Nov
04
IKEA"Sheep"(2018) 1:15 (Belgium)
Posted in: Uncategorized
I love this silly spot for IKEA’s sofa in which a sound becomes a soundtrack to a man’s dream in
Nov
04
IKEA wants you to enjoy the summer while you can
Posted in: UncategorizedYou’ve only got a small window to enjoy Belgian summers before it’s back to darkness and rain.
Aug
25
Props No More, Ikea's Catalog Models Have Become Delusional Fame Seekers
Posted in: UncategorizedThe humans sprinkled throughout the Ikea catalog traditionally have been pure background material, a supporting cast to the furniture and other brand goods for sale. But no longer!
In this spot from DDB Brussels, they speak out, during the photo shoot for the new catalog, about their hopes and dreams, display their impressive thespian chops, and most of all, are thrilled to be poised on the cusp of what will surely be worldwide fame on the A-list level.
Jun
29
Volkswagen "Volksparking" (2016) 1.28 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedCities are always crowded and there is little room to play, except in car parks. Problem is, the more cars arrive to park, the less room there is to play. Volkswagen came up with a solution: A mobile basketball hoop that is able to detect empty parking spaces and move there accordingly. Let’s just hope the players are good. Otherwise there will be a lot of dented cars.
May
23
JCDecaux "The Mistake" (2016) 2:00 (Belgium)
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Most advertisers know JCDecaux as being an outdoor company that makes 2 meter billboards, but they have billboard sizes in a wide range. To get the word out, JCDecaux sent out miniature two meter billboards to companies, with a glaring mistake on each. They mixed their competitors names in to the mix. So Pepsi became Pepsi Zero. Apple became Apple Xperia. In the attached letter they let potential vendors know this is how they feel when their potential vendors feel inclined to go to competitors under the false assumption all JCDecaux does is 2 meter billboards. The result was JCDecaux sold out 100% of their billboards. Of all sizes.
May
20
This Lovely Campaign Is Helping Restaurants in Brussels Recover After the Attacks
Posted in: UncategorizedThe restaurant business in Brussels has been suffering tremendously since the terrorist attacks of March 22. The bankruptcy rate of eateries in the city has increased by 1500 percent since then, according to ad agency Famous—with a nation of gourmands frequently staying home instead of enjoying dinner out.
Famous decided to do something about this. So it teamed up with De Tijd and L’Echo, the leading national business newspapers in Belgium, for a social campaign called #DiningforBrussels.
May
07
Red Cross – History lesson of crosses (2016) :30 (Belgium)
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“This history lesson will give you goosebumps” says Duval Guillaume?, Belgium about this ad. Next Sunday is the international Red Cross Day, and Red Cross Belgium want to remind people how important their organisation is. In an extremely simple film, we see various types of crosses, coupled with the number of people killed in – presumably – the name of the crosses. Even the Swastika makes an appearance though some anglo people might not even realize it’s a hooked cross – “hakenkreuz” in German literally means hooked cross. Even the latin cross has a huge death toll attached to it, making me ponder if they’re counting crucifixions, as people are crucified on the latin cross to this day. Either way, it’s a really simple graphic idea that communicates quickly.
May
06
Yves Rocher "The fish gape" (2016) 1:00 (Belgium)
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Funny ad that shows what you can do with a small budget, for cosmetics and beauty brand Yves Rocher. The duck face did not make it into the dictionary, being a short-lived fad. But the fish gape will. This will teach you how to make the perfect fish gape face so you can keep your lips trendy. Watch out, selfie world. This campaign launches the brand’s six new lipstick colors.
May
01
Reporters Without Borders "Happy Birthday" (2016) 1:00 (Belgium)
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It’s the 20th anniversary of Reporters Without Borders. To celebrate, they mashed up a bunch of dictators and made them sing “Happy Birthday.” And even though it it’s a birthday they’d rather not be celebrating, I love the fact this spot makes a mockery of fascism and dictators everywhere. They might be able to silence journalists for now, but the pen will prevail in the end.
Aug
21
Record Bank "Kids take over" (2015) 2:20 (Belgium)
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It’s so easy to bank at Record bank the eight year olds have taken over to prove it to you. Very cute, this. Man i’d prefer that over my own experience where the bank teller constantly tries to get me to sign up for an extra credit so they can make commission.
Aug
05
Primus "Free spirits" (2015) 1:30 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedBeer likes to stand for many things. Good times. Unexpected fun. Outdoorsy adventure. Good times after outdoorsy adventure. Sex appeal. And of course: Being Unique™. Sometimes that uniqueness is well… kooky.
Lately, beer has celebrating the people who do their own thing. In this case, Primus and Haacht Brewery, celebrate the nonconformist unique types who carve out their own niche, follow their own path and realize their passions. Like Angelo, a surfer who makes exceptional surfboards in Belgium, a country that isn’t known for its sick swells.
This reminds me a lot of Finnish brand Sol Beer’s docuseries on Free Spirits, especially the one featuring Pauli, a Finnish surfer who makes exceptional surfboards in Finland, in a country that isn’t known for its sick swells.
Maybe he and Angelo should get together. They could start a rebellious franchise.
Jul
13
IKEA – The First Wireless Bungee Jump – (2015) 3:04 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedIn medias res is a narrative technique which means ‘in the middle’ – the narrative begins at a crucial point in the action and then takes us back to discover how we got there. It’s used cleverly in this ad by IKEA which debuts the world’s first wireless bungee jump – and yes, they used no wires whatsoever. The stylistic choice of opening with a bungee jumper leaping into air without any visible support means we are immediately compelled to know both what happens next and what measures they’ve taken to possibly survive.
I really enjoyed this surprising film, and it’s testament to the organic and natural documentary-making style that 3 minutes of what is essentially branded content zips by.
Made by DDB Brussels, the agency asks:
A wireless bungee jump? Is it possible? The era of wireless is finally here.
Jun
23
Equal Pay Day – The Undubbed Truth #Glasslion shortlist (2015)
Posted in: UncategorizedIn two ads, one dubbed and one not, aired during one commercial break Mortierbrigade drew attention to Equal Pay Day using every laundry detergent ad stereotype they could think of and then some. The twist was that the woman wasn’t saying any of the usual things you’d expect, instead she was lamenting that women earn 20% less than men (in Belgium?)
Jun
21
Eristoff – "Drop that Beat" Game (2015) case study (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedDo you know that moment when a DJ drops the beat and the crowd goes mad? I was wondering why on earth one would want to play this as a “game” on ones smartphones as depicted in the case study, back in my day we’d just bounce or pull of some redonk dance moves at the beat drop – but then, there’s prizes to win in this game. If you release the single button close enough to the actual drop by one of the renowned DJ’s, you’ll get to win entrance to several dance festivals. Woo! Party! Eristoff is sponsoring parties!
The game originated from Happiness Brussels, lead creative agency of Eristoff Belgium since 2013. They’ve developed the cross-platform game for the Dutch & Belgian market first, but Austria is ready to roll it out too. I’m positive that the target market will love this, it’s simple, it’s silly, and you might win tickets to a festival.
‘Drop That Beat is the perfect example of how we would like to engage with our social audience,’ says Ozlem Balay, brand manager for Eristoff at Bacardi-Martini. ‘Eristoff wants to ignite that moment before going out amongst young men. This pre-gaming is now translated into an interactive experience that fits our brand. And on top of that, it reaches out to a new crowd that loves electronic music and might enjoy Eristoff too.’
Drop That Beat features different styles of electronic music with DJ/producers Marco Faraone (Italy), Lowriderz (Belgium), Quantix (Belgium) and Stereo Killah (Belgium). The game works as simple as it gets. No apps. No downloads. And it works on any device and platform. Just go to www.dropthatbeat.com and the game will start.
You can choose out of 4 tracks you want to drop the beat on. With each game a different piece of the chosen track is played on your smartphone, tablet or computer. The beat drops at random moments in every track, creating an unexpected drop each time you play it. You simply release your finger on the moment you think the beat will drop. The closer you are to the drop, the higher you get in the ranking. In multi-player mode you can host a game, the music is played on your device and up to 4 friends can join in to play, in the same room. Making it the perfect pre-gaming moment, right before going out.
Drop That Beat live
To connect with groups of friends on relevant moments, Drop That Beat is also launched as a live version at several electronic music festivals throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. People were given the world premiere at the Eristoff booth of Extrema Outdoor in Houthalen, Belgium to play Drop That Beat live with a DJ. The festivals Defqon.1 and Extrema Outdoor are coming up next in the Netherlands.
Jun
06
Seth and Riley's Garage "How not to" (2015) 2:25 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedSeth and Riley’s Garage is a tasty low-alcohol beverage kind of like Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Since “How to” videos are all the rage. Duval Guillaume created a “How not to,” video. If you like your how not to videos long, slightly racist (Ask your Latino friend who of course doesn’t speak English, of my god, I got on the wrong plane and I’m headed to Africa!) and ageist, than you’ll love this video. If not, then you’ll wish you could get those two and a half minutes of your life back.
May
29
Samsung "Recharge yourself" (2015) 1:15 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedFun idea for the new Samsung Galaxy S6. Because you can charge it wirelessly, there must be a use for all those old wire chargers. Yes there is. Leo Burnett Brussels turned them into places where you could recharge yourself.
May
13
JC Decaux "Personal Billboards" (2015) 2:00 (Belgium)
Posted in: UncategorizedJC Decaux is the largest outdoor advertising corporation in the world. Despite the effectiveness of billbaords, some clients to beieve they work. So to get them on board, and to get them signing up for Decaux’s sale presentation, BBDO Belgium pulled a cheeky stunt. They put the faces of these marketing heads on billboards across the city. And then added their name and a contact address to JC Decaux. Hilarity ensued. So did outrage. But the point was proven. Just one billboard can get a lot of response. for JC Decaux, they had a 100% sign up rate in return.
May
12
Outdoor Ad Company Gets CMOs' Attention by Putting Their Faces on Mysterious Billboards
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Here’s an odd little case study from outdoor ad company JCDecaux and BBDO Belgium.
Frustrated that client marketing directors weren’t showing up to its business presentations, JCDecaux got personal with them—by putting their photos up on single billboards, without their permission, printing only their name and a contact address at JCDecaux.
Naturally, the CMOs eventually got wind of the ads, and many of them called JCDecaux to ask just what the hell was going on. See how the rest played out in the video below:
As you can see in the video, at least one of the CMOs seemed a bit irritated by the scheme. We asked BBDO if any others were upset by it.
“Upset is a big word,” says digital strategic planner Jan Van Brakel. “A small minority was maybe a bit less pleased at first, but once we did the follow-up and explained the campaign, no one was upset, and they could all appreciate the campaign. The biggest proof is that JCDecaux was able to convince all of them to plan a meeting for their sales presentation.”
And were there no legal issues with using their likenesses on an ad without permission?
“Strictly speaking, what we did might have been illegal, or at least we could theoretically being accused of not respecting the [copyright],” Van Brakel admits. “But as it was only one billboard, for very short time—depending on how long it took before we got a reaction—and the follow-up we did, we didn’t feel uncomfortable on the legal aspect at any point.”
He adds, however: “I do believe that this kind of campaign might be harder or riskier to execute in the U.S. than in Belgium.”
CREDITS
Client: JCDecaux
Advertiser Supervisor: Veerle Colin
Agency: BBDO Belgium
Creative Director: Arnaud Pitz & Sebastien De Valck
Creative Team: Toon Vanpoucke & Morgane Choppinet
Account Supervisor: Isabel Peeters
Account Manager: Marleen Depreter
Nov
10
How This Agency Cleverly Stopped People From Googling Their Medical Symptoms
Posted in: Uncategorized
If you’re like me, you type your symptoms into Google every time you get the sniffles or feel the slightest bit under the weather. Well, that plan is ill-advised. It can yield reams of misinformation and all manner of (potentially harmful) misdiagnoses.
The Flemish government in Belgium commissioned DDB Brussels to help remedy the situation, and they came up with an intriguing cure.
They bought Google AdWords for the top 100 symptoms. Now, when people search Google about their ailments, the top result reads, “Don’t Google it, check a reliable source,” and clicks through to the Gezondheid en Wetenschap (Health and Science) website.
Check out DDB’s amusing minute-long promotional clip below, featuring hair loss, a bloody nose, gangrenous finger and festering boils. I feel better already!
CREDITS
Client: Gezondheid en Wetenschap
Campaign: Don’t Google It
Clients: Marleen Finoulst, Elizabeth Bosselaers & Patrick Vankrunkelsven
Agency: DDB Brussels
Creative Director: Peter Ampe
Creative Team: Tim Arts & Stefan van den Boogaard
Head of Digital: Geert Desager
Strategic planner: Maarten Van Daele
Senior Account Manager: Silvie Erzeel
TV-Producer: Brigitte Verduyckt
Digital producers: Stefanie Warreyn & Maarten Breda
Webdeveloper: Christophe Gesquière
Design: Andreea Buescu & Cedric Lopez
Content planner: Michael D’hooge
Production company: Lovo
Director: Norman Bates
Producer: Bert Brulez & François Chandelle
Apr
24
Stick Your Fingers in These Holes If You Dare, Says Weird Outdoor Ad for PlayStation
Posted in: Uncategorized
The trend toward branded out-of-home machines that actively hate humans might have reached its apex with this stunt by PlayStation, which shocked commuters in Antwerp's Central Station by, uh, literally shocking them.
To promote the PS4 game Infamous: Second Son, a mysterious booth was set up in the lobby. People were goaded to stick their fingers in two holes in the front. Those who did got an electric shock. If they could endure it for five seconds (like that one guy at the end, who is eerily nonchalant about it), they were rewarded with a free copy of the game—whose hero apparently has some kind of electricity superpower.
I wonder if the creatives behind this ad were Mr. Show fans, because the execution here isn't unlike a G-rated version of The Joke: The Musical.
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