“…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-‎the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.” – John Green

Last year’s Cannes Lions award winners were nothing short of brilliant, and 2012 didn’t disappoint. Here are my favourite examples of human brilliance from this year’s International Festival of Creativity:

This hilarious ad for New Zealand, the “most creative country in the world”, made me want to move there:

Dads in Briefs: A campaign for why you should buy an air conditioner

Gandhi Bookstores: A fun invitation to keep reading

Courageousness calls for a Carlsberg:

DirecTV: SO many LOLs, especially the last one. Don’t wake up in a roadside ditch. Stop taking in stray animals. Don’t have a grandson with a dog collar. Don’t have your house explode. And don’t re-enact scenes from Platoon with Charlie Sheen. Get rid of cable – get DirecTV:

Coca Cola Security Cams – had seen this floating around earlier in the year, but a nice reminder that humans can be pretty decent sometimes:

And my absolute favourite ad of this year’s bunch: Zonajobs – Grandmother

The local run is almost over, but Winnipeggers can catch the festival again at the WAG in March 2013 🙂