The Thinkboxes Winner - February 2009

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk - Eyebrow Dancing

  Cadbury has clinched the February Thinkboxes award for its ‘Eyebrows’ ad, which features two schoolchildren performing an unusual eyebrow dance.

The ad, which continues the theme established by the brand’s ‘Gorilla’ and ‘Trucks’ ads, debuted on Channel 4 in January.

It opens with two young siblings posing for a portrait in a photography studio. When the photographer leaves them alone, the boy starts playing Freestyle’s Don’t Stop the Rock on his digital watch. The duo then break into a choreographed eyebrow dance in time to the music. The girl, wearing a dress in Cadbury’s signature purple colour, then lets bursts of air out of a balloon, creating a squeaky sound akin to a DJ scratching a record.

Lucy Evans, senior brand manager for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, says the aim was to create an ad that people enjoyed watching as much as they enjoy eating chocolate. ‘The idea just made us beam,’ she says. ’We wanted to create entertainment that makes people smile.’

Nick Darken, creative director and partner at Albion, and a member of the Thinkbox Academy, says: ‘“Eyebrows” is the one you’ll remember
this time next year.’

Leon Jaume, executive creative director at WCRS, adds: ‘In tough times, creativity is your best weapon. For a demonstration, look no further than this month’s shortlist.’

‘Eyebrows’ edged out the Department for Transport’s hard-hitting ‘Live with it’ ad, with its scenes of a man coming to terms with killing a child on the road, and Lurpak’s ‘Saturday is breakfast day’.

To see the full shortlist and check out the winning entry, go to www.thinkbox.tv/thethinkboxes.

‘We wanted to create entertainment that makes people smile’

Lucy Evans
Senior brand manager,
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk

Ad info

• Client Lee Rolston, director of marketing, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk
• Brief To make the audience feel as good when they see the film as they do when they eat the chocolate
• Ad agency Fallon
• Executive creative director Rich Flintham
• Production company MJZ London
• Director Tom Kuntz

Other ads on the podium

Department for Transport - Live With It

Previous anti-speeding communications have tended to focus on the consequences to the victim – which are, after all, the most brutal of the physical consequences of speeding. But the brief here was to find a new way to jolt people out of their complacent attitude towards speeding in a 30mph zone – and the response is a film dramatising the impact it may have on the driver.

It illustrates the proposition that if you kill someone while speeding, the emotional consequences will be so all-pervading that your own life won’t be worth living. So in this hard-hitting spot, which is part of the Department for Transport’s “think” campaign, a man whose speeding has killed a child is unable to get on with his daily life without being constantly reminded of what he has done – wherever he goes, he imagines he can see the corpse of his victim.

Lurpak - Saturday Is Breakfast Day

This lyrical film from Lurpak, featuring a Rutger Hauer voiceover, intersperses shots of people having a lie-in with images of the perfect breakfast being made – and it is sumptuously shot, notably in the close-ups of a breakfast menu that includes fresh coffee, handmade pancakes, perfectly boiled eggs and hot toast, spread with Lurpak.

The soundtrack is wonderfully well-crafted too, with the silence of the sleepers contrasted with the loud clarity of coffee beans being ground, the gloop of a toast finger as it’s dipped into a boiled egg, the sizzle of butter melting in a frying pan and the crunch of cut toast.

By demonstrating that you can work wonders if you take your time over good quality, simple ingredients, the campaign sets out to inspire people to make the most of their Saturday morning and cook up a homemade feast.

Also shortlisted for February 2009

Adidas Originals - Celebrate Originality

As the centrepiece of a global campaign to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its three stripes mark, while also promoting its retro Originals range, Adidas created a house party with stars including David Beckham, Katy Perry, Method Man, Missy Elliott and the Ting Tings.

A two-minute version of the ad, which carries the strapline “celebrate originality,” features on the Adidas Originals website while 60-second and 30-second versions have been edited for television. It is also supported by print, retail and experiential media. Created by the Montreal-based agency Sid Lee, it shows the stars and supporting cast dancing to a remix of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons’ Beggin’ by DJ Pilooski while wearing Adidas Originals shoes, shirts, jeans and jackets.
This is the first time Adidas has created a TV ad for its Originals brand, which uses the famous Trefoil logo.

Orange - Orange Wednesdays

Shot in a documentary style, this ad features the Wicked Witch of the West character from The Wizard of Oz, who has managed to find a friend, Vicky, through their shared passion for the cinema.

It aims to show that even for “baddies”, film is better enjoyed with friends and it follows the witch and Vicky going to the cinema and taking advantage of Orange Wednesdays – where the witch’s big pointed hat proves to be an unusual obstruction for others trying to see the film. The pair also take part in other activities, from messing about in a park to playing arcade games.

The brief on this campaign was to remind people to use the Orange Wednesdays two-for-one cinema ticket offer – as films really are better with friends – while also dovetailing with the client’s broader “I am who I am” strategy.