In this week's review of ads from around the world, zombies take over a quiet English village in a mobile advert
Strongbow: 'Moments of Truth' (00:03) - UK
It's been a strong week for UK commercials and this is one of five excellent pieces of British advertising in this week's compilation. Strongbow introduced the idea that punters have to earn their cider a couple of years ago, but it's really ramped it up in this beautifully made piece of hyperbole.
Agency: St Luke's
Director: Sam Brown
Visa: 'Don't Stop Me' (01:07) - UK
The cleverest ads bury messages about the product's benefits in an engaging story and this is a textbook example of this technique. An elderly man literally rolls back the years as he hotfoots his way through his village on an important mission while continually demonstrating the clever innovations introduced by Visa.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Director:Traktor
Cesar: 'Journey' (02:40) - UK
Like the previous ad in this week's compilation, this commercial focuses on an elderly fellow in one of Europe's sunnier regions. He and his dog are taking part in a touching pilgrimage ... one that ultimately reveals why the little pooch is so important to his devoted owner.
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Director: Andy McLeod
Virgin Trains: 'Fly' (03:45) - UK
This beautifully filmed commercial manages to imply that taking the train has inherited the glamour we used to associate with air travel. And why not? Now that we've been inveigled to believe it necessary to endure the traumas of modern airport security before being unceremoniously herded aboard a plane, rail travel has never seemed more civilised.
Agency: Elvis
Director: Vesa Manninen
Ikea: 'In the Kitchen' (04:49) - Sweden
A few years ago, a UK ad for Ikea used an old Jona Lewie track to remind us how often parties end up drifting towards the kitchen, but it had nothing on this Swedish ad which suggests that the whole of life can be found amidst the white goods in a variety of very different households ... all furnished with gear from Ikea, naturally.
Agency: Åkestam Holst (Stockholm)
Director: Tomas Jonsgården
Pizza Capers Gourmet Kitchen: 'Pizza Capers' (05:31) - Australia
Zombie movies are all the rage at the moment and even an innocent pizza commercial from Australia is capable of borrowing from the genre's visual vernacular. Much of the success of this ad stems from the whole-hearted commitment shown by the director and his performers – they really went for it and it's paid off.
Agency:The Monkeys (Sydney)
Director:Owen Trevor
giffgaff: 'Don't Be Scared' (06:11) - UK
If you enjoyed the zombie-like behaviour of the drooling pizza addicts in the previous ad then you're bound to like this commercial for giffgaff which occupied an entire commercial break when it was broadcast last week. Using cannibalistic walking corpses as a metaphor, it seeks to persuade us that we shouldn't be afraid of the mobile network just because it operates in an unfamiliar fashion.
Agency: Fallon
Director: Matthias Hoene