"I feel like we led the mums astray."
This week's most interesting videos, made by and for organisations.
I enjoyed this Guardian article feting 1999 as one of the great years of movie-making. It celebrates films like The Matrix, Fight Club and Ten Things I Hate About You, and the industry's "naive, anything-is-possible optimism that feels genuinely alien today."
This line in particular jumped out: "It was a period that saw cinema creating the culture instead of second-guessing it."
When it comes to video, the organisations that do the former are the ones that win. There's a reason Duolingo's social is so good, and all the brands "doing a Duolingo" fall pretty flat.
Asking yourself, "Who do we want to be?" is harder than asking, "What is everyone else doing?" But it's infinitely more rewarding in the long run.
A dad schools his daughter in the genius flexibility of the f-word (6 mins)
I really enjoyed this comedy short from The New Yorker in which a young girl asks her dad what the f-word means. Rather than dodge the question, he goes all-in on a rhapsodical celebration of the word's many uses, becoming increasingly smitten by its incredible versatility.
There's pathos weaved throughout too – a murky divorce which is clearly still hurting – but it's mostly a linguistic homily to an eclectically brilliant word, despite the best efforts of the iPhone autocorrect to duck it out of existence. (Watch on YouTube)
New Vinted spot has fun with our over-stuffed wardrobes (45s)
As a brand that's becoming something of a media darling, the pressure will be on Vinted whenever they release something new. They seem to have met the moment with this spot though, underlining our ludicrous overconsumption of clothes in a way that pokes fun at people, rather than wags a finger at them.
There are lots of memorable visuals here, but the guy with all the ties really tickled me. (Watch on YouTube)
Scotland go big with their Euro 2024 squad announcement (1min)
We've talked before about how fun it is when an organisation takes a pretty standard announcement and jazzes it up way beyond what's strictly necessary. So it is with with the Scotland men's football team, which this week announced its squad for this summer's European Championships.
Why just publish a list of names when you can lean fully into the team's "No Scotland, no party" mantra and create a raucous house party, where retired midfielder Pat Nevin mans the decks and comedian Frankie Boyle surveys the whole scene with scabrous disapproval.
When the names finally come, they're delivered as old-school Ceefax graphics on a TV screen. (Watch on YouTube)
Beautiful Nowness short takes us into the Philippines like never before (7m 30s)
This is an extraordinary short documentary which Nowness describes as "a portrait of Manila told through its urban lore, spirituality and basketball fandom." It's hugely atmospheric and ties together disparate strands in a way that could feel very forced in the wrong hands.
It has a beguiling, and slightly unnerving, gentle pace, and the scenes in the cemetery in particular are incredibly well-shot. (Watch on YouTube)
Nike’s introduction to the Refugee Olympic Team is on point (1min)
Hot on the heels of last week’s animation came this Nike spot featuring the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. Focusing in particular on boxer Cindy Ngamba, the first ever Nike athlete from the team, it's exhilarating to see this humanitarian story given the full Nike treatment.
They make this sort of slick, inspiring, beautifully-written work feel so everyday that it's easy to overlook quite how hard it is. (Watch on YouTube)
The Michelin Guide has a sumptuous look at a pork belly pagoda (45s)
Want to watch a chef make a mini pagoda out of pork belly? Of course you do, you're only human.
The Michelin Guide has a nice line in these short videos which celebrate the art and imagination that goes into the best restaurants' most impressive dishes. As ever there's fun to be had in the comments too, with particular props to the person compelled to write, "Nice. The only question is why?" (Watch on Instagram)
Beavertown campaign is a tribute to the glory of pub stories (1 min)
Nick Dwyer's gently nightmarish visuals give Beavertown an instantly recognisable style that pops out from your social feeds. It also builds consistency across very different campaigns, so last year’s in-flight horror animation flows into this celebration of pub stories.
It's built on a neat idea – that we all have that one story that gets dusted off and retold over a few drinks – and brought to life in an unusual way thanks to Nick's signature style. (Watch on YouTube)
A look at this year’s D&AD winners
Amid the deluge of creative awards, I think D&AD stands out for its genuinely international lens, and looking through the big winners, you tend to come across work you'd never otherwise have encountered.
That said, one of the pieces that took home D&AD's highest accolade – the Black Pencil – is likely to be very familiar. Orange's simple but incredibly powerful video, which challenges prejudices around women's football by tricking viewers into thinking they're watching the men, feels like a worthy winner, given its combination of clever idea and highly-crafted execution.
Elsewhere, I was really impressed by Dutch telecoms brand KPN's sliding doors style piece about school sexting, Byredo's exquisite vignettes of Kenyan life, and this German DIY store's ode to the big potential of small spaces.
Oh, and a shout out to this uber-charming animation for a returnable bottle scheme, which proves yet again that the most creative work doesn't need obviously creative subject matter.
“Whatever you get paid most attention for, is never what you think is most important about yourself.”
David Foster Wallace