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W+K creates #0800Fun campaign for Three

To celebrate Three’s trailblazing new plans that give new customers free access to 0800 numbers, Wieden+Kennedy London are helping Three launch a selection of fun 0800 numbers for people to call and enjoy, including a Singing Dictionary line, a compliments line, a sympathy line, a nicknaming service and a 24-hour lullaby line. The campaign communicates the idea that 0800 numbers were expensive and boring, making them free and fun. The numbers have also been whitelisted, allowing existing Three customers as well as callers from any other network to revel for a limited time in the same free entertainment Three customers can experience.

New research – conducted by YouGov – has found that mobile users are in the dark when it comes to the cost of making calls to 08numbers from their mobile phone, which are responsible for costing UK mobile consumers £600 million a year.

A series of three TV spots has been created to kick off the campaign. Showing the London Met choir singing from the dictionary in the grandiose setting of a cave (filmed in Wookey Hole in Somerset), the ad imagines what awaits callers at the other end of a free 0800 numbers. The TV is supported by OOH and digital activity, as well as a series of animations on a dedicated YouTube hub hosted at http://www.makethemostofthem.com, illustrating recordings of real calls to each of the novelty 0800 numbers. The TV ads were directed by Chris Palmer at Gorgeous and the animations were created by Layzell Brothers through Blinkink.

‘Hands’ is an Ad Worth Spreading, according to TED

Our viral hit Honda 'Hands' film has been picked for TED's annual Ads Worth Spreading honours, which recognise "innovation, ingenuity, and intelligence in advertising." Creators of the selected ads have been invited to attend and participate in the upcoming 30th anniversary TED conference, which takes place this week in Vancouver.

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Read more about Ads Worth Spreading here on TED's site, and stay tuned for an update from our 'Hands' planner, Georgia Challis, who has jetted over to Canada's farthest shores to represent W+K at the conference. 

Fast Co Create wrote about what TED looks for when selecting the year's Ads Worth Spreading:

Just ahead of its 30-year anniversary conference in Vancouver, BC, TED has released its fourth annual Ads Worth Spreading list, to recognize innovation, ingenuity, and intelligence in advertising.

"We understand the ubiquity of advertising–-it's everywhere and plays a huge role in our media consumption," says TED's head of global partnerships Ronda Carnegie. "As TED celebrates Ideas Worth Spreading, we want to reward the brands who champion ideas-based advertising. The winners understand an ad's power and presence, and excel as 'Ad-throlopogists,' meaning their great work gives us insights into the connection between advertising our own cultural compass."

The ad industry is already awash in awards shows but the high fives doled out by the global ideas conference are a bit different. Winners were picked by pairings of industry experts and TED speakers. There aren't any traditional categories like TV, outdoor, platinum, whatever. Instead, honorees must fall into at least one category of storytelling, social good, cultural compass, creative wonder, and learning. Also, there are no shiny trophies.

Carnegie says the organization looked for “brand bravery” this year, to reward the agencies and clients that are able to take creative ideas and actually build a brilliant campaign. "We realized that brand bravery, which was originally a category, needs to be embodied by all of the winning ads," says Carnegie. "We kept hearing powerful stories from creatives and marketers on how they helped push their ideas through big organizations. A successful campaign needs both sides to champion and stand up for an idea; our recognition of brand bravery is a celebration of those who succeed through that process."

So, who made the cut? It wouldn't be an advertising honor party without Dove, and Ogilvy & Mather UK's look at women's relationship with the camera is in there. Don't tell Greenpeace, but P&G's heartwarming ode to Olympic moms by Wieden+Kennedy Portland also made the cut, along with the only beer commercial that could make a grown man weep by Guinness and BBDO New York.

Here's a refresher of our 'Hands' film:

 

Alongside 'Hands', another W+K ad made the list – the Sochi Winter Olympics instalment of W+K Portland's 'Thank You Mom' campaign:

 

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