How to make more prizes

Guest commentary Irony, emotionality and honesty are becoming increasingly important when addressing customers. Creatives who only know their way around the humorous corner are now at a dead end - at the latest since the commercial for "The Independent" with its "Don't" catalog of social correctness won the Grand Prix in Cannes in 1999, it should have become clear to every advertiser that there is other excellent advertising than just humorous advertising. "But that's not funny" has never been a convincing argument against ideas that rely on authenticity, emotion or objectivity. The big howler, the crude thigh-slapper, they are no longer a guarantee of success. Creatives who voluntarily settle solely in the humorous corner are now at a dead end. Especially when their overused scheme with the unexpected ha-ha climax produces more of a tried-and-tested na-ja punchline - a double-axe tripe with minimal half-life. The ADC film jury is no different to any other renowned jury, whether in Cannes or New York. They have become a little tired of larmoyant comedy and old-fashioned jokes. They are no different to the rest of humanity. Today's society of failure and mishap rewards a little more reflection, content and wit than ever before. Nothing against the fact that factory workers only gawk at Fox Sports Television during the baseball playoffs, which is why no screw fits and the most curious disasters occur. And even less against the blind man who walks past the garbage dump and puts his bag at the feet of the woman waiting next to it, who just doesn't use Rexona deodorant. Bucolic wit and infectious mischief remain one of the recipes for winning prizes.
But the ironic wink, the pure emotionality and the matter-of-fact honesty are hard to beat. The woman who knows how "long" sex with her guy takes and is therefore back in the kitchen just in time for her "Ready in two minutes" soup from Heinz. The overcoming of all boundaries by the couple who are able to run through all the walls for Levi's. The beautiful hip picture that an anorexic holds in front of her body: "Perfect pictures for an imperfect world" by Fotoprix. From charmingly ironic to winningly touching to aptly sad. Heart-to-heart and head-to-head advertising in one.
Significantly, none of the five advertising films rewarded with cubes by the ADC this year touches the top-of-the-range slapstick. The subtle dialogs without the "M" for Migros' Expo.02 commitment. The highly emotional opus of solidarity for Swisscom Fixnet. The lyrical, inverted images for ZVV. Orange's gold-worthy barbershop soap opera: a double-meaning, multi-layered dramaturgy. The spots for Die Gelben Seiten, which naturally aim for a laugh, are also a clearly informative concept in themselves. Incidentally, all of the above are threadbare, stringently realized without gimmicks and to the point.
If I may (as someone who was allowed to contribute a corner to three of these film cubes) allow myself a little tip without being asked: Get rid of your fixation on gimmicks, dear colleagues, the medal heaven will be worth it.
> Jean Etienne Aebi is Chief Creative Officer of Publicis and has been a member of almost all renowned creative juries.