Well the Missus and I trundled down to Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art last night to catch the museum’s showing of the 2014 British Arrows Awards and say, it was . . . brilliant!
The Brits have long produced smart, engaging commercials largely because 1) they’re kind of embarrassed to be peddling stuff so they try to make the pitch worth your while; and 2) they actually respect consumers as intelligent beings, unlike American advertisers who think you’re a moron.
(Five decades ago legendary (Scottish!) adman David Ogilvy admonished his staffers by saying, “The consumer isn’t a moron. She is your wife.” Apparently, the majority of their successors married down.)
Among the finalists was this inspired wheelchair basketball ad from Guinness.
And this sweet spot from Cesar dog food.
And this smart series from Aldi. Representative sample:
Bronze winners included this AXE Apollo commercial.
Among the Silver winners was this haunting anti-cyberbullying video from The Cybersmile Foundation.
And, finally – drumroll . . .
Commercial of the Year:
Love it!
There are dozens more, most of which you can watch here, most of which are a hoot.
You’re welcome.
Campaign Outsider 
Who actually watches commercials anymore? You either skip through them, surf elsewhere, or use the 4-5 minutes they occupy to make lunch, load the dishwasher, etc. “Back in the day” you had to run like crazy to get back to the TV in time for the show because the commercial breaks were so short. Now, you either “rewind” to what you missed (if anything) or get up and do a chore, the breaks are so long. I have actually made a sandwich start-to-finish, poured the drinks, and cleaned up the associated lunch-prep mess during one of these commercial breaks, and gotten back to the TV in plenty of time. No one I know (OK, I hardly know anyone, so it’s a very small sample) actually watches commencials during a show. Ad folks are delusionsal if they think folks do watch them, even during live sports events. It’s too easy to avoid them in so mnay ways, and the length of the commercial break is pretty much inviting you to leave and do your whatever without rushing to get back.
Which is exactly why the Brits (and some Americans) try so hard to make their ads appealing/compelling, Bill.