There is something endearing about long client-agency relationships in advertising. People change on both sides, but a good working relationship transcends individuals since the agency embodies the client’s work and identity, while the client completely trusts the agency to do so, and deliver.
There are several such relationships across the world. The most famous ones in India are Ogilvy’s long-standing relationship with Cadbury’s (now Mondelez) and Amul’s relationship with Da Cunha, among others.
One particular relationship I particularly adore is the one between the French equivalent of HBO, Canal+, and its agency BETC Paris. Their relationship spans 15 years and still running strong.
Canal+ is both a content creator (makes its own shows) and an aggregator (buys shows and movies from outside and showcases it in France). BETC has produced many ad films to promote Canal+. Here is a selection of my favorites.
No.1 – The Unicorns
I choose this over The Bear (No.3) and The Wardrobe (No.2) for a reason. The theme and structure is very similar to The Wardrobe, a huge hit for a very long time. You are immersed into an epic scene, and then the reveal, in the end. You then understand what went on earlier going by the clue in the t-shirt 🙂 This is story-telling at its finest, literally and at the service of the client. In a way, the agency is selling itself too, while also selling the story-telling prowess of the agency!
No.2 – The Wardrobe
This is a huge audience favorite and is still being shared on social media platforms from time to time given that this has the flavor of a perfect WhatsApp forward. Unlike The Unicorn, you can question this ad easily. But that doesn’t take anything away from the sheer fun watching this! Unlike The Unicorn, the ending of this ad doesn’t cut to a scene elsewhere. It builds tremendous curiosity in the viewers’ mind all through and when the penny drops, you cannot help but laugh out aloud 🙂
Spoiler: The question you can ask – that is not a new wardrobe, huh?
No.3 – The Bear
I believe this is the most awarded ad in the history of the agency. Rightly so! The sheer imagination is staggering and expansively fantastic! Like The Wardrobe, this one too puts you in a completely stupefied position till they reveal what it is all about. That revelation has a beautiful, fantasy-style appeal that is unique to French cinema РI was reminded of the works of French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet when I saw this ad (Am̩lie, A Very Long Engagement and Micmacs).
No.4 – March of the Emperor
The famous documentary, March of the Penguins, was titled, ‘March of the Emperor’ (as in Emperor Penguins). BETC used that tiny nuance to script a phenomenal ad for the film’s airing on Canal+. This one literally has a viewer imagine as another talks about the documentary… and then the reveal hits a huge speed bump on the imagination 🙂
No.5 – Kitchen
This is not as imaginative in the scripting sense, but it is incredibly imaginative and visually spectacular in the way it has been produced. This is literally great ad being ‘cooked’ in a kitchen and once again, this is simultaneously a showcase of BETC’s imagination as well as Canal+’s prowess!
No.6 – Movie credits hack
This is not an ad film but a brilliant activation idea. Canal+ joined hands with MK2 cinemas (a PVR equivalent in France) and hid a secret 3-month free subscription code in the end-credits of movies being aired in the cinema theater! Usually, only hardcore movie buffs sit through the end-credits and it makes perfect sense to target them through this hack! I have sat through some end-credits for Marvel films because of the end-credit and post-credit scenes, but not every movie demands that from us. In fact, even on Netflix or Amazon Prime, they usually have options to go past end-credits and move to the next film/program!
There are many more ads by BETC for Canal+. You may find them on the YouTube channels of both BETC and Canal+. But observe how beautifully and intricately the agency-client relationships helps them produce such incredible work repeatedly!