Creative Review: Umbro, Specsavers, Man City, Bench, Calypso, Royal Court, CO-OP

Love

Love the ads which are beautifully executed. The fresh pop-art approach successfully promotes the vibrant colours of the new GT boots and I can see the appeal to a younger audience. The lightness of the 238 gram boot - to enable players to run faster – is the USP of the GT and should have been brought to the fore.

2. Specsavers (online film)

Specsavers Creative

I’m a fan of the Specsavers TV ads and I thought this viral short strongly reinforced the TV brand campaign. It is humourous and lighthearted enough to work well as a viral allowing Specsavers to retain ownership of their brand in the online marketplace.

3. Manchester City (www.bepartofit.mcfc.co.uk)

Jono Bain and Music

I liked the idea behind the Man City fan map which reinforces mcfc’s brand personality as a club by the fans for the fans. The map interface was well designed and easy to use and could be developed into a useful tool - notwithstanding concerns over rival fans using it for less than sporting reasons. In the meantime the novelty factor kept me amused. Who is that one fan in Greenland?!

4. Bench (instore and online film)

Corporation Pop

The video production was good but this felt little more than an animated catalogue and by the end I was as bored as the models looked. A pigeon-infested loft might suggest urban but it wasn’t the best setting to promote a summer clothing range. A setting that had some resonance with the ‘Power and Glory’ product line may be a better backdrop?

5. Calypso (www.calypso.co.uk)

Madhouse

Overall I found the site design simple yet frustrating to navigate and the content disjointed. I couldn’t see the appeal to the 8-16 year old target audience – the games section was limited and the link between Calypso’s brand values and British Surfing/ Surf Anywhere was not well connected visually or conceptually.

6. The Royal Court Theatre, London (www.royalcourttheatre.com)

Made Media

A huge amount of information brought well together into a well-balanced site. Great use of images and flash to create a stylish and urban feeling interface and innovative features like the interactive timeline brings the history of the RCT to life. Some slight niggles like the over-complicated interactive projects map but overall hit the brief of conveying a sense of cool and legacy.

7. Co-Operative (British Music Experience sponsorship)

Dinosaur

Engaging a younger audience through music - can’t argue with that. Sadly the execution of this campaign doesn’t deliver. The artists featured weren’t particularly relevant to a younger audience and the Co-ops strong ethical and fair trade brand was rendered completely invisible. Bemusing.