My shots Monday: London Hot Spots

In case you haven’t been on Twitter or Facebook today, Advertising Week Europe has begun with events, talks and seminars taking place at Piccadilly’s BAFTA and various other venues throughout Central London.

With a packed programme of speakers and brands appearing as part of the agenda for the week-long gathering, as well as networking events and parties taking place, delegates and visitors will descend on the city to learn about the current state and future of creative marketing and connect with like-minded people.

With so many people attending the event – now in its second year in London – we thought we’d offer a round-up of creative spots from our archives, which offer some great British traditions, to mark the occasion.

Civil service

Day one kicked off with a slew of tweets, status updates, pictures and video clips documenting the start of the festival – which started with a leadership breakfast hosted by The Guardian – and as the week continues, more and more delegates will be providing an up-to-date account of progress and developments via social channels reflecting and promoting today’s real picture of civil journalism at its best.

BBH London’s Three Little Pigs, also for The Guardian, offers a snapshot view of the idea of modern open journalism and how the publication advocates the approach. The commercial is directed by Ringan Ledwidge via Rattling Stick.

Streets ahead

Away from the festival and kids are creating original content of their own in Neil Gorringe’s Street Summer to promote a series of programmes on Channel 4. Featuring urban artists from the worlds of music and art, 4Creative's promo merges musical acts and visual treats in London’s suburbs to offer a slice of the culture outside the square mile and show that the city is buzzing with young emerging talent in all its nooks and crannies.

Talking the Talk

If you’re going to spend a week in London, sooner or later during your stay you’ll be exposed to some rough and ready cockney slang and in Grey London’s ad for The British Heart Foundation, ex-footballer and Hollywood hard man Vinnie Jones provides the raw, verbal entertainment whilst teaching viewers how to save a life for the charity. Wayne McClammy is the director behind the musical piece, set to the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive and the film is produced by Hungry Man.

Posh parody

However, as well as the common commuters and bustling bodies there’s a whole host of city sights to see with immense and historic, cultural value. Visitors will of course want to hear the bells of Big Ben, take a trip on the London Eye and visit Buckingham Palace to see where the Royals dwell. Saatchi & Saatchi London provides another entertaining sight with its parody of the Royal Wedding, set at the venue and the piece provides a bout of typical British humour that will also feature a lot during all this week’s plans.

City with character

When it comes to laughs, one thing the Brits are able to do is make a joke of themselves and with his British Villains Rendezvous spot for Jaguar that debuted at this year’s Super Bowl, Tom Hooper offers an entertaining look at the city’s ability to throw up so many villainous characters in the movies. The commercial was created by agency Spark44 with a very sleek production job from Smuggler and includes plenty of sweeping shots of London at night for your viewing pleasure.

Click here to see our London Hot Spots playlist.