Just Call Apeldoorn: The Forty-Year Comedy of Errors That Built a Brand
Somewhere in the Netherlands, a man is about to make a terrible mistake. He’s about to back his car through a garden fence, set his …
TV
The Ad That Terrified a Nation: The Inside Story of Australia’s “Grim Reaper” Campaign
In the world of advertising, we often talk about “cutting through the noise.” But in April 1987, one Australian campaign didn’t just cut through the …
The Walk-in Fridge: How Heineken Turned a Party Trick into a Brand Statement
There is a moment early in Heineken’s 2009 “Walk-in Fridge” commercial when everything pivots on a single sound. A group of women at a housewarming …
The Hitchcockian Pivot: How the French Red Cross Mastered the “Architecture of Proximity” in 2021
In the world of advertising, some brands have it easy. They sell soda, sneakers, or smartphones—products that people actually want to buy. But what happens …
Yellow Pages: “Not Happy, Jan!” – How a 30-Second Scream Defined Australian Advertising for Two Decades
In the world of advertising, most campaigns are lucky to survive a single flight. They land, they flicker for a few weeks, and they vanish …
The Fan is the MVP: How Orange Re-Wrote the Playbook at UEFA EURO 2016
In the high-stakes world of sports sponsorship, the “Big Brand” strategy has historically been about as predictable as a 0-0 draw in a rainy group …
Why Not Both? How a 2006 Australian Taco Ad Became the Internet’s Ultimate Conflict-Solver
In the pantheon of advertising, most commercials are lucky to survive a six-week flight before being relegated to the dusty archives of YouTube. But every …
The Ad That Broke the Internet (Before it Was Cool): Tourism Australia’s “Bloody Hell” Gamble
In the high-stakes world of destination marketing, there are campaigns that whisper, and then there are campaigns that scream until they’re blue in the face. …
Mr. Bean Does Chocolate: How Chocolat Frey Turned a Category Cliché into a Punchline
There is a well-worn ritual in premium chocolate advertising. A distinguished man in a white coat, lit like a Renaissance painting, lifts a square of …
Balls Over Pods: How CoffeeB Is Challenging the Glamour of Capsule Coffee
The coffee category is one of advertising’s most theatrical arenas. Hollywood celebrities lounging in monochrome boutiques, hushed voiceovers about provenance and craft, flagship stores designed …