Product: FedEx.
Title: Weight Lift.
Ad agency: BBDO (Hong Kong).
First impression: the express-delivery company's new ad campaign is action packed, a departure from last year's 'walk on water' commercial, which was very calm and Zen-like. The humour is still there though.
Storyboard: mimicking live television coverage of a sporting event, this 30-second clip features a FedEx truck on a muddy, rocky road during torrential rain. It opens with a commentator welcoming his audience: 'Good morning, you join us in southern China where ... uh-oh!' The truck's back wheel is seen stuck in a big puddle. 'Oh dear, this could be the end of the road for the champions,' the voice says. A fellow commentator continues: 'Yes, a real challenge for Team FedEx now' as the scene quickly switches to its hi-tech head office, where back up is being called for. Then, back at the truck, two motorbikes arrive. 'A spectacular comeback! They are sending in the boys!' says the commentator. The two bikers turn out to be big, muscular weightlifters and their mission is clear: to lift the back of the truck out of the hole. The commentators are now highly excited. One continues: 'They might be big but have they got the technique? Squat low ... rip tight ... that's the commitment ... yes, yes, oh yes! What a lift!' At the bottom of the screen, the 'score' changes to 'Team FedEx: 2, Obstacle: 1'. The two weightlifters are completely covered with mud, with one commentator adding that it's time for a hot bath. The message is that FedEx is 'Top of the league in China'. The ad was directed by James Holt and filmed in Shanghai.
What the client says: 'Based on our 'We Live to Deliver' platform, the new commercials show a dramatic but humorous side of how our committed employees work together to develop creative solutions for our customers, in particular when shipping to China,' says Malcolm Sullivan, vice-president of marketing for FedEx Asia Pacific.