I somehow managed to miss this last month, but I thought it so interesting that it’s worth sharing for anyone else that may also be slow on the uptake.

The tobacco giant JTI giant ran a national advertising campaign against plain cigarette packaging in response to the government proposals to include legislation on the issue in the Queen’s speech.

The print ad uses a letter from a Department of Health official to the Australian government, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, to accuse the government of implementing plain packaging proposals despite the fact that “there isn’t any hard evidence to show that it works.”

It’s a brilliant piece of advertising.  The British public hate the nanny state and this ad very cleverly uses the government’s own words to accuse them of intervening without basis.

The ‘We couldn’t have put it better ourselves’ line is a political advertising classic and is usually accompanied by a quotation taken completely out of context.  The damning thing about this execution is that the letter is shown in whole.

The letter was dismissed by the Department of Health, which said evidence and research has since been developed.  But the enforcement of plain packaging was dropped by the government days before the Queen’s speech… no doubt ALL because of this ad…

The Coalition For Equal Marriage have produced a video to promote changing laws around same sex marriage.

The short film shows British forces returning home to greet their loved ones, with the reunion of one male soldier and his male partner soon turning into a surprise marriage proposal.

The video highlights that people have the right to serve in British military regardless of sexuality, but are not currently able to celebrate their love and commitment with civil marriage.

The video is nicely put together and, whilst it’s on the cheesy side of things, seems to have got a decent amount of traction after only a couple of days.  Supporters are encouraged to use the hashtag #equalmarriage.

Cancer Research have released a new video calling for signatures to a petition that seeks to remove branding from cigarette packaging.

The ad shows a group of 10-year-old children discussing cigarette boxes, to illustrate how young people are affected by the different colours and designs.

The film concludes with the thought: “Unbranding cigarette packs won’t stop everyone from smoking, but it will give millions of kids one less reason to start”.

I can’t comment neutrally, as this was made by my agency, but I found it incredibly impactful.  It’s a clever advertising idea, based on solid research that suggests cigarette packaging is attractive to young people.

By using children as the creative vehicle, it enables adults who “know better than to fall for some pretty colours on a cardboard box” to support the campaign, as they can feel they’re acting for kids who they perceive to be more vulnerable to brands than themselves.

The left wing pressure group 38 Degrees are trying to raise funds to run an outdoor advertising campaign about the NHS.  The ambition of the ads is to raise public awareness of the reforms and convince David Cameron that the NHS will be an election issue if he doesn’t rethink his plans.

They’ve so far raised over £80, 000 of their £100, 000 target and it seems likely that the ads will run.  Just over 6000 different individuals have donated, which is not an insignificant number of advocates.

The posters are ‘hard working’ (adspeak for unambitious and requiring minimal effort from the observer), but they will do a job for those already interested in the campaign.  However, the hope for the posters, as stated by 38 degrees, is to scare the uninformed into taking an interest in the reforms.  I’m not sure this slightly bland creative will achieve that.

(Thanks to Sarah Sternberg for sending).

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There’s quite a clever technique used in this ad that aims to raise awareness and drive sign ups around the issue of torture for Amnesty International by TBWA/Berlin.

We’re all very used to seeing iPad app demonstrations and this is a nice distortion of it.

Not the most arresting video in the world, but it puts the amount of money and attention we lavish on gizmos and gadegets into sharp relief.

Creative Review have compiled the best of the placards from the TUC demonstration against the public sector cuts that took place last week.  Here are my top 3.

The Law Society has today launched the UK’s first ever ‘voicemail protest’ for Sound Off For Justice (a campaign against the proposed government cuts to legal aid).

Members of the public are encouraged to voice their discontent with the government’s proposed cuts by leaving a rant on Ken Clarke’s voicemail.

This is how it works:

1. Go to the Sound Off for Justice website and fill in your mobile number.

2.  ‘Ken Clarke’s’ (voiced by Alistair McGowan) voicemail calls your mobile.

3.  You wait for the bleep and then leave your irrate message.

It’s a nice, modern take on the usual ‘fill in this leaflet and post it to your MP’.  And, the fact that the web/mobile technology does most of the leg work for would-be advocates is smart  i.e. no need to dig out the old microphone / webcam.

The issue with such campaigns, as anyone who’s ever worked in an MP’s office will tell you, is that MPs read (or in this case listen to) the first couple and then ignore the rest.

The ‘audio’ nature of the campaign means that it is unlikely to go viral, as listening to lots of people mouthing off just isn’t that exciting or stimulating.

Nevertheless, for what it is, it’s very nicely put together.

This is the video for anti-cuts anthem “Liar Liar” by Captain Ska.  Captain Ska join the throng of musicians trying to replicate last year’s campaign to prevent Simon Cowell’s X-Factor winner getting the Christmas #1 hit record.

The track captures the mood of the anti-cuts movement perfectly and it’s easy to understand why the video is getting a good amount of traction online.