Travel has become more accessible for Londoners, thanks to easyJet, whose latest "Why Not?" campaign by VCCP has a pretty basic premise: It's the story of the many adventures awaiting a woman whose flight is about to take off.
Strange little details give the ad unexpected vivacity. It opens with a molting man made of flowers running across the runway like Alice's White Rabbit. He's late, he's late! Suddenly our heroine is yanked right out of the plane and into the hangar, where tropes of a European vacation—open-air markets, street artists—are given the Gulliver's Travels treatment, transforming the exotic into the surreal.
In one scene, the protagonist even appears relaxing on a beach, surrounded by a spray of tiny humans.

The ad ends where the real adventure begins—in the seat of the plane, where we're told easyJet offers 300,000 seats to Europe for £29.99 each. That's around $40, less than what some people pay for underwear.

"Dinner in Barcelona? Why not? Trumpet festival in Budapest? Why not? Six hours in Amsterdam? Seriously, why not?" VCCP probes.

The ad was shot by Canada. The pan-European brand campaign will include print, out-of-home and digital out-of-home, where travelers will be prettily choreographed by the Wade Brothers. EasyJet will also run an immersive element in the heart of London, where it will "bring a European city" to the locals. A social competition will give people the chance to win their own adventure.

"Why Not?" may be unusual, but it's a return to basics for easyJet. In May, it tried encouraging people to discover more of the continent by promoting Sneakairs—sneakers that vibrate to subtly guide travelers to their destinations, so they don't have to stare down at Google Maps while exploring.

VCCP, for its part, has always been a bit out of this world. Earlier this year, in a First Utility spot, it positioned unicorns as a bold new power source.

Trucks is giving thanks this holiday in classic Fiat Chrysler style with a big, sweeping, poetic paean to blue-collar American workers—in a 90-second spot from The Richards Group, airing Thursday, that gives praise to waitresses, janitors, mill and factory workers, fishermen and more, as well as the work they do.

The spot honors the "true everyday heroes" who may often struggle to make ends meet but always "labor to make their families and this nation strong," according to press materials. Each line of the poetic voiceover begins with the word "praise," lending an almost religious feel to the sacrifices these men and women make—the grueling workdays that help make their family time at home possible. The spot will air on Thanksgiving Day during the NFL games on CBS and Fox.

Ram Trucks Salutes Blue-Collar Workers

Ram is encouraging viewers to share what they are thankful for with the hashtag #RamGivesThanks. Ram country music partners, including Easton Corbin and Maddie and Tae, are also involved in the campaign—they will be performing in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which Ram also sponsors.

The "Praise" spot is the second big new Ram commercial of the week. On Sunday, the brand aired the 60-second spot below—an ode to Fifth Harmony's "Work from Home" music video—during the 2016 American Music Awards. That spot aired on TV just that once, and was another example of the value Fiat Chrysler and Francois put in event programming.

Fiat Chrysler aired a second major spot on the AMA's, too—the two-minute video below, "Music Brings Us Together," in which it thanked its music-label partners for driving 7.8 billion YouTube video views and connecting the company's vehicles to the world.

Credits

Client: Ram Trucks/Fiat Chrysler
Agency: The Richards Group, Dallas

Holiday ad for Mondelēz's Milka chocolate, an enterprising alpine lad just can't wait a whole month for Christmas to arrive. So, he constructs a cool steampunk-style time machine in a bid to travel into the mysterious, eggnog-scented future of 2412 … the 24th of December, that is.

A Boy Impatient for Christmas Builds a Time Machine in Charming Ad for Chocolate

Impatient brat! Hey, H.G. Wells Jr., Santa keeps his own schedule! Anyway, thanks to his family, a sweet surprise awaits the little dickens once he reaches his destination.

The festive ad is extremely well executed by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, of Amélie fame, who calls the 90-second film rolling out in European markets "one of my favorite ads I've ever made."

Kudos for using a Milka-filled Advent calendar, counting down the final weeks before the yuletide arrives, as both a plot point and product integration.

Credits

Client: Milka/Mondelēz
VP Marketing Communication and Brand Equity: Phillip Chapman
Marketing Director, Chocolate: Celine Berg
Marketing Manager, Chocolate: Martha Miralles
Global Milka Equity Director: Karine Chik
Global Milka Equity Manager: Chiara Missio
Milka Seasonal Activation Manager MEU: Beata Kucejko-Pelka
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam
Executive Creative Director: Mark Bernath, Eric Quennoy
Creative Director: Szymon Rose, Daniel Schaefer
Art Director: Victor Monclus, Jeff Lam
Copywriter Will Lowe, David Neevel
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Broadcast Producer: Samantha Cox, Soey Lim
Planner: Martin Weigel
Communications Planner: Wes Young
Group Account Director : Clare Pickens
Account Director: Will Oakes
Account Manager: Nick Pirtle
Project Manager: Katie Finn
Business Affairs: Emilie Douque
Film Production Production Co.: Tobago Films, Paris
Director: Jean–Pierre Jeunet
Director of Photography: Thomas Hardmeier
Producer: Olivier Thaon, Nicolas Maman
Executive Producer: Michèle Arnould
Editing Company: McMurphy, Paris
Editor: Maryline Monthieux
Audio Post - Wave Studios, London
Sound Designer/Mixer: Aaron Reynolds
Music Composer: Phil Kay
Music Co.: Woodwork Music
Postproduction: McMurphy, Paris
Flame: Bruno Maillard, Christophe Croidieu, Tristan Barbaron
3D: Guillaume Nadaud, Thomas Lefebre, Charles Blanchard
Colorist: Didier Le Fouest
Producer: Alexandre Boiron, Sébastien Gros

The new Ford Edge is so enchanting, it will turn the vicious assassin that an arms dealer hired to kill you into a smitten guardian angel—though the killer with the heart of gold might still steal your ride as payment for his protection.

So says a new eight-minute short film for the automaker from agency GTB, starring actor Mads Mikkelsen as the hitman, and directed by Jake Scott. Tracking the story of a couple turned state's witness against a weapons smuggler, it follows them into hiding as Mikkelsen's character stalks them, and their bright orange SUV, which apparently they've decided to bring with them to their new Mediterranean village home. (Presumably it was just too good to give up, even if they didn't mind changing their faces with a little casual plastic surgery.)

Check Out The Video

Mikkelsen, playing the titular "Le Fantôme" or "The Ghost," is ultimately so charmed by the car that he refuses the bounty, and even protects the couple from the second murderer sent to replace them—swapping their Edge for an old two-seat motorcycle and a couple of plane tickets to Peru. In other words, the film straddles the line between the somber and the absurd—though how intentionally isn't, at first, entirely clear. The stakes are high—life and death. The hero is blocky. His motivation is goofy—a point that seems most deliberate when he pauses his hunt to nuzzle the car. The Ford seems woefully out of place, a point the story halfway strives to acknowledge but doesn't quite defuse. Its modern profile sticks out like a sore thumb against the lush, classic, dilapidated backdrop that the production so beautifully shapes.

Ultimately, it doesn't feel believable. This isn't a luxury automobile, and it's not obvious whether Ford is asking people to laugh at the car without quite giving reason to do so, or to applaud the car as a down-to-earth antidote to the hackneyed, dazzling underworld tropes the film goes to great lengths to polish.

Ultimately, it's most likely the latter. A fair reading would find the whole film a delightfully arch send-up of gangster narratives, and a celebration of modesty and morality. Regardless, the visuals are wonderful, and Mikkelsen's performance is eminently watchable—enough in its own right to keep the audience hooked, and guessing. In fact, the only real crime may be the color of the car.

WWF made a donation ad about WildLIfe Once Again.

This time they come up with ad to Display A concern On Tigers, A Mighty Wild Cat.

In Ad they are displaying a urban family who are caring a injured tiger.

By this Ad WWF try to bring a notice to a people that we have to take care of Wild Life as much as we can.

They are urging people to donate a money to participate in a work of WWF.

Check Out A Video

Credits

Advertising Agency: J. Walter Thompson, London, UK
Executive Creative Director: Russell Ramsey
Creative Director: Jaspar Shelbourne
Creatives: James Humphreys, Craig Hunt
TV Producer: Denise Connell, Edmund Thorn
Planner: Chris Bailey
Global Director in Charge: Emma Howath
Account Director: Anna Hall
Senior Account Manager: Sophie Christiansen
Project Manager: Steve Hedge
Media Agency: ARM
Media Planners: Oliver Bertwistle, Tom Parker
Director: Martin Stirling
Production Company: Partizan
Editor: Steve Ackroyd
Sound: Chris Turner

There are things we just don't see—remote places under the sea, in the savannah or covered in snow, whose joys, dramas and tragedies we aren't privy to. And yet we affect them.

In "Dream," a beautiful stop-animation video by DDB New York for the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, four animals facing extinction tell their stories through the words of "I Dreamed a Dream"—a song you'll recognize if you're a Les Misérables fan.

The animals appear, majestic and undisturbed, in their natural habitats. The drama begins when a sinister group of men arrive, their battered ship piercing through the darkness. They're scary, twisted figures. Unlike the warm, living faces of the animals, their eyes transmit an eerily commercial luminosity that matches the lights of their cars and ships.

It all goes downhill from there. The ending constricts the heart, and reminds us that our comforts come at a painfully parasitic cost.

oil spills in sea

whale killing

Human As A WildLife Killer

Check Out A Video

Since "The Scarecrow," we've rarely seen a standalone piece of animated brand work this strong, though it clearly owes an inspirational debt to that Chipotle ad, which came out three years ago.

Beautifully brought to life by production company Zombie Studio, the video includes guest vocalists Natalie Bergman (who plays the rhino), Ryan Merchant (the whale), Keenan O'Meara (the pelican) and Tal Fisher Altman (the seal), whose wrenching close does lots of emotional heavy lifting. The Wildlife Conservation Film Festival takes place from Oct. 17-23 at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater in New York. You can buy a festival pass for $175, or individual "Film Series" tickets for $18 in advance or $25 at the door.

The goal of the WCFF is to develop public awareness programs to teach people about global biodiversity protection. "Dream," created pro-bono for the campaign, will run online, in social and at WCFF events before, during and after the festival.

CREDITS

Client: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WCFF)

Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S. - Founder & CEO

A boysuffering from kidney failure isn't weak. He's a gladiator about to step into the ring for battle.

So says a gorgeous, jaw-dropping new campaign from SickKids Hospital—or as it's more formally known, The Hospital for Sick Children—in Toronto.

In the centerpiece anthem, titled "SickKids VS: Undeniable," ailing children, alongside their families, doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, all gird for battle—as medieval soldiers, pro wrestlers taking baseball bats to dialysis machines, and comic book superheroes.

It's a gripping two-minute argument from agency Cossette—more than anything, for the power of imagination as a vehicle for hope, and metaphor as a medical tool. Anyone who has struggled through a serious illness, or watched someone else do it, knows that defiance isn't to be undervalued.

This takes that basic insight to new heights, with enough of a playful tone to match and address its core subjects.

More than 50 SickKids patient families agreed to participate in the film, and 100 staff members from the hospital also lent a hand, on or off camera.

Check Out the Video

CREDITS
Client: The Hospital for Sick Children
Agency: Cossette
Chief Creative Officer(s): Carlos Moreno, Peter Ignazi
Creative Director/CW: Craig McIntosh
Creative Director/AD: Jaimes Zentil
Agency Producer: Dena Thompson
Account Supervisor(s): Olivia Figliomeni, Daniel Dolan
Account Director: Hanh Vo
VP, Brand Director(s): Michelle Perez, Steve Groh
Chief Strategy Officer: Jason Chaney

Production House: Skin & Bones
Director: Mark Zibert
DOP: Jackson Parrell
Executive Producer: Dan Ford
Line Producer: Joan Bell
Editing House: Skin & Bones
Editor: Marka Rankovic
Transfer/Online Facility: The Vanity
Flame Artist: Sean Cochrane
Colorist: Andrew Exworth
Animation: The Mill NYC
Animation: a52
Audio House: SNDWRX
Music Creative Director: Didier Tovel
Song: Undeniable - by Donnie Daydream Feat: Richie Sosa

​Clients​
VP, Brand Strategy and Communications: Lori Davison
Director, Integrated Brand Marketing: Kate Torrance
Director, Digital Projects: Mark Jordan
Manager, Patient Ambassador Program: Lisa Charendoff
​M​arketing Manager: Tina Tieu
Marketing Manager: Harleen Bhogal
Coordinator, Public Relations: Madeline Salerno

AMSTERDAM—Actress Margaret Qualley winked, strutted and laser-blasted her way into the hearts of judges at this year's Epica Awards, where her long-form ad for Kenzo Parfums has won the Grand Prix in film.

Directed by Spike Jonze as a sort of spiritual successor to his iconic 2001 video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice," the Kenzo spot features Qualley (known for HBO's The Leftovers and for being one of actress Andie McDowell's two daughters) spasmodically dancing her way across a large venue to the tune of an original track called "Mutant Brain."

California's Bay Area—home to nine counties, from Alameda to San Francisco—has always been an enclave of diversity, both in terms of ethnicity and cost of living. But thanks to Silicon Valley, median household income has skyrocketed to $153,057—about five times more than families who live below the poverty line, which clocks in at about $24,300.

Consider what this does to the cost of rent and other everyday expenses.

One in 10 Bay Area families (about 788,000 people in all) live below the poverty line. To raise awareness about this massive dissonance, San Francisco agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners took over a grocery store in the upscale Nob Hill neighborhood and charged regulars "Poverty Line Prices"—inflating products to five times their normal cost, with hidden cameras rolling.

Under "Poverty Line Prices," created for the poverty-fighting organization Tipping Point Community, four rolls of toilet paper skyrocket from $3.46 to $17.30. Monthly bus passes, which normally cost $73, jump to $365. And milk goes from $4.88 to $24.40.

Patrons were filmed freaking out over the markups:

Check out the Chronicle "coupon campaign" below:

CREDITS Client: Tipping Point Community

Title of Creative Work: Poverty Line Prices

Live Date: 11/17/16

Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Creative

Co-Chairman: Rich Silverstein

Associate Creative Director: Tristan Graham

Design Director: Chris Peel

Production

Director of Content Production: Tod Puckett

Executive Broadcast Producer: Michael Damiani

Senior Art & Print Producer: Noah Dasho

Director of Interactive Production: Margarret Brett-Kearns

Associate Technology Director: Andre Cardozo

Interactive Producer: Tena Goy

Photographer/Retoucher: Quinn Gravier

Account Services

Group Account Director: Michael Crain

Assistant Account Manager: Will McPherson

Brand and Communication Strategy

Head of Brand Strategy: Bonnie Wan

Deputy Director of Brand Strategy: James Thorpe

Director of Communications: Meredith Vellines

Director of Communications Strategy: Christine Chen

Sr. Communications Strategist: Alex Oztemel

Jr. Communications Strategist: Chloe Bosmeny

Group Research and Analytics Director: Margaret Coles

Jr. Quantitative Strategist: Ian Heath

Business Affairs

Business Affairs Manager: Heidi Killeen

Business Affairs Associated Manager: Annie Holmgren

Production Company

Company Name: EFilms

Director: Timothy Plain

Director of Photography: Jon Behrens

Producer: Jefferson Curry

Executive Producer: PJ Koll

Content Creative: Andrew Butte

Editorial Company

Company Name: Elevel

Editor: Erik Johnson

Asst. Editor: Lori Arden

Producer: Ali Plansky

Music

Atomic Music

Track Title: Intricate Designs

Mix

Company Name: Elevel

Mixer: Dave Baker

Last week, in the ongoing Super Bowl of U.K. Christmas ads, Sainsbury's released "The Greatest Gift." This sweet stop-motion animation story is about Dave, a working cog who just wants to be home for the holidays.

Created by AMV BBDO, the West End-style musical film is set to "The Greatest Gift for Christmas Is Me," sung by James Corden and composed by Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie. Conchords fans won't be disappointed by the lyrics, which, while being slyly funny, convey truths that resonate with most adults, especially this time of year.

Meanwhile, Dave is depicted running the hamster wheel of his life—waking up at 6 a.m., preparing lists on a packed subway train, putting out fires at a toy factory, and enduring uncomfortable proximity to his twerking boss at the holiday party.

By the time he gets home, his family is asleep. That's when he comes up with a perfect idea.

There's wry critique in the solution Dave comes up with, a reminder that what distracts us from what's really important is not all that serious. He co-opts the toy factory by night, transforming its manufactured delights into versions of himself—head-wagging Dave dolls, bespectacled robots, Stretch Armstrongs and even drones. These are handily dispersed among everybody who's angling for his time ... while the real Dave focuses on his family.

But in addition to furnishing a happy ending for one man's frenetic life, the piece also beams a message into fraught social conversations about cultural belonging. Dave's family, friends and colleagues are refreshingly diverse—multicultural, varied in ethnicity, body type, hair and relationship structure (including a multi-ethnic lesbian couple with a baby).

While "The Greatest Gift" isn't about this specifically, the nod to real-world variety is a relief and a pleasure to witness, tugging at one last sensitive string.

And don't think we've forgotten James Corden. The "Carpool Karaoke" host has had a banner year. In September, he appeared in an Apple Music spot, where he pitches awful ideas to Apple execs. A month before that, Air New Zealand pitched the star to launch a new show: "Cockpit Karaoke." He's currently starring in "Reserve What's Next," a Chase video series for which he's designing his own 3D-printed cars. Oh, and he amusingly made ad people (and Facebook) feel ashamed at last week's Ad Council dinner.

"The Greatest Gift" broke first on social media, then on TV during the show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! Like ads from previous years, it ends with the tagline, "Christmas Is for Sharing."

In addition to this three-minute piece, shorter clips feature Dave's family and Sainbury's food. Versions of Gingerbread Dave and a "Greatest Gift" film animation kit will be sold to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, which is planning to build on-site accommodation for families of the children who are treated there.

Lexus has rolled out its 2016 Christmas campaign, the latest installment of its "December to Remember" sales event advertising from agency Team One, and it has various adults manipulating kids into hitting up Santa for a Lexus this year.

This means everything from people telling their kids what to say on Santa's lap (in case they blank and ask for a football), to a mom taking over her daughter's Santa letter, to a dad interrupting his kid's video conference with Santa.

Let's pause there, actually, because the entire point of Santa is that he only leaves the North Pole once a year. Having 24/7 access to him kills the whole mystique. For that matter, is there a rule that only children can communicate with Santa? I feel like a grown-ass man or woman could ask for a car directly with the same odds as anyone else. That's how it works in sitcoms, anyway.

As you ponder that, check out the five ads here:

Another point to consider: Does Lexus make a deal with Santa where he gets a set number of cars to distribute as gifts? Do other manufacturers have similar arrangements with him? I feel like we need another set of ads just to make sense of his inventory.

Moving on, the ads are cute, but it always weirds me out when Christmas ads don't even bother with the family-and-togetherness part of the holiday before running at full gallop to the gifts. Especially when the scenario is about gaming the system in such merciless fashion—using kids to get a free car out of Santa.

The broadcast spots break Wednesday on network and cable television, sports channels and more. The "Santa Cam" spot will be translated for the Hispanic market, and a second version of "Forgery" will be created for the Asian-American market.

CREDITS

Client: Lexus

Agency: Team One

Finally, here's a holiday ad where people aren't pretending to like the gifts they're given! There's just one catch: We really can't tell what's getting them all so wound up.

Samsung is hoping to create what it calls "a new holiday tradition" with a campaign called "The Gift of Galaxy," which celebrates experiences both delightful and immersive. If you've followed Samsung's many VR-related ads this year, you won't be all that surprised at what this gift entails.

A national TV spot kicks the work off. Titled "Unwrap the Feels," it features families offering Samsung Gear VR headsets to family members, who enthuse, clip their phones in and experience a whole roller-coaster of emotions while others watch, pleased as punch.

The brand is well on its way to both overcoming an ugly setback and defining itself as a leader in VR and connected devices. But until VR effectively resolves its tricky content problem (among other challenges, like lack of platform agnosticity, bulkiness, cost, wires and just generally looking awfully complicated), Grandpa probably isn't taking that blue box back out after Christmas.

Grey's holiday appeal for the Salvation Army in Canada makes impressive use of Facebook 360 photos to give users a more rounded view of poverty.

At first glance, posts resemble typical yuletide fare, with smiling parents and kids wishing their families and friends a Merry Christmas, complete with festive trees and colorful lights in the background.

But when users interact with the ads, they see things from a different perspective. Check out one of the 360 photos here. Below is the case study showing how they worked:

Even without the 360, this next clip encourages viewers to do a mental 180:

CREDITS

Client: Salvation Army

Agency: Grey Canada (with media planning/placement by Mediacom)

Executive Creative Directors: Joel Arbez, James Ansley

Art Directors: Oliver Brooks, Ryan McNeill, Janet Wen

Writers: Mike Richardson, Shirley Yushkov

Account Director: Siobhan Doyle

Account Executive: Kit Kostandoff

Strategic Planner: Jean Claude Kikongi

Producers: Vanessa Birze, Deena Archibald, Sam Benson

Digital Producer: Dominic Barlow

Director of Technology and UX: Marc Cattapan

Production Company: Westside Studios

Director/Photographer: Frank Hoedl

Editorial: Christina Humphries, Rooster Post

Post Production: Fort York

Colour: The Vanity

Audio: Boombox, Cylinder Sound

Ah, the holidays!

A time for sharing, love and ... McDonald's?

In "Juliette the Doll," a charming little ad by Leo Burnett London, a toyshop owner pulls a vintage doll, Juliette, out of a fading box. "Maybe this year," he whispers, setting her in the window. Days pass. People make purchases. Unsurprisingly, our heroine is never one of them. (Who plays with dolls anymore when there are VR Gears to give?)

Juliette peers forlonly out the window, offering passersby her best demure poses. Her eyes drift, ever more often, to the cheerful McDonald's across the snowy street, where people seem to be having a grand old time.

Dec. 25 finally arrives. When the shopkeeper glances at the window, he finds Juliette has gone. We'll give you one guess where she went.

Here Is the Video

Credits:

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, London, UK

Head of Marketing / Brand / Experience: Katie Parker

Brand Manager: Hannah Pain

Creative Directors: Pete Heyes, Matt Lee

Art Directors / Copywriters: Phillip Meyler, Darren Keff

Account Team: Simon Hewitt, Sam Houlston, Ailsa McQuaid, Gracie Smith

Agency Producer: Lou Pegg

Director: Gary Freedman

Producer: Jason Kemp

Editor: Adam Spivey

Post Production: MPC

Sound Design: Sam Robson

Music: Woodwork Music

Director of Photography: Jan Velicky

Model Makers: Artem