According to its brand identity, Mercedes-Benz’ stands for business people with success and leadership. The problem is that this demographic, usually hardworking with little free time, are often difficult to reach by traditional means.
The perception that these executives never use digital media, however, Mercedes-Benz found to be incorrect. Its research showed that business leaders are voracious consumers of digital media. 30% read blogs on a regular basis and 72% said they were tech-connected by necessity, knowing that keeping up with the latest technology is vital to the success of their businesses.
Partnering with social networking site, A Small World – which offers membership on an invitation only basis – the car manufacturer provided users with exclusive information, content and competitions, at the same time being careful not to interrupt the user’s online experience or bombard them with too many advertisements. Offers were mainly related to activities already sponsored by Mercedes-Benz; its Fashion Week, for example, or opportunities to join its Formula One race team for a day out.
67% of those surveyed after the campaign said the advertising had impacted on their perception of the Mercedes-Benz brand positively. Nearly 40% of respondents said the campaign had made them want to find out more information about Mercedes-Benz in general. In addition, 30% said that the advertising would cause them to recommend the brand to someone else.
It is imperative for car companies to be associated with cutting-edge technology, but at the same time avoid anything potentially seen as superfluous. So, Mazda’s announcement that it was using augmented reality in its latest campaign came as something of a surprise.
Augmented reality has, until now, been rather gimmicky – 3D lapdancing girls appearing out of 2-D paper, and the like. However, JWT’s new augmented reality application – Layer – is something different, something potentially very useful. By integrating Google maps into its service it allows users to see what is happeningaround them by displaying real-time digital information on top of reality.
Mazda has built the first ‘layer’ on the new network. Through a combination of QR codes and barcode technology consumers can scan special Mazda ads in the traditional press with a smartphone and find all available Mazda dealers within the vicinity. The tagline on the video demonstrating the new service is: ‘From magazine to Mazda in 80 seconds’.
And where Mazda lead, it looks like others will follow. 10,000 applications were downloaded in the first two days and JWT says it has clients wanting to build ‘layers’ in Amsterdam and Russia.
Healthcare is big business, particularly in the US. Kimberly-Clark wanted to reposition itself as the leading global provider in Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) solutions and information. To do this, it needed to prove its knowledge to the people who would gain most from it.
Each year, over one million people worldwide acquire an infection in a hospital facility. Many of these infections could easily be prevented if the right training and equipment was provided to hospital staff, but hospital staff are notoriously busy and can’t afford time off for training and conferences. Kimberly-Clark’s solution - bring the training to the clients.
It took to the road in its HAI Education Mobile Classroom - a 45-foot customised coach – designed to bring the classroom setting to the door of healthcare partners. Equipped with 12 laptops, a server that ran multiple programs at multiple stations simultaneously, a speaker platform with large TV screen and a specially designed Kimberley Clark toolkit, the mobile classroom had all the elements necessary for healthcare facilities to implement their own internal HAI campaign. Two websites supported the healthcare tour, giving testimonials from those that had participated, tour locations and dates and media resources.
The tour was covered by 20 major medical publications giving Kimberly-Clark exposure to its target market. 6,500 Continuing Education Certificates were issued at over 70 locations. Overall perception of the tour was very positive: 99% of clinicians who participated strongly agreed/somewhat agreed that they felt more empowered to do their part to prevent HAIs; 79% of clinicians viewed Kimberly-Clark as a provider of Education and Information and 81% of clinicians agreed that Kimberly-Clark products and services help them do their job better.
John West Salmon...bear ad voted funniest of all time
Perhaps surprisingly, a few names cropped up a number of times, and, from these, we produced a shortlist of nominations.
Some of the ads on the list, such as the John Smith's spots featuring Peter Kaye, were part of a campaign consisting of a number of executions.
In some cases, there was little to choose between the individual ads in each group. In these instances, we picked what we judged to be the funniest and most representative of each group.
Visitors to the Campaign website have been voting on this list for the past two months, and today we can reveal our top ten funniest TV ads of all time.
As you can see from the list, UK TV ads dominate, with classic US spots managing a couple of places.
There is a fair spread of dates, and the fact that four are from the 80s perhaps shows that the creative from that golden age of advertising is standing the test of time.
Or maybe it's because a large number of voters were children during that decade.
Website users were also invited to submit their own suggestions for the ads they thought were the most funny.
Sadly, none of these gained enough nominations to make it to our shortlist, but a few of them are worthy of honourable mentions.
Among those nominated are Holsten Pils "Marilyn Monroe", Grolsch "blue movie", Egg "guinea pig" and the Abbey National ads starring Alan Davies.
As with all such subjective lists, it is more than possible you disagree with our choices and those of the voters.
1. John West Salmon 'bear'
Our top funny is one of two in the list to come from the combination of Paul Silburn and Danny Kleinman.
The ad became so popular that it turned into one of the world's first internet virals.
It starts, tamely enough, in the style of a nature documentary, showing a group of bears catching salmon at the mouth of a river.
But things take a turn for the downright bizarre when a John West fisherman enters the fray and starts fighting one of the bears, kung-fu style.
The entertaining bout ends when the fisherman distracts the bear by pointing to an imaginary eagle and kicks his adversary in the balls.
The ad was viewed online by more than 300 million people by 2006 and Leo Burnett picked up the BTAA Commercial of the Year in 2001 for the ad.
Agency Leo Burnett Date 2000 Writer Paul Silburn Art director Paul Silburn Director Danny Kleinman Production company Spectre
2. Blackcurrant Tango 'St George'
This delightfully over-the-top spot for Blackcurrant Tango starts in corporate video-style, with Tango's "spokesman" Ray Gardner reading out a letter from a disgruntled French exchange student named Sebastien.
Fired up, Gardner leaves the office, followed by a retinue of Tango employees.
As he walks, he strips off to reveal a pair of purple boxing shorts, and ends up in a boxing ring at the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover, with Harrier jets hovering overhead.
To a cheering crowd, Gardner maniacally offers to take on France, Europe and the rest of the world.
The ad appears to be shot in one take, although it was actually done in three.
It picked up a number of awards in 1997, notably a Cannes gold Lion and a silver Pencil from D&AD.
Agency HHCL & Partners Date 1996 Writer Chas Bayfield Art director Jim Bolton Director Colin Gregg Production company Eclipse
3. Hamlet 'photo booth'
Collett Dickenson Pearce's series of ads for the Hamlet cigar brand stand as some of the most iconic in UK TV history.
Perhaps the most famous of the lot, this 1989 spot features Gregor Fisher (later to star in Rab C Nesbitt) sitting for a picture in a photo booth.
The ad plays on the familiar feeling that the photo booth camera always captures you when you are least expecting it.
After carefully straightening his comedy comb-over, Fisher's character wastes his three chances at capturing his mugshot.
After his chair collapses, Fisher's bald pate is seen poking above the bottom of the screen with a puff of smoke rising above it.
The ad won more gold awards for CDP than almost any other, and was voted the ad of the century by a special jury at Cannes in 1997.
Credits
Agency Collett Dickenson Pearce Date 1989 Writers Philip Differ, Rowan Dean Art director Garry Horner Director Graham Rose Production company Rose Hackney Barber
4. John Smiths 'wardrobe monsters'
After the difficulties surrounding Jack Dee's last days as John Smith's No Nonsense man, it would have been understandable if the beer brand had chosen to avoid using another celebrity in its TV ads.
However, the introduction of Peter Kaye in a series of 2002 spots was inspired.
In this ad, Paul Silburn's marvellous script sees Kaye enjoying a meal down his local Indian restaurant with his wife and a couple of friends.
The occasion is interrupted by a call from his daughter, who has gone to bed and become frightened of the "wardrobe monsters" in her room.
Matter-of-fact, Kaye tells her that "it's the burglars that break in through the windows" that she needs to be worried about.
Agency TBWA Date 2002 Writers Paul Silburn, Chris Kelly, Rob Webster Art directors Paul Silburn, Chris Kelly, Rob Webster Director Danny Kleinman Production company Spectre
5. Carling Black Label'dambusters'
This affectionate spoof of the 1955 World War II movie The Dam Busters continued the successful "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label" campaign.
The black-and-white spot was one in a line of patriotic ads aimed at highlighting the beer's UK origins - often at the expense of our German friends.
Carling ad regulars, the comedy duo Mark Arden and Stephen Frost, play two RAF pilots delivering bouncing bombs to a German target.
As their payload splashes off the surface of the lake, a worried-looking German sentry steels himself to defend his fortress.
When the spherical missiles reach their target, the soldier turns goalkeeper, leaping like a salmon to keep out the bombs.
Agency WCRS Date 1989 Writer Kes Grey Art director Jonathan Greenhalgh Director Roger Woodburn Production company Park Village
6. Fedex Fast Paced World
Perhaps more clever than side-splittingly funny, "fast-paced world" consistently appears in best ads lists.
It features John Moschitta Jr as Mr Spleen, an executive who speed-talks his way through his business day.
Talking at more than 450 words per minute, he manages to conduct a board meeting, hire a new employee, complete a deal over the phone and eat his lunch.
It finishes with a voiceover, which says: "In this fast-moving, high-pressure, get-it-done yesterday world... aren't you glad there's a company that can keep up with it all?"
The spot boosted Moschitta's career, and he went on to star in more than 80 ads with ad agency Ally & Gargano.
Agency Ally & Gargano Date 1981 Writers Patrick Kelly, Mike Tesch ? Art director Mike Tesch Director Joe Sedelmaier Production company Sedelmaier Productions
7. Orange 'snoop gold spot'
We could have picked any number of ads from Orange's series of Gold Spots, which run before films in UK cinemas.
However, Snoop Dogg's appearance, earlier this year, managed to make the regular film executives look more out of touch than they ever had before.
Mr Dresden and his assistant Elliot interrupt the rap star in his recording studio and ask him to consider changing the theme of his lyrics to focus less on sex and more on phone calls.
After a brief stand-off with Snoop Dogg's posse, Dresden decides the only option is to record the vocal himself.
Cue toe-curling rapping from the ultimate suit. The ad is one of the last Gold Spots to be produced by Mother - Orange transferred the account to Fallon in August.
Agency Mother Date 2008 Writer Mother Art director Mother Director Brian Buckley Production company Hungry Man
8. Budget Rent a Car 'jet propulsion'
"Jet propulsion" is part of an award-winning series that opens with a bunch of marketing executives indulging in a spot of blue-sky thinking.
One suggests a new gimmick to help customers reach their cars quicker - a jet pack.
The ad cuts to a shot of a renter, who lifts off and shoots straight into an overhead power line.
After a brief pause, the marketers decide to ditch the idea.
Agency Cliff Freeman & Partners Date 2000 Writer Steve Doppelt Art director Jason Gaboriau Director Dante Ariola Production company Propaganda Films
9.Heineken 'majorca'
This 1985 reversal of the Pygmalion story depicts a bepearled Sloane Ranger receiving an elocution lesson at the School of Street Credibility.
Her dismal attempts to shed her posh accent provoke growing frustration from her tutor.
It is only when assistant Del arrives with a six-pack of Heineken that the pupil starts getting the hang of things.
Within seconds of taking a swig of the lager, she is sounding as Cockney as Barbara Windsor.
Agency Lowe Howard-Spink Date 1985 Writer Adrian Holmes Art director Alan Waldie Director Paul Weiland Production company Weilands
10. Castlemaine XXXX 'wife'
"Wife" was one in a series of Saatchi & Saatchi ads that did little to dispel the stereotype of the hard-drinking, misogynist male from Down Under.
This spot depicts two mates transporting crates of XXXX, which are guarded by the wife of one in the back of their ute.
When the truck gets stuck over a ravine, the wife calls out: "I reckon we'll be alright if we lose some weight off the back."
The man in the passenger seat turns to the driver and says, dryly: "She's a good sport, your missus."
Agency Saatchi & Saatchi Date 1991 Writer James Lowther Art director Peter Gibb Director John Marles Production company RSA Films
