Thinkbox
Story of the film:
In this episode, we hear from multi-award winning customer director Craig Inglis who is The Global Chair of the Marketing Society. He was part of John Lewis when he came to speak with us. Inglis tells of raw emotions, authenticity and acting of rare quality. At the time he was also Joint President of the Thinkbox Academy for The Thinkboxes.
John Lewis went from strength to strength under Craig’s tenure, he’s picked up the Grand Prix at the 2012 IPA Effectiveness Awards following a campaign powered by a celebrated series of emotional TV ads. He is someone well worth listening to on the subject of great and effective advertising. We hope you enjoy the film.
A few words about Craig
Craig joined John Lewis in March 2008, where he has presided over an overhaul of the retailer’s marketing strategy and a number of high-profile campaigns including the much talked-about Never Knowingly Undersold re-launch last year. The brand has gone on from strength to strength under his tenure, winning the Marketing Society’s Brand of the Year for 2010 & 2011 and the Grand Prix at the 2012 IPA Effectiveness Awards.
Craig has been responsible for the much celebrated series of emotional TV ads behind this business success, including; "The Long Wait", "Always a woman" and "The Feeling". He is also the current Marketing Society’s Marketer of the Year.
He started his career in 1992 as a marketing graduate trainee at Thomson Holidays, leading to a role as a Product Manager. After a year travelling the world, Craig joined Virgin in 1997 as a Product Manager in their fledgling rail business and, after launching thetrainline.com, he rose to become Sales & Marketing Director of Virgin Trains. In that role, in 2006, he picked up his first IPA Effectiveness Award for Virgin Trains' 'Return of the Train', a great TV ad that used footage from classic films featuring trains, such as 'The Railway Children', 'The Lady Vanishes', 'Some Like It Hot' and 'North By Northwest’.
Craig’s choices:
Robinson: Wimbledon
Robinsons relationship with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships goes back to the 1930s when Eric Smedley-Hodgson first mixed barley crystals with fresh lemon and sugar to serve to the players. Robinsons wanted to emphasise this heritage, "reclaim consumers' hearts and minds" and make the brand stand out from other Wimbledon sponsors.
The vehicle to do this was a beautifully crafted, 60-second spot called ‘Imagine’ which showed families from across the nation in the build-up to the iconic event and their hopes of crowning a British winner. "It will happen again and we will be part of it," says the voiceover at the end of the ad.
The Wimbledon campaign was developed at BBH, London, by executive creative director Nick Gill, copywriter Daniel Schaefer, art director Szymon Rose and agency TV producer Ben Davies. The ad was directed by Benito Montorio and produced by Jimmy Bland from Blink Productions.
It won Gold and Silver awards at the 2010 British Arrows.
- Agency: BBH
- Creative: Daniel Schaefer / Szymon Rose
- Production Co: Blink
- Director: Benito Montorio
Volkswagen Polo: Father Daughter
This heart-warming TV ad positions the Volkswagen Polo as the small but tough car you can trust to protect your loved ones, as well as a car that will make you feel safe.
Framestore’s colourist Simon Bourne crafted a grade for each scene that takes viewers through an 18-year journey by using the grade to further enhance these heart-warming scenes with soft hues and contrast.
Executive creative director Jeremy Craigen worked on the ad with copywriter Tom Chancellor and art director Luke Flynn.
The ad was directed Thirtytwo, Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, for DDB London and produced by Pulse. The music was specially recorded for the ad by music production company Sniffy Dog.
- Agency: DDB London
- Creative: Jeremy Craigen / Tom Chancellor / Luke Flynn
- Production Co: Pulse Films
- Director: thirtytwo
Stella: Ice Skating Priests
Jonathan Glazer marked his third outing as the director of the Stella Artois ads with an epic two-minute spot.
The ad was written and art directed by Vince Squibb for Lowe London with the agency producer Sarah Hallett.
Jonathan Glazer, is also known for his work with Guinness (Surfer, Dreamer and SwimBlack) directed the spot via production company Academy Films with producer Simon Cooper and director of photography was Dan Landin.
The ad was filmed in Poland in black and white. It was ‘graded’ by Moving Picture Company‘s Mark Gethin to give it a 1920s look.
The main actor is Polish star Zbigniew Zamachowski, famous for his role in the ‘Of the Three Colours’ Trilogy. The music for the Stella Artois Ice Skating Priests ad is Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt.
- Agency: Lowe London
- Creative: Vince Squibb
- Production Co: Academy Films
- Director: Jonathan Glazer
