PRIVATE VIEW: James Lowther, the chairman of M&C Saatchi.

Is it the end-of-summer blues? Am I in the grip of a particularly virulent attack of the male menopause? Or am I not alone in thinking that this country has started to lose its grip on the creative crown?

This reflection is partly brought on by what many think was (with some very notable exceptions ) a rather lacklustre year for great ads at D&AD, the British Television Advertising Awards, the Campaign Press Awards and Cannes. But also, in part, by the contents of this week's envelope.

It's not that there are any stinkers in there. Most of the ads are sensible and well-executed and some are quite sweet. It's just that, with the exception of one campaign, none really trouble the Richter scale.

At least poo has the honesty to stink. Most work, it seems, is odour-free and can be invisible.

Ironically, Flash, the best and most visible campaign of this week's bunch, is all about the invisibility of nasty things. In one ad, we see a dog lick its parts and then the baby's high chair. In another, a kid runs his toy truck through the cat litter and then over the kitchen carving board.

The line 'Because you can't see everything' ties up a powerful case for bacterial wipes. Good stuff. And I have definitely banned the kid's gerbils from exercising in the Le Creuset.

The Flash ad is rightly done in the familiar wobbly cam style as it affects to document reality. But when I saw the wobbly Shredded Wheat ad, I yearned for a tripod.