Watch the full ad here:

Josh's thoughts:

"‘ave it!

Memes. A mainstay of interweb and social culture today. To become one is the highest prize for a brand’s content.

Back in 2002, social was but a twinkle in Zuckerberg’s eye and there was no WhatsApp to whisk a meme around the place.

Little did that matter when, in a moment of inspired improv during filming for this John Smith’s ad, Peter Kay uttered the words “ave it!”, a phrase that would soon be on the nation’s lips in a World Cup summer.

Everyone from David Beckham to Davina McCall were captured in the media shouting the line from the ad, and the brand won the World Cup without even being so much as a sponsor.

Off-trade sales grew by more than 20 per cent. And the ads proved so popular Kay continued to front John Smith's for almost a decade, accelerating his path to stardom and national treasure status.

Peerless in its humour, lo-fi in its execution, this ad from TBWA was branded creator content before its time.

It holds clear lessons for brands looking to work with creators today. A confident brand platform - No Nonsense. An executional idea - mates footie. With enough space for a comedy genius to work their magic.

If I were John Smith’s I’d be giving it another outing in next year’s World Cup summer."