Ben Williams, Global Chief Creative Experience Officer at TBWA\Worldwide, takes us on a journey through four advertising campaigns that have left a lasting impression on him. From Apple's clever humor to the bravery of Adidas’ storytelling, Williams reflects on the elements that set these campaigns apart and how they’ve influenced his own approach to creative work.
Which 4 advertising campaigns (across any medium—print, video, OOH, social, etc.) would you consider your favorites?
Apple - Detectives
Clash of Clans - Clash from the past
Sony Bravia - Balls
Adidas - Impossible is Nothing
Apple Detectives
What elements or creative strategies from these top 4 campaigns do you believe set them apart from others in the industry?
All of them, despite being very different from each other, have definitely played a role in defining creative excellence in our industry.
Sony’s Balls spot takes me back to my younger creative self – it captivated me when it was launched. It showcased to the industry our work can in fact - when crafted flawlessly - be a piece of art, even if we often tell ourselves our work is commercial in nature and not meant to be art.
More recently, Apple’s Detectives was a piece that caught my attention. For me, it’s yet another example that Apple has been famous for – a laser focus on product benefit at the core of the storytelling. In this example, they blended that with top notch casting and genuine humor in the script that enabled it to break through in a sea of traditional marketing sameness.
Clash from the past was another recent piece of work that had me jealous – in a good way. The way it strategically flipped a huge challenge into a huge creative opportunity is what we all dream of. And then to bring it to life in a variety of ways was truly inspiring and taught us the solution to most business or brand problems is rarely a single piece. This pushed the creative thinking and execution into places and spaces that made sense for the audience and gaming culture. A good reminder to never settle when it comes to realizing the full potential – and power - of our creative ideas.
Clash of Clans Clash From the Past
Finally, 180/TBWA’s Impossible is Nothing from back in the day is still etched into my creative mind in terms of its bravery, boldness and iconicity. It reminded us all of the power of brand storytelling and written/spoken word - ‘Impossible isn’t a fact, it’s an opinion.’ More than that though, it showcased that when our work is at its best, it can not only move the needle for the brands we work with, but it can transcend the category and resonate with people more broadly. In this case, reminding us, reminding the world, that their boundaries are there to be challenged and to believe in themselves.
Adidas Impossible is Nothing: Ali vs Ali
Have they influenced your own work? If so, how?
Short answer, yes.
Individually, pieces have illustrated the importance of key principles to strive for in anything my teams and I create. When I look at work, consciously, and sometimes subconsciously, I’m pushing for some of the elements that these pieces (and others) have built into them.
When I think about Sony’s Balls piece I remember watching, I'm reminded of the importance of simplicity and beauty in the work we create. As a designer, obsession of craft is hard-wired into how I create, but it is also something that I remind teams of when creating anything. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Now make it as beautiful as it can be. That is where the real work lies.
If I look at how I have created in the past, or directed teams, Clash From The Past exhibits similar traits. Sometimes our ideas are bigger than how we immediately see them coming to life. A healthy tension in the creative process I push for is to explore the possibilities of an idea to realize its full potential, while also striving for simplicity. A healthy balancing act for any great work.
Sony Bravia Balls
