iPhone apps, microsites, catalogues: The many faces of direct response

The infomercial film is a perfect pastiche; the breezy voice-over ensures that when, at the end of your session, the truth is revealed, it is truly shocking. Don’t be fooled, it says, UV exposure can kill. We are informed that five people die of skin cancer in the UK every day. Glowing praise deserved.

Skcin: 'Glowing praise deserved'

Next we have a poster campaign from D&AD which aims to get industry professionals and students involved in the New Blood initiative. Using striking portrait photography by Nadav Kander, leading figures from across the industry pledge I’ll be there. Visit the website and you too can be involved by uploading your photograph and registering for the event. There’s a real sense of involvement, and the deceptively simple idea is executed with D&AD’s traditional panache. I’ll be there.

D&AD: 'striking photography'

The third campaign had a target audience of one; Gordon Brown. Polley Tommey, the mother of an autistic son and founder of the Autism Trust, had tried for years to raise awareness of the plight of people involved with autistic children, to no avail. A series of poster sites addressed the Prime Minister, with the media being donated for free. The campaign had a 100% response: Gordon picked up the phone. I wish Polly well in her mission.

Autism Trust: '100% response - the PM picked up the phone'

Lastly, my quarterly mailing from Howies. I love it when the latest Howies catalogue drops through my letterbox. They always manage to come up with an interesting theme, and each time I get to know the brand a little more. This time round they seek to address an issue some of their customers had raised: how come the environmentally and socially responsible Howies manufacture their jeans in China? For a mail order company, trust is paramount, especially when their denims come with a £225 price tag.

Howies: 'ethical credentials'

So they sent a budding young photographer off to China by train (lowest carbon footprint) and asked him to report back. This he did, on Twitter and in pictures, with the result that my worries about Howies’ ethical credentials are proven unfounded.

Elsewhere in the catalogue, by the way, there’s a recommended reading list. Great, but what’s even better is that, if you email them, they’ll lend you the book. And trust you to send it back. Proving yet again that what a brand does is more important than what it says.

Phil Keevil is creative director at Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw

Critique credits

1. Skcin (The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity)
Agency McCann Erickson
Copywriter Cameron Mitchell
Art director Elliot Harris

2. D&AD
Agency LBi
Copywriter Dan John
Art director James Theophane

3. Autism Trust
Agency Dye Holloway Murray
Copywriter Dave Dye
Art director Dave Dye

4. Howies
Agency In-house
Creative team: David and Clare Hieatt

About Phil Keevill

Phil Keevill’s first job was as an art director at J Walter Thompson, where, among other things, he launched Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. He gained his first direct marketing experience there, winning the BDMA Gold Award for Guinness Merchandising company James Blackmore. At BMP Young Clark Craig, he won the DMA Gold in Art Direction for his work on Volvo.

Phil moved to Craik Jones when it was a year old, and was appointed joint creative director.  He spent 11 years helping to build that agency’s creative reputation, winning many more awards on accounts such as Land Rover, BT and Parcelforce.

He co-founded the independent Keevill Barton Kershaw, but returned to larger agency life when he became creative director at Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw. In 2008 Phil was one of the judges of the BBC/Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award. He has recently been made a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.