1) I see the best brands -and therefore the best advertising- taking a more human approach. Suddenly, the big discussions around technology and AI have moved us into a weird and obscure territory, a sort of “Orwellian” space where we are either going to be saved or doomed by machines. In this context, some of the best pieces of work this year so far are tapping human insights and tackling problems in an authentic and sometimes truly analog fashion, like Fearless Girl; or finding a way to turn high technology into the punch line, like the Alexa-Whopper idea for Burger King. I truly believe that is and will always be our role.
2) The work mentioned above, as well as the recent work from Under Armour using original poetry as the voice over to tell the story of the struggles that athletes faced on their way to success. Two powerful PSA’s; the “Asshole” and “Evan”. Especially the latter, as it goes beyond mere awareness and actually gives you something to do about the issue.
3) Two of the best pieces we produced this year at Saatchi New York, “Bradshaw Stain” for Tide and “The Receipt” for Walmart, are pretty good examples of that type of integration. In the case of “Bradshaw Stain” we managed to create a stunt within the Super Bowl broadcast that really blurred the lines between the actual event and the commercial break, and people reacted in an incredible way, turning to Twitter to talk about the idea as if they were commenting on the game. “The Receipt” took a pretty innovative approach to a sponsorship of the Oscars. Rather than create a typical brand campaign, we approached three Hollywood directors with the same Walmart receipt and asked each of them to create a short film based on it. We then promoted and premiered the films during the event. This unique effort managed to integrate the brand into the conversation and buzz around the event and its contenders rather than limiting our relevance to the commercial breaks.
4) I have a feeling there will be a lot of Christmas stuff towards the end of the year. Seriously, it’s hard to make any predictions, but I expect that all the rapid changes we are seeing in the retail landscape will translate into marketing efforts very soon. It’s going to get really interesting and even more competitive.
5) Ideas bigger than ads are still the ones that make the cut. And it’s refreshing to see that one of the most prominent ideas in any award show is a simple sculpture of a little girl. Amid all the noise about technology, an idea executed in one of the oldest mediums in the history of human kind got all the world to talking. To me, that’s a really good sign for an industry that is supposed to be about ideas, regardless of the technology we use to bring them to life.
6) I might try an in-home device at some point, though I still struggle with the idea of bringing yet another voice into my house. I enjoy technology with a hint of distance. In fact, I am actually more curious about the changes and new habits technology triggers in us and the situations and new narratives it creates, than about the actual technology itself.