3 great ads I had nothing to do with: Mark Elwood

A few words about Mark

Mark started his career as a graphic designer. He moved agency side in 1990 at Leo Burnett, and has been Head of Design at JWT, Euro RSCG and AMV BBDO (where he was promoted to Board Director). In 2003, Mark joined Fallon London as Head of Art, where he worked for 7 years being promoted to Partner and Creative Director. Fallon was Campaign’s agency of the year in 2006 and 2007. In 2011 when Mark came to speak with us he had co-founded 101, where he was the Joint Executive Creative Director with Augusto Sola.

Mark’s choices

John Smith’s “Ball Skills”

Back in 2002 TBWA London gave John Smith's a 'real' face by using the comedian Peter Kay to hilarious effect. The phrase "'ave it" was coined by Kay and when the TV ad launched it was rapidly adopted by the nation, fuelled by World Cup fever. There was barely a person in the country unfamiliar with the ad’s strapline, contributing to an estimated £1 million worth of publicity.

Channel 4 “Meet the Superhumans (2016)”

Making a follow-up to a successful ad campaign is always a daunting task. It’s especially daunting when that ad is ‘Meet the Superhumans’ – the multi-award-winning spot that helped transform perceptions of the Paralympics in 2012. The latest Paralympics ad celebrated not just athletes, but disabled non-athletes from around the world. Featuring more than 140 disabled people, the film, directed by Dougal Wilson, celebrated the abilities of people with a range of impairments from all walks of life. It is set to a cover of Sammy Davis Jr track ‘Yes I Can’, performed by disabled musicians.

Skoda “Factory Tour”

Fallon boldly confronted the image crisis Skoda was suffering by using self-deprecating humour to get independent-minded consumers to re-evaluate the product. The spot won Skoda the supreme Grand Prix 'winner of winners' award in the Chartered Institute of Marketing Effectiveness Awards. More importantly, the public proved its favourable reappraisal of the brand by making it the only UK car brand to increase its sales that year.