shots 25 Best Cannes Ads: Film

As yesterday’s story made clear, 2015 marks shots' 25th anniversary, and as well as certain other events and special features over the year, this week, as we’re in Cannes, we’re looking back at the best 25 pieces of work to win a Grand Prix.

On Monday we brought you our five best Outdoor executions, tomorrow you can see our five best Cyber winners, but today we're focussing on the five best Film Grand Prix winners.

MAXELL THE ISRAELITES (1990)

Entering into the world in the same year as shots itself, this brilliant spot from HHCL sought to showcase the superior sound quality on a Maxell cassette tape (remember those?).  Set to the iconic sound of Desmond Dekker’s 1969 track, The Israelites, the film also borrows from Bob Dylan’s famous video for Subterranean Homesick Blues, cleverly using cards with lyrics on them held up by the actor in the spot.

In this instance though, the words of the song are completely, but humorously, wrong. The end two cards read ‘I think that’s what he says’, ‘but I need to hear it on a Maxell’. Clever, funny, brilliant.

THE INDEPENDENT LITANY (1999)

As with the above Maxell spot, copywriting is at the heart of this Bozell (now Lowe) created and Rob Sanders directed spot. Poet John Cooper Clark narrates over the spot, telling us; “Don’t talk, don’t touch, don’t walk, don’t walk at night, don’t walk on the right…”, while a selection of striking, corresponding, black and white images fill the screen.

The spot is about conformity and the controls which people are subjected to, finally illustrating that The Independent doesn’t toe that line. It’s a brilliant, beautifully crafted piece of film.

FOX SPORTS REGIONAL CHINA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, INDIA (2001)

And now for something completely different. The 2001 Film Grand Prix winner came from agency Cliff Freeman and Partners and directing collective Traktor, and features a selection of four fantastic spots to showcase Fox Sports’ regional news coverage. Each of the four spots showcases a fantastical, completely made up (we hope) sport from four different countries.

The spots are played completely straight, with commentators in the native language and serious looking competitors, but features Russians slapping each other, Chinese competitors attempting to catch falling trees, a Turkish man making an unusual dive and two blindfolded Indian men attempting to club one another.

NIKE TAG (2002)

It’s partly the soundtrack that makes this spot such a treat but, also, the clever concept of a massive, city-wide game of tag makes for a pulsating spot. Shot by Frank Budgen and created by Wieden+Kennedy Portland it is Nike advertising at its formidable best.

CADBURY DAIRY MILK GORILLA (2008)  

Phil Collins. A man in a gorilla suit. A set of drums. What could possibly go right? Turn out, everything. Possibly, like us, you were slightly nonplussed at first; ‘what the hell is this and what’s it got to do with chocolate?’.

The answer is, very little really, but the aim of the campaign – to spread a glass-and-a-half-full of joy – exceeded expectations and between the agency, Fallon London, and director Juan Cabral, made Phil Collins cool again. Nah, not really, but it’s still a bloody good spot.