Creative Circle: Adam Barker + Ric Cairns
Campaign Brief asks two creative thinkers from the Perth industry to highlight recent great work that caught their eye from both our local WA industry and internationally. Creative Circle contributors this week are Adam Barker (above left) and Ric Cairns (right).
Adam Barker
Creative Partner
Gatecrasher
WA: The power of a good demonstration ad is that it can graphically reinforce a negative cause and effect relationship in such a way that it really sticks in your head.
The new Alcohol Think Again commercial about drinking during pregnancy is a classic example. What a perfect way to communicate that the placenta doesn’t protect the baby from the alcohol mum consumes. Strong idea, very nicely executed.
It also made an impression on my sister too who was keen to ask if I’d done it. “Nup, but I’d be happy if I had”.
Non-WA: It’s not often you see a brand catapulted from deadly boring to monumentally hip in 30 seconds. I was in awe of the new FlyBuys campaign as soon as I began to watch. I love the insight, I love the line, I love the writing. But most of all, I love the direction. In the wrong hands this could have all gone horribly wrong, but instead, it’s a triumph of cool and craft.
The talent direction and performance make it captivating from the start, the music is epic, the transitions between each scene are clever and flawless. The way the long video feels like one single seamless music clip, which also cuts down so perfectly to half a dozen 30 second spots is genius in execution and creative strategy. Full points to FlyBuys.
Ric Cairns
Creative Director
Brandino
WA: We got seriously into FringeWorld this summer and the app developed by Equilibrium was an absolute revelation. It sets a whole new standard for making arts festivals user-friendly: allowing, among other things, easy browsing via multiple filters (or randomised suggestions), easy faves collection, easy ticket purchase, safe in-app ticket storage, plus a personal calendar that prompts you when your next show is coming up, complete with a link to your tickets. It takes away all the stress and opens up all the fun. Brilliantly thought out and seamlessly executed. Bravo.
Non-WA: Indulge me – there are a couple of things I’d like to mention. One of my greatest sources of joy during the Plague Times has been the astounding YouTube campaign for Korean Tourism: ‘Feel the Rhythm of Korea’. It’s a collaboration with alternative pop band LEENALCHI – blending traditional Korean folk tales with funky K-Pop beats – and the extraordinary ‘Ambiguous Dance Company’. Their travelogue films were as much about the country’s personality as its tourist spots.
VIEW THE FEEL THE RHYTHM OF KOREA FILM
‘The Middle’
This got sidelined for a while due to Bruce’s DUI where he was UNDER the limit. Not sure how that works, but it doesn’t reflect on this wonderful film. It’s always hazardous for a brand to wax philosophical, especially venturing into political territory. But perhaps this moment in US history, right after the insurrection at the Capitol, demands that even corporations take a stand for common values. And if you’re going to try to reach out to the broadest possible swath of Americans, you could do worse than having The Boss speak. The concept for this Superbowl spot was from Detriot’s Doner agency, but their VO script was rewritten by Springsteen, who also wrote the evocative score. That may be why it feels like a genuine attempt to bridge the divide, doomed though it may be.
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