From Argos’ magical Christmas ad to Apple’s inspiring spot on how to make movies like movies and Amazon’s hilarious ad, highlighting the power of Alexa, here are the spots that Ritwika Gupta enjoyed watching this week:

Brand: Argos

Last year, Argos released a heartwarming ad for Christmas which featured a father and his young daughter playing the drum to the 80’s classic ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’. The ad centred around the Argos catalogue which held a special place in many British households for 47 years. This year in June, Argos scrapped its original ‘Book of Dreams’ paper catalogue and brought out a Christmas gift guide to replace it. The retailer recently unveiled its 2020 Christmas ad, which once again taps into the nostalgia that people feel for flicking through the pages of its Christmas gift guide. As part of the ‘Book of Dreams’ campaign, this year’s ad features two young girls spotting a box of magic tricks on the pages of the guide, which transports them off to the furthest reaches of the imagination – to a world where they have their own extraordinary magic show. It is absolutely gorgeous. Their living room transforms into a theatre and we see their family members seated as audiences, cheering for them as they perform different magic tricks. This year’s ad is set to a peppy soundtrack ‘Incredible’ by Gary Barlow. I really love the ad. As a viewer, I was transported to that magical world and perhaps by the end of the ad, I too wanted my very own box of magic own tricks from Argos. The commercial also beautifully captures the idea of togetherness and family bonding. In such tough times, an ad like this offers some escapism and fantasy. Definitely a good start to Christmas as it will certainly put a smile on your face!

Campaign: Book of Dreams
Agency: The&Partnership

Brand: Apple

One of the major camera features in Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup is the ability to shoot video in Dolby Vision. In fact, at the moment, Apple is the only smartphone that supports Dolby Vision. So, in its latest ad, the brand tells us what it can do. In this new, fast-paced ad, Apple gives us a preview of all the crazy, creative, and unexpected ways an iPhone 12 Pro can be used to shoot a film. We see low-angle shots of dancers, swooping cityscape shots, chasing shots, a stairway plunge and even a shot from inside a grave. It is larger than life and I was in complete in awe while watching this ad! Through this one-minute spot, Apple wants to highlight that with a bit of creativity, anyone has the power to make a ‘Hollywood-worthy’ film with iPhone 12 Pro. The ad aims to target and motivate filmmakers to create compelling videos with their new iPhone. It ad does a fantastic job in featuring some fun and unique ways to capture impressive video without having standard professional gear. Overall, the commercial is fascinating and inspiring.

Campaign: Make Movies Like The Movies

Brand: Amazon

Amazon has launched a funny campaign to promote the ‘rewind movie’ features of Alexa. Aimed at people who are new to voice technology, the brand has released two ads in this series. The first one features a Game-of-Thrones-ish medieval battle scene where the main guy is bidding a dramatic farewell to the woman he loves. We also see a man, watching nearby from an ironing board, ordering the lovers to play out the death scene again and again. The action cuts away from the battle to the man’s living room, where it is revealed he is watching the scene on TV and asking Alexa to replay it for him. In the second spot, a guy goes back in time to interrupt an 18th-century opera singer and asks her to change the song to something more fun – all from the comfort of his sun lounger. In both ads, the message, “rewind a film without lifting a finger” is playfully communicated. The ads cleverly illustrate Alexa’s ability to help people achieve things with only their voice. I really enjoyed the ads, especially ‘ironing’ because it is so visually captivating. The film looks like a million bucks! In fact, if it was a movie, I would have totally watched it. The ad’s majestic, high on drama, with elvish warriors and a tragic romantic scene. How often do we see that in ads? Having said that, just because a commercial’s production value is high, may not necessarily mean it is inventive. But in this case, ‘A voice is all you need’ is a witty delight. Here, both the ads not just talk about Alexa but also explain the advantages of owning one in 60 seconds each. The spots also highlight our growing relationship with technology and how people can control the world around them by simply asking Alexa. It is a bit like having your own personal genie! Overall, I loved the concept and it had the same tongue-in-cheek approach like the memorable Super Bowl spot.

Campaign: A voice is all you need
Agency: Droga5 London