Every week Bestadsontv, the global arm of Campaign Brief, picks the best advertising in the world and hands it to a leading creative to judge. This week’s guest judge is Hélio Maffia, Creative Director at BBDO New York. His favorites show a clear through-line: simple ideas, smart behavior and humor beat bigger budgets.
The winners at a glance
Visit Turku Archipelago won the TV category with ‘Get a Nose Job in Saaristo’, built on the claim ‘the best-smelling place in the world.’ Maffia liked that the campaign skipped the usual travel talk about scenery and food. Oura’s ‘Wear Your Best Life’ was runner-up for its hand choreography and transitions.
SsangYong’s ‘Move Up a Class – Valet Parking’ took print with one attribute and one visual idea. Wet Ones won outdoor for ‘Just For Hands’; Maffia saw it in New York and said its simple, clever visual caught his attention immediately.
Radio went to Hansa Pilsner’s ‘You Deserve A Beer – Healing Era’ on writing, acting and comedic timing. The runner-up, Alberta Cancer Foundation / Alberta Society of Radiologists’ ‘Life Saving Spoilers’, flipped our hatred of spoilers into a case for early detection.
Why Kia’s idea is the one to steal
Kia’s ‘Your First Sponsor’ won interactive. Instead of spending millions on one big gaming star, it sponsors thousands of amateur players and turns their usernames into advertising space. Gamers already use handles as identity; the campaign simply made that identity carry a brand message.
Maffia called it a smart observation, and that’s the valuable part. It’s a micro-sponsorship play: distribute across many small placements rather than betting on a single celebrity. For growth teams, the prompt is to find behavior an audience already performs publicly, then ask if it can become media.
Takealot’s ‘Check Your Package’ was the interactive runner-up, and Maffia’s reaction was simple: sometimes a dumb joke is all you need.
What to do about it
- Turn existing behavior into inventory. Handles, signatures, profile fields and statuses can become brand surfaces if you frame them correctly.
- Keep one visual, one attribute. SsangYong and Wet Ones prove a single idea that lands instantly is enough.
- Trust script and delivery. Hansa Pilsner and the Alberta spoilers won on words and timing, not spectacle.
The judge’s own résumé underlines the taste: Maffia works with Michelob ULTRA, Hyundai and Spotify Advertising, has earned 27 Cannes Lions including a Titanium Lion and a Grand Prix, and picked up a Latin Grammy nomination. He also creates TikTok and Instagram content on the side.
The week’s lesson for our D2C readers is direct: spot a behavior your audience already does, make it the medium, and keep the creative simple enough to travel.
Source: Campaign Brief
