For over 15 years, I’ve been viewing and reviewing the annual collection of British ads that win industry recognition and screen at venues including the Walker Art Center.
The ads make a popular seasonal attraction because they’re often wildly entertaining: witty and visually inventive. The presentation always involves some emotional whiplash, though, as cozy ads for tea bags and yeast go cheek-to-jowl with PSAs about domestic violence and cancer treatment.
Considering each year’s crop, it’s hard to resist the impulse to also consider the ads as a sort of barometer for the world’s well-being. What hopes and concerns do they reveal? What anxieties do they play on, and where do they turn for comfort?
It’s been an unsettling stretch on both sides of the Pond. The ads in 2010 touched on topics of personal responsibility (safe sex, intoxicated driving), while this year’s clips include a plea for aid for children of war (with a harrowing portrait of Ukrainian refugees) and a reminder to support the independent press (a reminder that when Putin took office, he did so with praise for a rising tide of freedom).
Amid a numbing drumbeat of discouraging developments, this year’s ads arrive as a welcome reminder that it is, in fact, still possible to actually feel things.
Horrified at a graphic cartoon promoting veganism — or offended by a clip that turns “Respect” into an animal-rights anthem? Inspired by a Special Olympics ad reminding viewers that gravity doesn’t go any easier on people with disabilities? Moved by a department store ad that collapses two sisters’ relationship into a time-traveling two minutes?
Congratulations! Your hypothalamus is still working!
Against a gradual trend of the award-winning ads becoming less funny, this year also packs a couple of absolute belly laughs. I won’t spoil the surprises, but if you found “The Naked Gun” to be a healing experience, the British Arrows will give you another dose of what’s good for you: sharing a giggle with strangers.
This year’s ads are also less conceptual than in some recent years, when certain ads have been positively opaque and others have highlighted interactive campaigns. The Arrows, it seems, are back to the basics: video clips that aim for high impact in short spans. They succeed, making 73 minutes’ worth almost overwhelming.
Fortunately, you’ll have a year to recover before getting right back into the Walker Cinema (or a virtual screening room) for another round. This year’s British Arrows will leave you with faith that, at a minimum, civilization will endure until next Christmas.
Images courtesy the British Arrows
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