The six-strong Greenhouse team had just settled into its new office in Upper East Side, Salt River, last Friday, 20 May 2011, when it received news of the win. Says owner and creative director Darren McKay, "We are over the moon! We've set out to achieve great things but receiving 1st place ad of the month on our first TV campaign is amazing. It's maintaining this great start that's going to be the real test."
| Category | April 2011 |
|---|---|
| 1. Mercedes-Benz/CL 63 AMG "Test Drive" - 140 BBDO CT | |
| 2. Greenpeace/White Roofs "Arctic Fox/Arctic Hare/Polar Bear" - Ogilvy Johannesburg | |
| 3. Business Connexion/The Brain "Street/Soccer/Old Age - Ogilvy Johannesburg | |
| Ambient/outdoor | 1. Endangered Wildlife Trust/The Last One's Left - "Wild Dog/Wattled Crane/Dunong/Riverine Rabbit/Blue Swallow/Northern White Rhino" - TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg |
| 2. LG Electronics/Home Appliances "Washing Tunne" - Y&R SA | |
| 3. E-Graphics "If you Think it, We'll Print it" - TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg | |
| TV/cinema | 1 MMAD "Brad Lowenstein/Karen Kaputnik" - The Greenhouse |
| 2. Nestle/Milo "Tough Week" - Ogilvy Johannesburg | |
| Radio | 1. Galaxy & Co Jewelry Chain "Sunflower/Rose/Carnation" - MetropolitanRepublic |
| 2. Tiger Brands/Beacon All Sorts Liquorice "Tswana/Zulu/Xhosa" - TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg | |
| 3. Netspruit/In-Office IT Support "Your'e being Monitored" - TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg |
| April 2011 judges |
|---|
| Xolisa Dyrshana, Joe Public (chairperson) |
| Coenraad Grebe, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris |
| Bruce Anderson, Net#work BBDO |
| Jonathan Deeb, EuroRSCG |
| Avital Pinchevsky, MetropolitanRepublic |
| Suzanne Jenner, Ogilvy |
| Dana Cohen, TJDR |
| Ryan Dupen, Draftfcb |
| Matt Berge, Lowe Bull |
| Category | April 2011 chair comments |
|---|---|
| General | Generally, the standard of work was quite good for the month of April, particularly in the Radio and Outdoor category. We did expect to see a lot more work with the Loerie deadline only two weeks away, however... Overall a good month, but much work to be done before the big awards. Onwards and upwards. |
| Commendation must go to our first place winner, 140BBDO, for their integration of mobile technology and print. A really refreshing take on the medium and it really set them apart in the category. The rest of the entries weren't as exciting and this was a bit of a let down. | |
| Ambient/outdoor | Special mention must go to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris for their Endangered Wildlife Trust campaign. Extremely hard-hitting, excellently art-directed and it really stood out in the category. |
| TV/cinema | There was a general feeling that film wasn't very strong this month, although personally there was one or two spots which I felt were overlooked, based on the fact that they were created for a certain market and most of the judges couldn't relate to them. Perhaps an argument for a more diverse panel so that such work has a fair chance of making it through. |
| Radio | Was impressive this month. Kudos must go to MetropolitanRepublic for their Galaxy & Co Jewelry spots based on a great insight and beautifully written. There was a feeling that a few of the spots in the category were over-engineered, something to watch-out for. Good ideas but let down in execution. |
Following the style of a sitcom series, the Greenhouse TV ads form part of a campaign for MMAD, an online shopping application for mobile phones. Director Hylton Tannenbaum of Bioscope Films explains, "With the popularity of series' such as Seinfeld and Californication, we wanted to take a similar approach - a string of mini episodes with a central character. We shot on a set of similar scale to Seinfeld and using three Canon 5D cameras we were able to enhance the multi camera sitcom feel."
The core concept is "Be Selfish!" The mini episodes follow the antics of a "guru" dispensing spiritual advice to the full spectrum of South African stereotypes. With the likes of Brad Lowenstein, Nadya Padyachee and Paris Sithole, their names alone tell a story. The guru's advice is to forget their hang-ups and get MMAD so all their worries can disappear in a cloud of shopping therapy.
"Liberty to poke fun at SA stereotypes"
Says McKay, "We cast a really talented oriental guy as the guru because it gave us liberty to poke fun at the SA stereotypes. There's a great dynamic between him and the South Africans as he coaxes them into being more selfish. We had loads of fun creating threads throughout the episodes, such as the guru's incessant eating, highlighting his experience in the art of indulgence."
McKay has 17 years of top agency experience under the belt, including six years working in some of London's best agencies. He combines this with a passionate and talented crew from Red/Yellow School and AAA.
"The Greenhouse is an environment for nurturing and personalised attention, where after pruning, watering, fertilising and caring, something truly beautiful develops. At The Greenhouse we accelerate growth. Our clients and the public deserve to be showered with great creative work, ideas that challenge, stimulate and seduce. If people don't say to us, "I love your work", then we haven't done our jobs," he concludes.
Nando's has also just launched a series of mini episodes in its latest TV campaign, Origins (see our poll What do you think of the new Nando's ad campaign?).
For more, go to ww.creativecircle.co.za.
