The Fairtrade Foundation: Farley & Bell

This hard-hitting stunt from AMVBBDO demonstrates how people are often seduced by nice branding and don't think to question where their food might come from.

Salespeople from a fake new brand called Farley & Bell approach people on the street asking them to sign up to a new fruit and veg box scheme. What they didn't expect was that these fresh and cheap fruit boxes would be delivered to their front doors by exhausted and struggling children.

Then they learn that Farley & Bell is actually a fake brand, created to highlight the exploitation of farmers and child labour in countries such as Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire by food companies.

“Sometimes you just don’t think what’s behind the cheap price. You get drawn in by a deal and pretty packaging,” says one shocked buyer.

U.K.'s "Fairtrade Fortnight," is running from Feb. 27- March 12 and the stunt took place on the streets of West London.

Jonathan Smith, head of campaigns at the Fairtrade Foundation said: "Whether in the UK or in Malawi, no one deserves to be short-changed for a hard day’s work. Farmers get a better deal when they sell their crops on Fairtrade terms. Through Fairtrade, farmers can invest in better farming practice, earn more money for their crops, and make sure their children are fed and can go to school. Communities can also invest in clean water and clinics, improving everyone’s health."



Learn more: http://fortnight.fairtrade.org.uk/

Credits:
Advertising Agency: AMVBBDO
Production: Acne London
Director: Johnny Hopkins
Creative: Clark Edwards
Creative: Andre Hull
Producer: Nikki Marsh

Air France "French Kiss & Ride" by Duval Guillaume

Saying goodbye to your loved once at the airport is always a very intense moment. However, long queues and the necessity to be there on time prevent you from doing just that. But not when you live in Belgium and travel with Air France. To emphasize the convenience of travelling with Air France from Bruxelles-Midi, Duval Guillaume developed the campaign “French Kiss & Ride”: Kiss & Ride, the French way.

The French Kiss & Ride is, first of all, a spot in the underground parking of the train station: parking is free so you can say goodbye properly - totally different from any other standard Kiss & Ride zone, where you can only stay for about 2 minutes.

To make your goodbye even more memorable, Duval Guillaume created a special spot in the train station. Here everyone could take the time to say goodbye to their loved ones, before taking the train to a faraway destination. The goodbye was filmed, and the movie was sent to your mailbox as a souvenir, and to share on social media. In and around Bruxelles-Midi different posters and digital banners showed the way to the French Kiss & Ride spot. Influencers and travel bloggers were invited to share pictures and movies with their followers. No doubt: from now on there is time to say "Au revoir, mon amour!" before you leave for a flight.



Credits:
Advertiser: Air France Belgique
Client Contacts: Ellen Schouppe
Agency: Duval Guillaume
Managing Director: Patrick Clymans
Executive Creative Directors: Koenraad Lefever & Dries De Wilde
Art Director: Arnaud Bailly
Copywriter: Karel De Mulder
Strategic Director: Piet Wulleman
Account Manager: Florien Vanderperren
Account Executive: Dorien Van Antwerpen
PR Company: MSL Group
PR Director: Kathy Van Looy
Designer: Laurent Lejeune
DTP: Bart Janvier
Digital Producer: Bart Callaerts
Production Company: Geronimo & Prodigious
Director: Jan Boon
Post Production Company: Geronimo
Illustrator: Timo Meyer
Production Manager: Christ Lannoy
Media Planner: Maxu

84 Lumber Super Bowl Commercial - The Entire Journey

The most controversial spot from Super Bowl 51 comes from 84 Lumber. Fox didn't allow them to run the entire spot so they aired half and directed people to their website to see the rest.

It's about a Mexican mother, traveling with her daughter through the desert in order to make it to the US but eventually, they end us facing Trump's wall. Throughout the journey, the little girl collects pieces of fabric and stitches them together to make an American flag. The two immigrants don't lose hope, they don't turn back but instead, they find a big door and walk through it. The end line reads "The will to succeed is always welcome here".

Rob Schapiro, the chief client officer at Brunner, the agency behind the spot, told Washington Post "Ignoring the border wall and the conversation around immigration that’s taking place in the media and at every kitchen table in America just didn't seem right. If everyone else is trying to avoid controversy, isn't that the time when brands should take a stand for what they believe in?"



Credits:
Client: 84 Lumber Company
Agency: Brunner, Pittsburgh
Production Co.: Sanctuary, Los Angeles

A birthday party or paying the electricity bill? Croix-Rouge Belgium fights poverty

Croix Rouge is best known for blood donation. But in Belgium, their main activity is fighting poverty. Not just the poverty of those who sleep on the streets under cardboard, but the poverty of the families that have to make difficult decisions to avoid financial trouble at the end of the month. This year, Croix Rouge wants to mobilise people during the Christmas period. To take up arms and join the fight against poverty.

Using a simple example, Croix Rouge demonstrates what 1 in 10 families in Belgium face on a regular basis: having to choose between a birthday party or paying the electricity bill. By showing an ordinary family in an ordinary setting, the message hits in hard: this could be you. All it takes to help is a small donation to Croix Rouge that allows them to keep their social projects running.



The campaign was launched across the following supports: TVC, Cinema, Print, Bannering and a TV show called FACE A FACE debated about the topic.

Credits

Client : Croix-Rouge de Belgique
Contacts : Sandrine Devers, Marie Masset, Fabienne Damsin, Kathleen Hubert
Agency : Publicis Brussels
Account Team : Jessica Danese, Allen Marchant
Creative Directors: Naïm Baddich, Tom Berth, Geert De Rocker
Creative Team : Marc Richard Vander Heyden, Kermit Cota
Copywriters : Philippe Dorval, François Massinon
Graphic Designer: Aurélie Tournay
Print Producer: Marleen Hemeleers
Digital Content Producer: Adnan Chehima
Digital Producer: Tanguy De Kelver
Art Buyer/Radio Producer: Victoire Kaiser
Photographer : Jekyll n’ Hyde
Radio Production Company : Raygun
TV Producers: Marc Van Buggenhout, Tuyen Pham, Daan Feytongs
Film Production Company : Colonel
Director : David Greenwood
Producer :  Matthias Schellens
Sound & Music: Gregory Caron
Post-production Company: The Fridge

ALS League - The never-ending mannequin challenge

I know that we've all seen more than enough videos called “The Mannequin Challenge” but this one from ALS League (ALS=Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is different and for a good cause.

Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/ALSLiga/videos/1277471028993091/

The first seconds you are watching a regular Mannequin Challenge: you see a medical lab with researchers and professors in white coats that – as they are supposed to - remain motionless while the camera winds its way through the area. But when the last mannequin appears, the challenge gets a whole other meaning. While the researchers continue their activities, the last mannequin remains motionless. The person carries a sign that says “For ALS-patients, every day is a Mannequin Challenge.” It’s clear that this person has ALS, a progressive neurological disease that causes dysfunction of the nerves that control muscle movement, leading to muscle weakness, gradually affecting nerves that control breathing and other vital bodily functions, resulting in death within 2 to 5 years’ time. A disease that cannot possibly leave people unmoved.

The Belgian ALS League and the researchers in the movie are in need of funds to continue their research on ALS. You can help by donating and sharing this video.

Contact information

Evy Reviers, CEO, M +32 495 44 67 82
ALS League Belgium
Campus St Rafaël, building H, 4th floor
Kapucijnenvoer 33 B/1
3000 Leuven

Credits:
Advertised brand: ALS League Belgium
Agency: Publicis Brussels
Published/released: 25 November 2016
Client + client contact: ALS League Belgium, Evy Reviers
Creative Director: Tom Berth, Geert De Rocker, Naïm Baddich
Creative team: Marc Richard Vander Heyden, Massimo De Pascale, François Massinon, Massimo Regaglia, Pierre Urbaniak
Account Manager: Fréderic Sodermans
Producer: Daan Feytongs, Marc Van Buggenhout
Camera: Muna Baradi
PR Director: Kathy Van Looy 

Deceased Poet becomes Signing Sensation at Belgian Book Fair

Is it possible for 8 authors to sign non-stop for 12 days? Yes if a robot does all the signing for them.

People usually goes to the Antwerp Book Fair (Belgium) every year to score signatures from their favotrite authors. This year online shop Bol.com raised the signing bar even higher, with a series of signings by top international authors such as Nicci French, David Baldacci and Paula Hawkins.

A stunt in which 8 authors sign non-stop for 12 days. Worthy of note: the late Flemish poet Paul van Ostaijen was also honoured in this way. Bol.com wants to draw attention to genuine literary talent again with this campaign.

In collaboration with the Antwerp Research & Design Lab Beyond, DDB Brussels created a technological signing robot which analysed, parsed and then reconstructed all the signatures and manuscripts of the famous authors.

In total, an intensive test phase took four weeks. Kevin Verelst, co-founder and Art Director of Beyond explains, “The greatest challenge was above all to imitate the writing as faithfully as possible. In the process, it was essential to completely fine-tune four important elements. Namely, the choice of pen, the angle of the writing, the pressure of the pen on the paper and the writing speed.”


'The impossible signing sessions' by Bol.com at the Antwerp book fair from DDB Brussels on Vimeo.


Bol.com - The Impossible Signing sessions from DDB Brussels on Vimeo.




Credits :

Client : bol.com
Agency : DDB Brussels
CD : Peter Ampe & Odin Saillé
Creation : Danny Vissers
Ad & Copy: Tom Meijer & Silke Beurms
Accounts : Francis Lippens & Romy Vierhouten
Strategy: Dominique Poncin, Jorian Vanvossel
Digital Design: Wieste De Ridder
Motion Design: Sven Verfaille
Producer: Stefanie Warreyn
PR: Kenn Van Lijsebeth
TV producer: Brigitte Verduyckt
DOP: Adrien Moormann
Design lab: Beyond.io

Motorola - Skip the sevens

With a bold move Motorola goes against Apple and Samsung and urges people to skip the sevens and opt for a Moto Z with Moto Pods.

In a perfect timing, with Samsung's Note 7 blowing up -literally- and Apple's iPhone 7 disappointing release, Motorola claims true innovation. In the following video you'll see a focus group of Apple fans getting “tricked” into believing that the company’s Moto Z is a new iPhone prototype.

The copy:
When the first generation of the iPhone came out, it changed everything. It was the rebel, the challenger. And it knocked us off our perch. But that was nine years ago.

It seems like the smartphone category is focused on incremental improvements. Display sizes increase by fractions of an inch. Cameras change by a few megapixels. And you often have to wait years for the next big thing. 

We admit that we played that game too. Until now. So this year, skip the sevens. Go for something new, something different. Because, while everyone else is figuring out how to improve their smartphones, we reimagined what a smartphone can be.

The Moto Z with Moto Mods doesn't just give you a slightly better camera, you get a Hasselblad with 10x optical zoom. Instead of small speakers, you get rock JBL stereo sound. Instead of another year of 5" screens, you get a 70" projection.

Our industry was built on thinking differently. Some have forgotten. So for now, we'll carry the torch. Different is better.

Credits:
Agency: Ogilvy