Talking points

1. Tourism Australia - Destination Campaign

Directed by Baz Lurhmann, Tourism Australia's latest campaign is running in the organisation's 22 major markets around the world, including Ireland, from October 2008 until mid-2009 across cinema, television, print and online. Watch video 1 Watch video 2

Last month many advertising messages were overshadowed by the surreal Armageddon-like activities on the world markets. Working full time, with two kids under four, I found myself having to consciously look for advertising to comment on in an enthusiastic way. For this exercise I wanted to be uplifted, or at the very least entertained.

Then I caught the tail end of the new Australia Tourism TV execution and found myself in the rare situation of channel-hopping to see it again. Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director of many films, including Moulin Rouge, as well as ad campaigns for, amongst others, Chanel No 5, also created this campaign.

It is really gorgeous to look at, and if the simple task is to encourage a new audience to consider visiting Australia, then I think it will deliver on that goal for sure. The stories centre around individuals who are confined by work and life and are quite simply struggling with their perceived full, successful lives - of course something always has to give and they find their answer and peace in the unique collection of potential treasures to be found in visiting Australia.

Critics say it moves away from the real Australia, with its glossy values and 'Americanised' feel, but for me, having never visited Australia, it goes deeper than that, by creating ads that are emotionally engaging, empathetic, beautiful to look at and to listen to. The fact that I don't fall into the target audience group cast in the ads is also neither here nor there for me. The stories are universally relevant.

It is a cliché and is not new in advertising, but the dream-like story and promise of self-discovery and escape worked for me in the month that was October.

Kyla O'Kelly is a director at the Javelin Group

2. Volkswagen Bluemotion Polo - In One Take, On One Tank

This 90-second film was developed by Tribal DDB in London to promote the Bluemotion Polo's fuel efficiency. It's one of the key elements of the Bluemotion microsite (www.volkswagen.co.uk/bluemotion/), which was launched in June.

The campaign I've liked over the past while was developed by Tribal DDB for Volkswagen. They've built an integrated campaign, but it's mainly the online side that I like.

They took their product and drove to a Geneva motoring show from London, and videoed it all the way through until the end - about 36 hours. They then sped the footage up so it came in at 90 seconds and built a microsite around that.

The whole message is centred around fuel efficiency and the environmentally-friendly nature of the car. On the site itself you are able to compare your car's CO2 emissions with those of the Bluemotion car, so there's a lot of interaction.

The TV ads are also repurposed on the microsite, a visual echoing of the famous Sony Bravia ad. The ads compare the Bluemotion's CO2 emission savings with the amount of A4 paper you would have to recycle in order to make the saving, the amount of plastic bags you would use or how the carbon footprint is reduced compared with flying to Geneva.

What I liked about it was its use of interactive video on the microsite. It's a nice, simple but very effective idea.

Niall O'Driscoll is creative director at vStream

3. Hovis - British History

Created by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy in London, the two-minute version of the ad launched during Coronation Street on ITV in September. Filmed in Liverpool, it used a cast of 762 extras.

This TV commercial manages to send a shiver down your spine. By the end of the ad, you just want to watch it again and again and take time to really reflect upon each of those key incidents and time periods in British history.

However, the main reasons the ad works so well are that it's a great brand fit for Hovis, it's a very powerful idea and, most importantly, the execution is absolutely flawless.

Hovis is staying true to its brand's positioning of history and heritage. Hovis itself is one of the oldest British brands and has been around for more than 120 years. The ad manages to remind us that it has been with us through all those good times and some of the not-so-good ones. This ad can ultimately stand the test of time for the brand.

Thankfully, no detail was left uncovered in this production. While a fantastic idea, if the execution had been anything other than the end result, it simply would not have worked to the level it has. The scene where the boy salutes the young soldier as he goes off to the First World War is incredibly moving. Watching the bombed houses from the Second World War reminds us of just how scary those times were.

This campaign shows that some of the oldest brands in the world can still connect with today's consumers when the communication is relevant, interesting, exciting and new. This campaign has managed to get everybody talking about Hovis bread again. More importantly, we are all delighted that such a trusted and iconic brand is producing such emotional work.

Rita Kirwan is marketing manager with Largo Foods

4. Sky - True Colours: Sky+ in High Definition TV

MediaCom created this ad for Sky, which has set aside a £10m marketing budget for promoting Sky HD (now Sky+HD) on TV, cinema, outdoor, online and in the press.

Sky has been at the forefront of television technology for over 20 years now. Its latest offering is Sky+ High Definition (HD) TV, which gives viewers four times as much picture definition, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and the capability to record, pause and rewind live TV.

The focus of the ad campaign is about bringing the quality of HD TV to life and for the viewer to experience the added qualities it offers them. This is done by using high motion (which is essentially a form of super slow motion) as many viewers will not be watching the advert on a HD TV. The ad is split into three genres of television: a wildlife documentary, a movie and a soccer match - all three of which make you feel like you are slap bang in the middle of the action. For each section, only a few frames of footage are used, but every movement is enhanced, every facial expression more obvious and every detail magnified - which is exactly what HD TV is about.

The use of song is clever too. True Colours by Ane Brun (a remake of the original Cyndi Lauper track) is sung in an eerie, high-pitched, slowed down style - which suits the visuals perfectly.

It is visually stunning. As a viewer who may not have yet experienced HD TV, it makes you want to watch a movie or a soccer match in HD just to understand how much better it really is. By using different genres of television, the ad showcases HD TV to viewers of all tastes.

I feel when marketing a product like HD TV, it's all about aspiration. Viewers don't want to know about the technicalities of HD TV; they want to know about the experience it will give them and the ad conveys this brilliantly.

Kieran Forde is marketing manager with Metro

This article first appeared in Marketing Age magazine.