You’re probably reading this on a phone, sat on the bog, pretending to be “checking your slack messages” in a meeting, or just drifting home on a train wishing that twat chatting on ‘speaker’ would just use their phone like a normal human being.
Because the little marvel of technology grafted to our palms is such a fundamental part of our lives now it felt apt to pick ‘Telecoms’ as the theme for my go at this article.
So using the magic of AI, Google and my memory cells I’ve managed to build myself a flipping time machine to be able to traverse the continuum and find the worlds 5 greatest telecom ads.
Desert Island Ads
Back in the sands of time, I’ve firstly gone for Nextel – Dance. This ad is nearly 20 years old, and still stands up as an all time great. Using ‘Push it’ by Salt ‘n Pepa (it still slaps) this film is so simple, so tightly written and so funny it still makes me want to scream with jealousy. Ads with this level of craft, humour and simplicity just don’t come around very often. AND it’s a 30.” Remember when we as an industry actually acknowledged those things exist? Vs the cursed case study arms race.
Next up I’ve gone for Phones 4U – Scary Mary! (Bending the rules). Ok, I’m bending the rules ALREADY, but it’s my article and I can do what I want. Featuring a charismatic American spokesman, a beautifully clear message and the sledgehammer description of a lady as “scary Mary” this film (and its casting will forever be burnt into my mind-telly. And it’s a 30.
From 30 to, well, it’s more of a 3 x 30, but I’ll forgive it because the media buy was such a genius move. I wanted to put all the Orange Goldspots in, but I can’t, so I’ve picked Orange – Goldspots (Rob Lowe). Such a tight script, with the greatest casting and the best direction this film is an absolute masterclass.
A brand that acknowledges that people actually want to be entertained if you’re going to ask them to drink from a firehose of wall-to-wall messaging, and a client with the self-awareness that if they took the piss out of themselves there was gold to be found. Add this to an agency at the peak of their powers doing what they did best, and you have incredible work. I’m just grateful that I got to work alongside those people for as long as I did.
From long and funny to really long and well, just really good. The EE – ‘Britain’s sleeping’ film is a reminder that there are brands out there that still want to make amazing things and creative talent that are capable of delivering it. I want to celebrate the casting, the titles (a brilliant flex on the exhausting “can we have our brand in the first 3 seconds”) the editing, the casting, the amazing insight of weekday-bedtime-shit-shows, but the thing that makes the hairs in my ears stand up every time I watch it is the juggernaut music choice (Insomnia by Faithless). It compliments the narrative in a way music rarely does in ads, and the kids toy riff on the melody at the end is SO *chefs kiss* good. The music that goes with the rest of the campaign is also worth checking out, given its a thinly veiled love letter to the music a man I know very well, adores.
And finally Giff Gaff – 60GB of Data, Are you on Giff Gaff or something ? A wicked brand but one that has forever felt a bit all over the shop (and who knows if this direction of travel will stick) but they should definitely make loads more of these sorts of films because they’re snot-on-your-chest funny, which makes people talk about them and send the around. Not easy at the moment so Kudos to the team and writer who makes this. It’s MEGALOLZ. The world seems to have always found the means to make truly great Telecoms advertising – let’s take a leaf out of their directory and push for more of this brilliant sort of thing.
Ben Middleton is chief creative officer, Modern Citizens.
