.com/the-peoples-manifesto-legacy-campaign-film/

2. Cure Parkinson’s films released at gala

Cure Parkinson’s inaugural gala evening, hosted by Simon Mayo and Edith Bowman, raised over 200K for the charity. Two of our films were shown through the evening and had brilliant responses from attendees with and without Parkinson’s.

A Question of Time is a film that is all about being powerless against the passage of time- something we all face, but for people living with Parkinson’s this is thrown into sharper reality. Tom’s Story is about the reality of living with Parkinson’s as a dad to a young daughter- what it means to be a father and imagining the future with Parkinson’s.

3. Exciting new documentary commission

We’ve been commissioned to make an independent documentary about a pioneer in the world of architecture who created a significant legacy funding groundbreaking medical research. It’s a project we’re particularly excited about so keep an eye out for more news on this from us.?

4. More New Work

Shelter/M&S

Shelter and M&S created a joint installation in Spitalfields market, London- where you could pick up a phone and listen to some of the real life calls that Shelter’s Helpline receives, to more fully understand the reality many people are facing with the housing emergency. 5% of sales of M&S Food’s Festive Food Range goes to funding Shelter’s Food range.

King's Trust International

We’ve been making content for KTI for the past few years and this film celebrates the impact the organisation has around the world in 2024.

Recently rebranded to King’s Trust from Prince’s Trust, their mission is to amplify the voices of young people on the global stage.

?Brands Embracing Long Form Content

In one of those strange, streaming content anomalies that sees audiences making blockbusters of the most unlikely content, a 2023 documentary “24 Hours In Aldi” about the eponymous German Supermarket chain which originally aired on Channel 5, has raced up Netflix’s “Most Streamed” charts recently.

Along with the recent releases of other documentaries produced with the support of brands including Alzheimer’s Society and Channel 4's “Anna Richardson: Alzheimer’s and Me” (https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us/news-and-media/anna-richardson-love-loss-and-dementia) and Nike’s support of? “Crois Pas Qu’on Dort” (“Don’t Think We’re Sleeping”) (https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/crois-pas-qu-on-dort), a film focussed on 3, French Olympics hopefuls, it seems there is a healthy audience for content that tells compelling stories from well loved brands.?

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