DCM's Tom Linay Brings The Oscars of Advertising

There’s no prizes for realising we’re right at the business end of the awards season for cinema. The penultimate event of the season, the BAFTAs, were a couple of weeks ago and commentators are desperately trying to predict what, if anything, the results of the biggest night in the UK film calendar mean for the outcome of Sunday’s Oscars.

It’s also been a year of extraordinary creativity in the world of cinema advertising. The big screen has showcased some astonishing work, produced by some of the film world’s biggest names, so here at Digital Cinema Media, we’ve given the Oscars our own unique spin to honour some of the year’s very best ads and created a series of shortlists to highlight some of the best work this past year.

Of course, in the spirit of collaboration, we've left the thorny task of deciding who and what wins each category to our friends at shots.

You can also let us know your thoughts on the lists below, and any other work you think should have been on the list, by tweeting using #AdOscars.

BEST DIRECTOR

The first award is for Best Director and the talent on offer rivals the line-up at the Oscars. Options include twice Oscar nominated Gus Van Sant’s (Good Will Hunting, Milk) mesmerising BMW i8 ad, Powerful.

Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) was the man behind the swoonsome, Armani Code ad starring Chris Pine.

And Oscar winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables) directed the playful, quintessentially British Jaguar F-Type Rendezvous creative, starring Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong and Tom Hiddleston.

This year’s Whiplash-style outsider is George Belfield’s Whiplash-style King Snare ad for Greene King. Belfield reportedly hadn’t seen Whiplash but his propulsive, rhythmic ad featuring a jazz drummer is every bit as electrifying.

AND THE BEST DIRECTOR OSCAR GOES TO...  

Tom Hooper, Rendezvous, for the sheer variety and scale of the shots threading the story together. Big-ticket talents need careful handling but Hooper marshals their star power while maintaining a wider perspective.   

BEST CINEMA SOUND MIXING

One of the most persuasive aspects of placing your creative on the big screen is the potentially face-melting sound that the medium offers. An ad that makes the most of the sound spec of the cinema really stands out from the crowd.

The Guardian’s Own The Weekend placed explosive sound alongside the intentionally more mundane imagery and continued their run of ads that sit perfectly on the big screen.

The low-end bass rumble of Audi’s Leap Of Faith would have certainly got the attention of those late to settle in their seats.

Volvo XC60’s The Swell [below] and the previously mentioned Rendezvous (Jaguar F Type) [see Best Director category, above] were strong all-rounders that relied on the Dolby 5.1 sound to create their perfectly tuned atmosphere.

However, most notably, BMW’s Wolf ad was the first UK produced creative to utilise Dolby Atmos. Previously used on high-end blockbusters such as Gravity and Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Atmos allows up to 128 audio tracks providing genuinely immersive 3D sound.

AND THE BEST CINEMA SOUND MIXING OSCAR GOES TO...

Audi, Leap Of Faith. Close your eyes during this spot and you'd be fooled into thinking the feature film had already started, thanks to the incredible cinematic audio which really amplifies the impact of the ad.  

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

We’re really spoilt for choice with this category, with almost any ad mentioned so far beautifully shot and composed by some of the most talented people operating in the industry.

Sainsbury’s tearjerking Christmas 1914 received a lot of press, and there was no escaping the beautiful recreation of a period that was an entire century ago.

Van Sant’s Powerful [see Best Director category, above] was perhaps the most strikingly shot car ad of the year, but Sony Bravia’s Ice Bubbles to promote their brand new 4K television deserves special highlighting.

If you’re promoting the top-of-the-range resolution of your new TV on the cinema screen then you’d better make sure your creative is visually stunning, and thankfully the conceit of bubbles freezing in a snow covered landscape was unforgettable.

It’s also a front-runner for Best Song with Josef Salvat’s plaintive cover of Rihanna’s "Diamonds" fitting perfectly with the imagery.

AND THE BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY OSCAR GOES TO...

Sainsbury’s, Christmas 1914. Whatever your views on the propriety of using the First World War to advertise a supermarket, there's no denying the brilliance and beauty of the film's execution.

BEST ACTOR / BEST ACTRESS

Jazz drummer, Steve Noble deserves special mention for the gripping display of his talents in Greene King’s King Snare ad [see Best Director category, above].

Lily-Rose Aslandogdu puts in an affecting performance in Save The Children’s appropriately harrowing Most Shocking Second A Day video, which brings home the reality for children every day in Syria.

On a lighter note, Michael Van Schoick is surely a contender for best comedy performance (and most revealing hotpants) in Moneysupermarket.com’s Epic Strut.

AND THE BEST ACTOR / BEST ACTRESS OSCAR GOES TO...

Lily-Rose Aslandogdu, Most Shocking Second A Day. The power and depth of Aslandogdu's performance, particularly in the final, haunting shot, is particularly impressive given her tender years.  

BEST ANIMATION

Aardman’s beautiful Flight of the Stories for The Imperial War Museum brought an advertiser to the big screen that we don’t often see there and featured their characteristic craft and warmth. It has been known to inspire the odd tear too.

The Lego Movie was one of the greatest of all pieces of branded content and to coincide with its release, Confused, BT and Premier Inn re-created their existing creative using the building bricks to make one of the most buzzed about series of ads in years. Surely it’s no coincidence that following The Lego Movie becoming the biggest film of 2014, Lego has now been named the world’s most valuable brand. 

AND THE BEST ANIMATION OSCAR GOES TO... 

The Lego Movie Ad Takeover. As well as being a highly entertaining, original piece with brilliant attention to detail, you're effectively getting multiple spots for the price of one.

BEST FILM

Any of the ads named are worthy contenders for the title of best ad of the year but particular mention should go to Gus Van Sant’s Powerful, Tom Hooper’s Rendezvous and George Belfield’s King Snare. Volvo’s The Swell to advertise their new XC60 car, brought to mind Jonathan Glazer’s ground-breaking work for Guinness but was extraordinarily atmospheric in its own right.

AND THE BEST FILM OSCAR GOES TO...

Tom Hooper’s Rendezvous, for being a blockbuster movie within an ad. Combining slick direction, star appeal and blow-the-budget production, this is a sure-fire golden statuette winner.