PRIVATE VIEW: Robert Campbell, the joint executive creative director at Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R

The words of the voiceovers are similar. And each commercial uses a strong, simple and slightly poetic MVO. The music for both is based around a simple theme on piano.

And ultimately, both commercials are advertising a pretty similar sort of brand and product. Both attempt to make the intangible tangible.

So why are the commercials so different? Why is one so pedestrian, the other so inspiring? One has voodoo. One don't.

Warning. What you are about to read may cause panic in some marketing departments. Not to mention advertising agencies.

Ultimately, what a good advertising practitioner sells his client is something that might best be described as voodoo. Voodoo is a heady concoction of talent, experience, intellect, contacts, reputation, confidence, instinct, magic and random luck. You can't legislate for voodoo. You can't weigh it or measure it. Not every advertising person can deliver it. Not every client can buy it. And consumers aren't very good at spotting it in research groups.

Voodoo is an instinct for doing what feels right. And sometimes what feels wrong. It's beauty. It's timing. It's sexiness. It's emotion. It's wit, charm and impact. It's good taste. It can be bad taste. It's not being scared to provoke. It's getting rhythm and pace just so in a restricted time space. Weaving sound and vision together. It's being able to say exactly what you want to say on behalf of a brand but, as John Hegarty would say, doing it with style. Voodoo is a rare commodity.

And if you get it right, voodoo builds brands and flogs product like crazy. It may be voodoo, but it's worth serious cash.

Learndirect. A little animated character hops around the classified job section of a newspaper. She explains that Learndirect can help you learn new skills and get a new job. It's sweet enough. But has it been blessed by the advertising witch doctor? Nah.

Lipton Iced Tea. A brave strategy. The voiceover goes like this: "Once you've got your head around the cool refreshing taste of Lipton's Iced Tea, who knows what else you might discover a liking for. Retro hairstyles.

Beige. Older women. Belgium. Going commando! Lipton's Iced Tea. Don't knock it till you've tried it." You can imagine the visuals. Again, it's sweet enough, but it's not Tango Orange Man. That was serious voodoo.

VW Polo. I'm beginning to find VW's advertising format rather over-reliable.

But everyone else still seems to like it. So I'll keep my views to myself.

A campaign that has had high voodoo scores in the past. Cheesestrings. The product's name is a descriptor more than a brand name. And therefore lacks voodoo. The ad attempts to make up ground by showing a young boy conning his mother into believing he has acute calcium deficiency. He needs Cheesestrings. He gets them. It would be more than OK if it weren't for the fact that the smug kid's final line is "sorted". Self-conscious, voodoo exorcising "yoof" dialogue.

(See www.campaignscreen.com) Campaign Screen. Gosh. What a fine commercial.

And who is that actor playing the psychotic creative director? He has voodoo! Boy, does he have voodoo! Not since Jack Nicholson hacked his way through the hotel room door in The Shining growling "Heeerrrrre's Johnny" have I seen such a devilish, and inspired performance. I wonder what his agent's number is?

VOLKSWAGEN UK
Project: "Jogger" and "Take away"
Client: Catherine Woolfe, communications manager, small cars
Brief: Reiterate Volkswagen's price realignment on certain models
Agency: BMP DDB
Writer: Matt Lee
Art director: Peter Heyes
Director: Dominic Murphy
Production company: Partizan
Exposure: National TV
CHEESESTRINGS
Project: Cheesestrings
Client: Dennis O'Riordan, marketing director, Kerry Foods Cheese
Brief: Maintain the slightly anarchic but fun heritage of the
Cheesestrings brand, while communicating that they are also a healthy
alternative to conventional snacks
Agency: Quiet Storm
Writer: Becky Clark
Art director: Trevor Robinson
Director: Kevin Chicken
Production company: Quiet Storm Films
Exposure: National TV
LEARNDIRECT
Project: Learndirect
Client: Phil Wade, director of marketing
Brief: Make adult education seem more relevant and less daunting
Agency: DFGW
Writers: Joanna Perry, Damon Troth
Art directors: Joanna Perry, Damon Troth
Director: Chris Shepherd
Production company: Slinky Pics
Exposure: National TV
O2
Project: O2 brand campaign
Client: Will Harris, vice-president, marketing
Brief: Communicate the O2 philosophy
Agency: Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest
Writer: Rooney Carruthers
Art director: Rooney Carruthers
Director: Daniel Barber
Production company: Rose Hackney Barber
Exposure: National TV
LIPTON ICED TEA
Project: Lipton Iced Tea
Client: Fiona Forbes, senior brand manager
Brief: Encourage trial of Lipton Iced Tea by tackling taste and product
prejudices
Agency: J. Walter Thompson
Writer: Ryan Lawson
Art director: Andy Smith
Director: Brian Baderman
Production company: All Films
Exposure: National TV and cinema
AOL 8.0
Project: AOL 8.0
Clients: Sharon Lang, vice-president of marketing; Clare Hill, head of
brand, AOL UK
Brief: Announce the launch of AOL 8.0
Agency: Mortimer Whittaker O'Sullivan
Writer: Leigh Wallace
Art director: Neale Horragan
Director: Gerald McMorrow
Production company: Tomboy Films
Exposure: National TV

This article was first published on Campaign