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Is "Evolution" the world's best ad?

Keith McArthur, May 18, 2007 at 2:11 PM EDT

You would be forgiven for wondering if all the hype around the Dove "Evolution" viral is just hometown cheerleading.

The 74-second movie, produced by Ogilvy & Mather Toronto has been touted as a front-runner for the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Although the ad has been picked as Canada's best at two major award shows - the Marketing Awards and the Bessies - its quest for world domination suffered a minor setback last week when it only picked up a silver at the Clios in Miami.

But other results are more promising.

"Evolution" won two gold pencils at the One Show and was selected best in show this week in the inaugural Creativity Awards, beating out work like Honda's "Choir," Sony's "Paint" and Ecko's "Sill Free" stunt. Next week, the piece is expected to do well at the D&AD awards in London.

Will it win Grand Prix at Cannes? The guy to watch is Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield. He's not on the jury, but he might as well be. Not only does Garfield have an uncanny knack for predicting what will win, I would wager that his picks for what work should win has an influence on the jury.

And Garfield loves the spot. He gave it a stellar review and included it in his "10 ads Garfield loved" write-up for 2006.

  1. David Brent from Toronto, Canada writes: The best ad of all time, evolutionary or not, can be seen here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t4sdgvy-pk
  2. Keith McArthur from Globe newsroom, Canada writes: Thanks for post, David.

    Your link points to the Guiness "noitulovE" spot that won the Grand Prix at Cannes last year. noitulovE, of course, is Evolution spelled backward.

    It would be a strange coincidence if two commercials with almost the same name won two years in a row.
  3. Pat P from Halifax, Canada writes: I have to admit that I was impressed with the Dove ads when they first started airing. However, I have come to look at them in a different light in that they are still promoting a prescribed notion of beauty. For instance, in a recent ad that I saw, they are advertising a moisturizing cream that has a slight tanner. My annoyance at this is their is an implied message that "a tan = beautiful," and I am not convinced that this is part of the message that should be conveyed.
  4. Globe Insider subscriber content
    Ray Sull from West Coast, Canada writes: I kind of agree, Pat P. When these ads first started, I argued (a lot) that it was really just a different way of saying, "using dove = beauty". Ultimately, everyone's bottom line is money.

    However, after a number of years living without cable t.v., I subscribed recently and amidst the same crap of sexist, homophobic, and just plain stupid stuff that exists out there, at least Dove is promoting a message of "love thyself".

    Even if thyself is paler than pale ;-)
  5. Keith McArthur from Globe newsroom, Canada writes: Dove sells "beauty" products. They're not a charity or a special interest group and it would be a stretch to expect them not to promote beauty.

    What sets them apart is that they're challenging the stereotypes of beauty. You don't have to be size 1 to be beautiful, Dove's pitch goes, "real" women can be beautiful too.

    Yes, the message is designed to sell more product. But isn't it better to use a healthier message to sell product than an unhealthy one?

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