Full of the joys of Spring (and because I’ve had b*gger all to post on here in the last week or so), I thought I’d type out a wonderfully positive post – a kind of creative love-in:
I’m proud to say that, in recent weeks, I’ve come across work that’s inspired me, made me realise there’s still some fantastic creative (and strategic) thinkers out there, and – in part – made me slightly jealous i.e I wish I’d come up with it!
So, without further ado, here’s my ‘saint’s gallery’ (nearest opposite I could find to ‘rogue’s gallery’) of wonderful creative ideas:
A little hard to view, but if you go here, you can see the idea in full.
The campaign was created by Leo Burnett, for Business in the Community (BITC), to highlight the problems ex-offenders face in the job market.
Smart, simple, relevant, powerful: can see this being very effective.
This idea comes from Cheil Poland and has been produced for the Red Cross, aimed at solving the problem of large numbers of Polish children going hungry.
The video gives the background before the nuts and bolts of the idea kick in, around the 0:35 mark.
Again, it’s simple, relevant, but also highly emotive and it requires very little effort from its target audience for them to be involved. Brilliant.
This idea is actually taken from The Chip Shop Awards, so it hasn’t actually run… but it certainly could.
It targets the same issue as the Cheil/Red Cross idea, but in respect of children worldwide (and for Save The Children).
It’s real ‘stop and think’ idea: impactful. There are more good, spec ideas here.
Love this, from Anthony Nolan, looking to recruit bone marrow donors to help those with blood cancer. It’s bold, it’s punchy, and it absolutely slaps the reader in the face at the end…but in a good way.
And finally….
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this one before, from Norwegian Association of the Blind, but – sod it – it’s worth a second mention.
It’s funny, it’s engaging, it’s smart, and it gets its message across.
So, pats on the back for all those churning out brilliant creative ideas such as these. Pats on the back, too, for those always pushing to get stuff like this approved by clients and out to the big wide world.
One thing you’ll notice: all of these ideas are for charitable causes. For me, this simply shows that creativity doesn’t always have to sell – it can solve problems just as well.
If anything I’m wondering if the balance is tipping: if big brands and their agencies shouldn’t start taking their lead from great, charity creative, rather than the other way round?
Anyway, to redress the balance of this post slightly, here’s some wonderful, simple, visual ideas for various brands.