just add maple syrup

Damn you, Thomson Holidays. Damn you for making me want to go on an exorbitantly expensive resort holiday - even more than usual. Damn you.

My favourite campaign at the moment has to be the 'You know who your mates are' campaign for Carling beer. I'm not too familiar with the beer - mostly because it tastes like piss - but I'm pretty certain it has been building a relationship with blokes through football sponsorships and the like throughout the UK. This brand campaign is a broader approach, understandably, that cleverly re-creates common situations guys find themselves in, although within a different context. For example, the latest TV spot sees a group of guys stranded on an island, hailing a passing ship. Subtle additions such as the fact that the passing ship has 'its light on' inform the viewer that they're watching a metaphor for modern life. Anyone who has struggled to find a cab late at night after the pub can relate to the feeling - it's barely an exaggeration. While the situations perfectly relate to Carling's target audience - guys who drink beer - what makes the campaign so s...

Last night, I was talking with a flatmate when we were both stalled mid-sentence by this ad for Orange's RockCorp . The rapid morph-like progression through hundreds of people was impressive enough to make us stop and stare, which is the first aim of any TV spot, isn't it? And our interest was paid off when it came to the line at the end about the Orange volunteers being rewarded with a couple of free concerts. I couldn't help but think, "Awesome." Great stuff from Fallon and Orange. (Hope you had something to do with this Noel!)