Spikes impressions: Ditch the 'dream come true' pseudo-documentary

We had some great entries to judge in the Branded Content & Entertainment Jury this year, but we were looking for a case that told a coherent story over a period of time to win the Grand Prix. Not a one-off film or app, not a non-fiction piece, not the typical ‘dream come true’ pseudo-documentary, of which we had seen too many this year.

We were looking for a story that could be serialised in a campaign beyond the typical video channel touchpoints. 'House of little moments' from ADK Taiwan is the perfect example of a campaign where the story elevates both brand and product. People opted in to see new episodes. Fans of the series were surprised when the noodle shop that is featured in the films so prominently actually opened doors for them. The campaign was culturally relevant, as the sometimes sad, sometimes humorous stories resonated beyond Taiwan into our jury room.

The film ‘Mother’ from Saatchi & Saatchi plays with a unique insight of a mother's love for her nerdy son, and the payoff is surprising and hilarious. This, in my point of view, is the cookbook for award-winning work from China: Find an insight that is interesting, maybe strange or beautiful, then package your idea in it.

So many entries from China deliver a half-baked idea into a generic insight which takes itself far too seriously. When you need one minute in your award video to tell the jury that China’s office workers have a tough life, you have wasted your entry, as the insight is not surprising and is common everywhere in the world.

Did you know that women can’t touch a jar of pickles during their periods in India? Now that is a brilliant insight from India for a sanitary towel. A great body of work from India is about challenging taboos, surely a direction one might think could work in China too.

Georg Warga is creative director/filmmaker/founder of Goodstein in China