THE BOOK OF LISTS: The 10 Best ambient campaigns

1. Unicef "leaf" campaign

With winter coming up in Afghanistan this activity perfectly raised

awareness of the plight of children. Five thousand of the leaves were

distributed about London to remind people that the cold in the capital

will be nothing compared with that faced by the refugees. Beautifully

simple.

Media buying and planning: TBWA/GGT Direct

Creative: TBWA/GGT Direct

2. Batchelors Super Noodles' "Vindaloo"

Mother and Naked created the biggest ever pub and student union campaign

to position Batchelors' limited edition vindaloo-flavoured Super Noodles

as part of lad culture. Brilliantly disgusting, Naked turned washrooms

into vindaloo "Blast Zones" complete with emergency cooling instructions

on cubicle doors and police-type tape stuck on to doors warning: "Danger

ringburn in progress."

Creative: Mother

Media agency: Naked Communications

3. Pizza Hut Bracknell

The plan was to target shoppers with a Pizza Hut "eat as much as you

like for £4.99" offer as they drove into the car park at Princess

Square Shopping Centre in Bracknell. Using T4 Media's Ticketboy system,

Pizza Hut was able to estimate how many people had seen the ad at the

ticket barrier. The local branch estimated that lunchtime sales had

doubled from the first day the campaign was launched.

Media planning and buying: PHD

Creative: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

4. Nike's "Book of Lies"

A witty campaign with the idea that women often lie to themselves about

their weight or fitness. The "Book of Lies" was distributed through Nike

stores and was backed by humorous activity at local gyms. Stickers were

placed on running machines saying "1km = 1 mile" and stickers on mirrors

convinced women across the country that their abs really do look good. A

welcome burst of knowing humour in the serious world of the gym.

Media strategy: Wieden & Kennedy

Media buying: MindShare

Creative: Wieden & Kennedy London and Amsterdam

5. TBWA's Saatchi & Saatchi stunt

Who said that ad agencies weren't childish? The Charlotte Street boys'

proclamation that bill posters were welcome on the boards outside as

they completed their office makeover was like a red rag to a bull for

the cheeky TBWA creatives. The Whitfield Street crew nipped round in the

morning and obliterated Saatchis' message with huge letters saying:

"You'll get a better reception at TBWA."

Media planning and buying: TBWA/London

Creative: TBWA/London

6. Beating Bowel Cancer's "Cerne giant"

To raise awareness of its "Loud tie day" event, the charity Beating

Bowel Cancer covered the genitalia of the Cerne Giant, a 180ft chalk

carving in Dorset, with a huge tie. A fun way of getting people to talk

about a taboo subject.

Media planning and buying: Cunning Stunts

Creative: Cunning Stunts

7. Royal & Sun Alliance's "Where's Lucky?" campaign

The launch of Royal & Sun Alliance's new range of moreth>n products was

introduced with an ambient campaign including flyposting and a range of

other outdoor activity. Although the TV advertising teasers got really

annoying, the ambient element worked well in building anticipation. The

best bit was a team of actors driving around cities in old Nissan cars

pretending to passers-by that they'd lost their dogs and asking them to

phone a number if they spot Lucky.

Media planning: Manning Gottlieb Media

Media buying: Manning Gottlieb Media

Creative: Ogilvy & Mather

8. VSO's "Volunteering world"

Piss-poor street performers, postcards advertising prostitutes services

and wonky posters erected by amateurs all made up this great campaign to

tempt passers by to try volunteering work. The highlight was a street

performer busking in central London with a sign alongside apologising

for the absence of the real entertainer who is away teaching drama to

children in Africa.

Media planning: Leonardo

Media buying: Starcom Motive

Creative: Leonardo

9. Imperial Leather's BT phonebox ads

An ad appealing to the basic instincts of every male passer-by, this

campaign was clever in giving the appearance of a shower to BT phone

boxes. The door of the phone box had a full length image of a woman

soaping herself into a lather. A good way to sex-up the relaunch of an

old brand. The only disappointment was to find the usual broken phone

when you opened the door.

Media planning and buying: CIA UK

Creative: BDH/TBWA

10. HSBC's "Partners for London" programme

HSBC's impressive sponsorship of corridors and jetties at Heathrow

Airport has created significant impact among both leisure and business

travellers. Welcome signs have also been installed at other London

airports along with branded flower baskets in Westminster. A great way

to build brand awareness while supporting community initiatives.

Media planning and buying: PHD

Creative: Lowe Lintas

This article was first published on Campaign