As I relax over the Easter Holidays, I can’t help but look back at my favourite ads and other sources of inspiration. So I thought I would share the pieces of work that made me want to get into the creative industry in the first place. 

Barry The Biscuit Boy, Cravendale – Wieden & Kennedy, Ben Shaffery

This has to be my favourite ad of all time. The creepy tale of this biscuit boy is sung in the ad in a strange high-pitched voice to an incredibly catchy tune. This cookie teen loves milk so much that he swims too long in the lake so his head, unfortunately, dissolves and crumbles into pieces, destroyed but what he loves. He stumbles home without a head, his mum in a panic bakes him a new head and fixes it back onto his body. I love the contrast between the sweet claymation style and the horror of the actual story. I have sung ‘Barry Biscuit Boy went out to the lake to splash about….’ far too many times. The art direction is fantastic and of course, this ad lives up to the other fantastic ads Cravendale have had. 

Metz: Judderman – Enda McCallion

The Judderman was voted #31 in Channel 4’s most scary moments on TV, which is an impressive feat for an advert showcasing an alcopop. I love this ad, the story and art direction are unparalleled. The director who made this also directed a Nine Inch Nails music video. They utilise both live-action and puppetry, set to an eerie nursery rhyme. The Judderman first appears as a puppet before turning into a man and luring a naive traveller through the forest back to his lair with a bottle of Metz. Once in his lair, the traveller is turned into a puppet to dance on the Judderman’s stage forevermore. It gives me goosebumps every time I watch it, it surpasses your notion of watching an advert, instead, you feel as though you are watching a short film. Metz however is now discontinued, so maybe it wasn’t as effective as it seems. 

Volkswagen Corrada – Paul Belford

Any ad by Paul Belford makes my inspiration list, but these are some of my favourites. Everyone at SCA can agree we all dread creating car ads, having seen cars drive through a desert to a sporty soundtrack too many times to count. But these ads are fantastic, showcasing the benefits of the car without showing the car itself. These ads have stood the test of time as they would still catch your eye next to any of the car ads made today. Visually dramatising the speed of Volkswagen’s first sports car, showing pedestrians bent and distorted as the car whizzes past. The simplicity, space and creativity of Belford’s work is always fantastic and as art director something I strive for.

I hope one of these ads helps inspire you as we enjoy the last days of Easter.  I can’t wait to see all the work we make next term.

@OSHKcreates.