Last year, Great Guns, London, produced a series of viral Internet ads directed by Eden Diebel for AppealNow.com via London agency Nitro. Two of the spots, “Kicking” and “Bingo,” each went on to win a Gold Cyber Lion at the 2005 Cannes International Advertising Festival.
Fast-forward to today and Great Guns is back for a return engagement, with a couple of new significant wrinkles. For one, James Spence is directing the latest batch of viral Web fare for the client, and this time for agency Clemmow Hornby Inge, London.
However, the spirit of the work remains intact–taking U.K. traffic wardens to task for abuses, resulting in people being ticketed unfairly for alleged infractions. The scenarios are a bit extreme but done so to make an indelible impression in viewers’ minds. In the aforementioned “Kicking,” for example, a man who’s walking across the street is suddenly attacked by a traffic warden. The male warden wrestles him to the ground, hitting the victim repeatedly. Meanwhile a female warden looks at her watch, waiting for time to elapse so she can slap a parking ticket on the victim’s car. She does just that, then jumps over the beaten man’s body laying in the middle of the street and makes good her escape with the other warden. A tagline advises people who have been wrongly ticketed to log onto AppealNow.com.
Looking to create the same buzz that the original campaign generated, AppealNow.com has unveiled a trio of viral commercials: “Roll,” “Blindfold” and “Line.”
In the latter, one warden holds a bucket of yellow paint as a colleague dips a brush into the bucket and paints the curb and a corner border on the pavement–surrounding one side of an unattended parked car. This unilateral changing of the rules then “justifies” the warden slapping a ticket on the windshield; the two officials then briskly walk away from the scene.
In “Roll,” five wardens team to roll a car over a full revolution and in the process move the vehicle from one side of the road to the other. The rationale for this is to cite the now damaged vehicle for being illegally parked. The five officers then scurry off when hearing the protests being voiced by presumably the victimized motorist who is off camera.
And in “Blindfold,” a female traffic warden’s eyes are covered and fellow wardens spin her about in an attempt to disorient her. She feels her way along a city street. Looking like she’s in search of a piñata, it turns out that instead she’s navigating her way carefully towards a parked car. Her hands extend to feel her surroundings; she finally reaches her destination–her palms touch the car’s windshield. She sticks a ticket to the glass and then runs off with her warden accomplices.
Each spot ends with a supered query: “Received an unfair parking ticket?” This is then accompanied by the Web site address, www.AppealNow.com.
While AppealNow.com doesn’t suggest that its spots literally reflect parking attendants’ behavior, the humor in the campaign underscores that unfair and illegally issued parking tickets are indeed issued far too often. The system to appeal unjust tickets is complex and bureaucratic; AppealNow.com was formed to help cut through the red tape.
Going back to last year, the spots have generated a buzz and raised awareness of parking warden abuses. The viral spots have also spread the word that the general public does have some recourse against unfair warden practices. And in some circles it’s believed that the campaign has caused some heavy-handed local authorities to ease off on strict quotas of parking tickets imposed upon traffic wardens.
The creative team of Mister & Missus worked on the latest campaign from Clemmow Hornby Inge. Spence’s support team at Great Guns included executive producer Laura Gregory (who is also managing director of the company) and producer Kojo Abban. The DP was Nic Knowland.
Editor was Andy Philips at Chophouse Editing, London. Colorist was Ben Rogers of Framestore CFC, London. Audio post mixer was Anthony Moore of Factory Studios, London.
By Millie Takaki
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More