My Favourite Adam Berg Commercials
After graduating from the Stockholm Film School Adam Berg directed music videos for the Swedish pop band ‘Kent’.
His filmmaking skills were soon noticed and so too were his writing and directional skills when his short film ‘IN’ won the 2011 Best Short Film Award at the Gothenburg Film Festival.
It wasn’t long before he became a globally sought after filmmaker of commercials and feature films.
1. Philips LCD Televisions, Carousel
Advertising Agency: DDB, London and DDB Tribal, Amsterdam
This online commercial and Cannes International Advertising Festival Grand Prix winner by Adam Berg, depicts frozen moments in time of a bank robbery gone wrong.
Adam used a state of the art motion-camera filming rig to visually dramatise the story in a single tracking shot that resulted in highly compelling viewing.
2. Uber Transport Company, Boxes
Advertising Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg, Sweden
Filmed on location in Bangkok, Adam Berg directed this humorous commercial with over 200 extras to demonstrate the seriousness of city traffic congestion and the increasing shortage of vehicle parking spaces.
Uber’s message is, that together with reliable rail and bus transit systems, Ridesharing companies are part of the solution to creating a viable alternative to private car ownership that can greatly free-up Asia’s congested urban hubs, and speed-up commuter mobility.
3. Gillette, Bond Moments
Advertising Agency: Grey Advertising, New York, USA
Adam Berg directed this Gillette commercial of 007’s ‘close shaves’ to coincide with the launch of ‘Spectre’, the 24 th James Bond film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
A voice-over introduces a quote from Author Ian Flemming, the originator of the Commander James Bond, secret-agent 007, adventure novels.
The impressionable visual effects were done by ‘The Mill VFX & Design’ studios.
4. Budweiser, Wind Never Felt Better
Advertising Agency: David, Miami, USA
Directed by Adam Berg, the 2019 Super Bowl commercial, filmed in California, celebrates Anheuser-Busch’s achievement of establishing Budweiser as the first major beer brand to be brewed with 100% renewable energy generated from wind power.
Angie Slaughter, Anheuser-Busch’s Vice President of sustainability summed up the company’s brand communication rationale as follows:
“It’s for dog lovers. It’s for Clydesdale lovers. It’s for beer lovers. It’s for Earth lovers. The commercial is bigger than beer. It speaks to something we should all be thinking about every single day”.
5. IKEA, Happy Inside
Advertising Agency: Mother, London, UK
A hundred cats were released inside Britain’s IKEA Wembly store for an integrated TV campaign to promote their new catalogue. The aim of the commercial was also to highlight IKEAS’s insightful acknowledgement that most cat owners consider their cats to be part of the family.
Film Director Adam Berg had no idea what to expect once the cats were released but skillfully managed to produce a result that made for popular family viewing in the UK and far beyond.
The multi-award commercial is beautifully underscored by a soundtrack of Maria Carlye’s song ‘Pianni’ from her debut album ‘The Lovely’.
6. Hyundai Genesis, First Date
Advertising Agency: Innocean Worldwide, Huntigton Beach, Southern California, USA
Over-protective dads are always winning themes for parodies and this commercial is no exception. Peter Berg directed this humorous commercial about a particularly over-protective Dad brilliantly portrayed by actor Kevin Hart.
7. Hyundai Elantra, Ryanville
Advertising Agency: Innocean Worldwide, Huntington Beach, Southern California, USA
Adam Berg brilliantly directed actor Ryan Reynolds in many guises in this very watchable commercial.
Two women cruising through ‘Ryanville’ are constantly distracted by the many Ryan Reynolds ‘clones’ they encounter. Fortunately for everyone they are driving in a Hyundai Elantra with ‘auto-emergecy braking and pedestrian detection’.
8. Samsung Smart TV, King of TV City
Advertising Agency: CHI & Partners, London
Directed by Adam Berg and filmed in Cape Town, the commercial features many dramatic scenes and references from iconic movies that include UFO’s and a close encounter with a T-Rex. The special effects are very impressive and make for rewarding viewing.