Bestads’ weekly global review handed its TV prize to ON for “Your New Favourite Action Movie,” a campaign that turns Zendaya into the star of a fake action flick where the sneaker, not the celebrity, delivers the blows. The review was guest-judged by Roisin Keown, chief creative officer and CEO of The Brill Building in Ireland.
The week’s winners, at a glance
- TV: ON “Your New Favourite Action Movie” (winner); Brice “A crunch so good, you’d ask how” (runner-up)
- Print: McDonald’s “Impatience” (winner); L’Occitane Venezuela “Battle Rope” (runner-up)
- OOH: Colombia Travel “Birdwatching” (winner); McDonald’s “Go to Lunch” (runner-up)
Celebrity is not the concept
The review’s sharpest rule comes early. Keown, who remembers the David Beckham Vodafone era, says the old test still applies when a brand can afford a star: “The concept is not the celeb.” The craft, she adds, is not the production budget either.
ON clears that test by using Zendaya inside an unexpected genre. It is not an endorsement; it is a product-led action joke. That is the difference between spending a celebrity budget and earning it.
For growth teams, that distinction matters more than ever. Paid social has made it easy to rent attention with a famous face, but attention without an idea evaporates the moment the scroll resumes. A strong concept is what makes a campaign watchable twice, shareable, and capable of running as a platform.
Ideas with more room to run
The judge is warmer on McDonald’s “Impatience” and OOH “Go to Lunch” as platforms, but warns they stop short. The Impatience idea has a big, simple visual in the ‘M’, while the OOH cubicle and headline are strong. Still, she found herself googling to fully understand the payoff—a sign the concept has more mileage if McDonald’s pushes it.
Colombia Travel’s “Birdwatching” wins for getting the basics right: clever concept, smart use of medium, clean craft. It adds something to the environment instead of shouting at it.
Use the three-question test
Before a celebrity brief moves forward, ask: What will the talent do? What does the product do that only the product can do? Where does the idea go after the launch film? If any answer is thin, the campaign will be too.
That is the real takeaway from Bestads this week. Colombia Travel shows you can win without a star if the basic idea and craft are sharp. McDonald’s shows that even a big platform is not finished until the payoff lands without a search. ON shows what happens when all three questions line up.
Source: Campaign Brief
