1) It’s no secret that the traditional agency/client dynamic has been fractured for a while and that trend is continuing in 2019 with some of the major ad spends being done by clients directly. There will always be a place for the agency model but it is no longer the only game in town. Clients such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Uber are quickly becoming major players in our world with full creative capabilities. One aspect of this relationship that seems to be evolving is the partnering of clients and advertising agencies producing joint creative. We are seeing more and more creative that is being developed and produced as co-productions between the client and agency. On the surface this seems like a situation that is inherently destined for conflict but in practice, when done right, it brings a focus on collaboration and has produced some really wonderful work.
2) An ongoing campaign that we have worked on is the "Web Of Fries" spots for Taco Bell out of Deutsch LA. The “Ads” promote their Nacho Fries through a series of trailers for non existent films that span a wide range of genres from sci fi to thriller to musical. It bridges that elusive gap between content and commerce in a totally transparent and fun way. It’s not product placement, its even better. The product is actually the star. It’s one of those campaigns that is just smart and effective and you wish you had come up with it. People really respond to it and the spots have garnered a kind of cult following online. As an advertiser and an agency it’s exactly what you hope for. Oh and added bonus. It has legs. There are lots of film genres to spoof….
5) One of the recent trends that is here to stay is the long form documentary style piece of content that is brand influenced. They are not necessarily advertising but rather real world situations where a compelling story is told and the protagonist is either aided by the product or tells an anecdote that extolls the virtue of the product. When these are done well they become little gems that can tell stories that are not often heard. We have a number of editors who have won Emmys for their documentary work and it was always a bit of a struggle to find them commercial work. That has completely changed in the last couple of years. We have worked on an incredible amount of award winning work that enabled us to collaborate with some of our favorite documentary filmmakers. It is great for business but also, in many cases , feeds the soul.