The 30 best ads from Campaign Brief’s 30 years. 1996: Chippers ‘Elephant Tears’ Press

Campaign Brief WA turns 30 this month, so over the thirty days of June we’re looking back and choosing the best ad done in each of our 30 years.

This one is a no-brainer. Everyone loves this ad – including us.

Actually, we’re a little bit shaky on the actual date of first appearance. It was either at the end of 1996 or the beginning of 1997. We’re gonna go with ’96 because the rest of the year was pretty ordinary, and we’ve got a couple of rippers in reserve for ’97.

The whole Chippers press campaign VB produced around this time was fabulous but ‘Elephant Tears’ is the definitive execution in it.

The ad was beautifully written by Steve Browning. His research into elephants’ grieving allowed him to express empathy with the bereavement process without lapsing into cliché sentimentality. Wayne Vinten’s disciplined art direction made it even more readable.

‘Elephant Tears’ catapulted Browning to national prominence when it won Silver (for Copywriting) and Bronze at AWARD. Locally it won Best of Show, 3 Silvers and The West Australian Fellowship at the PADCs.

Only a finalist at the Campaign Brief Awards though – beaten by a clever little ad for Glengarry Hospital by JDA’s Matt Cullen & Gary Tranter.

It’s still a funny ad, but ‘Elephant Tears’ is the classic.