Beale's best in show: Hovis (MCBD)

If you're a regular reader of this paper you'll have seen last week's behind-the-scenes preview of the new Hovis ad. Hopefully by now you will have actually seen it. Anyway, I make no apologies for writing about it again. You have to like this ad. That's an order.

You have to like it because it says so many great things about the power of advertising, about the power of investing in a long-term marketing strategy, about the power of long-format ads, and about the power of the TV medium, still, to take your breath away in a way that a banner ad never will.

Hovis has heritage. Not just in the way it's made its bread over the decades. But in its advertising. OK, it might have lapsed a few times along the way. But way back when we were all glued to a single commercial TV channel, Hovis milked it, with some of the most iconic and memorable advertising, advertising that still resonates years later. The new commercial from Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy celebrates that in one of the lush, beautifully crafted productions that are all too rare in ad breaks these days. The attention to detail is marvellous, the sheer scale of the production is magnificent. Advertising like it used to be.

I'm sure there are critics who will argue that it's an unnecessary extravagance, that it's not cost-effective. Phooey. This ad will reap rewards for Hovis for years to come. Just like the old "boy on the bike" one did. Watch and wallow.